Powell River Midget Rep Kings suffered their first defeat at the 2019 BC Hockey Midget Tier 3 Championship in Cranbrook on Tuesday, March 19, but rebounded later in the day to earn a berth in the semi-final round.
After tying the score at two midway through the third period against Squamish, the defending champions gave up a powerplay goal with just 14 seconds remaining on the clock.
“It was an evenly matched game,” said assistant coach Scott Mastrodonato about the 3-2 loss. “It was a disappointing outcome for us; we played well but fell a little short against a very good opponent.”
The team shook off the early morning loss and regrouped in time to defeat Castlegar 5-2 in the evening game.
“We spotted them a 2-0 lead but came storming back for the last two periods to take over the play,” said Mastrodonato.
The win clinched second place in their pool with a record of three wins and one loss, and a spot in the semi-final against Mission.
“These are the same four teams that finished top four last year,” said Mastrodonato. “Last year we beat Mission in the final.”
At 8 am on Wednesday, March 20, Mission and Powell River faced off for a spot in the gold medal game. This time around, last year's runner-up came out on top by a score of 6-3.
"We were so unlucky; we outshot them but they got the bounces today," said Mastrodonato. "We hit a few crossbars and had no puck luck when it mattered most.
In the second semi-final of the day, Terrace beat Squamish 3-2.
Powell River and Squamish will play for bronze at 4:45 pm, also on Wednesday.
