Action from the first period of the Victoria Grizzlies’ game at Powell River Kings on Saturday, March 22, 2019.
Photograph By ALICIA BAAS, POWELL RIVER PEAK
Brian Drewry / Times Colonist
MARCH 23, 2019 10:18 PM
POWELL RIVER 4
VICTORIA 2
Series tied at 3-3
The Powell River Kings saved their season in the third period of Game 6 on Saturday night at Hap Parker Arena and they can thank their leading scorer, Ryan Brushett.
With key Victoria Grizzlies wingers Riley Hughes and Ryan Nolan both missing most of the third period after each received hit-to-the-head minors and misconducts, Brushett, the B.C. Hockey League’s leading goal scorer in the regular season, struck for goals 17 seconds apart midway through the final period to pave the way for a 4-2 Powell River victory and force a seventh and deciding game on Monday night at The Q Centre in Colwood.
It was the Kings’ first non-overtime win of the series, and now the two teams will play a one-game, winner-take-all contest with the victor moving on to play the Prince George Spruce Kings in the BCHL semifinals. With a league-leading 41 goals during the regular season, the 20-year-old Brushett, who is headed to the NCAA and Nebraska-Omaha in the fall, fired a high wrister past Kurtis Chapman with 10 minutes left in the third.
It evened things up after Henri Schreifels gave the Grizzlies a 1-0 lead with just 58 seconds left in the second period.
And just 17 seconds after tying the game, Brushett struck again to give the Kings the lead for good.
Mitch Williams added an insurance marker for Powell River with three minutes left in the third.
Alex Campbell finished off an Alex Newhook pass on the power play with two minutes to go and Chapman pulled for an extra attacker to give the Grizzlies some life, but Neal Samansky scored into the empty net in the final minute to put the game on ice.
The Kings outshot the Grizzlies 38-35.
LOOSE PUCKS: The other Island Division team still alive in the playoffs, the Cowichan Valley Capitals, will host Game 6 of their series against the Wenatchee Wild tonight in Duncan. The Wild lead the series 3-2.
© 2019 Copyright Times Colonist
