Heading into last weekend, Powell River Kings’ chances for top seed in the BC Hockey Leauge Island Division for the playoffs remained alive. The catch was that their fate was entirely in the hands of bitter rival Victoria Grizzlies. Kings could only control their own games and look to gain as many points as possible to leave avenues to first place open.
A season-ending three games in three days weekend began Friday, February 22, at Hap Parker Arena. Alberni Valley provided the opposition in a game that saw emotion and energy spike throughout.
The game also served as the return for Kings captain Ben Berard, who suffered a career-threatening back injury in early October when the team was in Trail, ultimately missing 43 games.
“I felt good during the day, but it was once I hit the ice that the nerves really set in,” said Berard. “The first two periods especially I felt pretty rusty, just not comfortable. At the end of the day, it’s not easy coming back and I want to be able to do all the things I used to be able to but that will take time. I just need to be patient.”
Kings forward Ben Thomas opened the scoring five minutes in before Alberni countered just over a minute later. Ethan Schmunk then gave Powell River its second lead of the game with the Bulldogs scoring on the ensuing shift to again tie the game.
Ryan Brushett notched his league-leading 41st goal of the season to hand Powell River a 3-2 advantage that held up for the rest of the game. However, after several post-whistle skirmishes throughout the game, tempers boiled over at the final buzzer as Christian Buono responded to a slash from Alberni’s Ryan Miotto that resulted in players dropping their gloves to fight. Officials were forced to separate Bulldog netminder Cole Demers from a verbal altercation with a handful of Kings while Powell River players attempted to celebrate the victory.
“You win, you’re excited and you want to go get the goalie but you have to understand what’s going on around the ice,” said Kings assistant Brock Sawyer. “Their team was coming off the bench for whatever reason and everyone’s yelling, you had guys fired up, but the games have been like that all year against Alberni, very emotional.”
Powell River headed to Vancouver Island for its final two games of the regular season, first visiting Nanaimo Clippers on Saturday, February 23. After a flat start, Kings fell behind 3-1 early in the second period before Nolan Krogfoss scored late to cut the lead. Nanaimo again went up in the third period before a Powell River comeback led by Berard and a shorthanded tally from Mitch Williams pulled the Kings within a goal.
Nanaimo sealed a 6-4 win with an empty-net goal, earning just its second victory over Powell River this season.
“Statistically, that was our worst hockey game of the year, by a landslide,” said Kings head coach Tyler Kuntz. “Credit Nanaimo, probably one of their best games against us this year and we were awful. We had nine hits in two periods. The rating system we use to measure hits, blocked shots and other metrics shows a good period is around a 90.”
The loss also closed down any chance Kings had of finishing first in the Island Division, and guaranteed a first round rematch against the Clippers.
The regular season ended in Alberni Valley on Sunday, February 23, against the Bulldogs. With a first round matchup confirmed, Kings scratched 11 regulars from the lineup due to injury, suspension or for a rest day. A largely docile game compared to Friday in Powell River saw Schmunk and affiliate player Deepkaran Hans score goals, but Alberni tied it up midway through the third period and ultimately won 3-2 in a shootout.
Kings now turn their attention toward a first-round playoff matchup against the Clippers for the second straight year.
Powell River posted a 6-2 record against Nanaimo this season, outscoring the Clippers 31-23.
Games one and two of the best-of-seven series will be played at Hap Parker Arena at 7 pm on Friday, March 1, and 5 pm on Saturday, March 2, before the series shifts to Nanaimo on Monday, March 4 and Tuesday, March 5.
If needed, games five and seven will take place in Powell River on Thursday, March 7 and Sunday, March 10.
Puck notes: Kings held their annual awards banquet on Tuesday, February 26, at Carlson Community Club. Josh Coblenz took home four awards including the Unsung Hero Award, while Ryan Brushett won three, including being named the team’s MVP. A full list of award winners is available at powellriverkings.com.
