As they did all series, the Powell River Kings bent, but they didn鈥檛 break on Friday night at The Q Centre.
And now they鈥檙e headed to the sa国际传媒 Hockey League semifinal series after beating the Victoria Grizzlies 4-3 in overtime to take Game 5 and win the Island Division final series 4-1.
Ben Berard, headed to Cornell of the NCAA in the fall of 2019, played OT hero for the Kings, firing a high slapper past Grizzlies netminder Kurtis Chapman 10:36 into the extra frame.
The Kings move on to face either the Surrey Eagles or Prince George Spruce Kings in the BCHL semifinal series. Surrey leads that series 3-2 with Game 6 tonight.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a game of details and we鈥檙e a very offensive team and we didn鈥檛 capitalize on our chances,鈥� said Grizzlies GM and head coach Craig Didmon.
鈥淏ut Powell River is a very strong team defensively and that鈥檚 the best I鈥檝e seen them play all year, so you have to tip your cap to them. They鈥檙e very deserving of winning the series.鈥�
The Grizzlies finally got what they were looking for all series 鈥� offence from their veteran players. After a sluggish start by the Grizzlies, which saw Hunter Findlater score with 50 seconds remaining in the first period to give the Kings a 1-0 lead at the break, 20-year-old winger Ethan Nother scored twice to give Victoria the lead.
But like they have all series, the Kings had an answer for everything. Carter Turnbull, headed to the University of sa国际传媒icut in the fall, and Berard scored 45 seconds apart midway through the third period to silence the crowd and put the heat back on the home team, who were 4-0 when facing elimination prior to Friday鈥檚 game.
T.J. Friedmann then awoke from his series-long scoring drought, flipping one past Matteo Paler-Chow with seven minutes remaining in regulation. It was the 19-year-old Friedmann鈥檚 first goal of the series.
The Kings, who have 12 players who were part of last year鈥檚 Powell River team that was eliminated by the Grizzlies in the Island Division final in seven games, did continue to throw a blanket over Grizzlies high-scoring winger Jamie Rome and Justin Michaelian, who were again held off the scoresheet. And Powell River outshot Victoria 54-38.
鈥淥bviously, they remember last year and were on a mission to not let it happen again and played very determined hockey,鈥� Didmon said.
鈥淔or us, it certainly wasn鈥檛 our best hockey, but not for lack of effort. We just have to learn that the little details, like playing without the puck, mean a lot come playoff time.鈥�
For 20-year-olds Nother, Michaelian, Shawn O鈥橫alley, Dayne Finnson and Matt Doran, it means the end of their junior careers.
鈥淚t鈥檚 obviously tough for those guys to take right now, but they can hold their heads hi because they gave everything they had,鈥� Didmon said. 鈥淚t just didn鈥檛 go our way.鈥�
LOOSE PUCKS: Grizzlies rookie Alex Newhook finished Friday鈥檚 game with two assists. . . . The Grizzlies were 2-for-3 on the power play, while the Kings were 0-for-4. . . . The Grizzlies again played without the services of winger Ryan Nolan, who was injured in Game 1 and never returned.
