Johnson scores OT winner
For the first time in their 22-year B.C. Hockey League existence, the Prince George Spruce Kings are going to be playing for the championship.
Kyle Johnson guaranteed that will happen when he scored 8:06 into overtime to defeat the Powell River Kings 2-1 Thursday night in Game 5 of the Coastal Conference final series.
Johnson, the Spruce Kings captain, was in the right spot at the right time to become the hero of the night when he got to the rebound of a shot off the end boards from teammate Ethan de Jong.
The goal touched off an explosive reaction from a near-sellout crowd of 2,032 in attendance at Rolling Mix Concrete Arena. The fans reacted with chants of “We want the Cup.”
The Spruce Kings will get a chance to play for the Fred Page Cup against either the Trail Smoke Eaters or Wenatchee Wild, a best-of-seven series which will start next weekend in Prince George (if the Smoke Eaters beat the Wild) or in Wenatchee.
The Spruce Kings appeared the hungrier team coming out for overtime, outshooting Powell River 10-1 in just over eight minutes of OT. That total didn’t include the shot Prince George defenceman Jay Keranen put off the goalpost three minutes into the extra session.
The Spruce Kings outshot Powell River 48-30.
Each team scored late in the third period to make overtime necessary.
Kyle Kawamura broke a scoreless draw 12:16 into the third period with a seeingeye wrist shot that got through a screen in front of goalie Evan DeBrouwer. The unassisted goal appeared to catch a piece of the stick of Kings forward Ben Brar just as Kawamura released it while standing just off the side boards along the blueline.
But the lead would not stand up. With DeBrouwer on the bench and Dustin Manz taking his place on the ice, the Spruce Kings had the play in the offensive zone and Manz got the puck to de Jong, who fed Dylan Anhorn for a one-timed slapshot that found its way into the net with 1:32 left on the clock.
After a scoreless first period in which they were outshot 8-3 Powell River was under siege in the second period, forced to kill off three minor penalties, including a 1:31 stretch in which they were two players down. The Spruce Kings had the puck in the Powell River end most of that time and Brar had the best chance, set up for a one-timer at the side of the net which was stopped by a diving Matteo Paler-Chow.
The shots were 17-5 in the Spruce Kings’ favour when Powell River gained the puck on a 3-on-2 break. Carter Turnbull had the initial shot that was blocked by DeBrouwer and Josh Coblenz followed up with the rebound and just put it wide – probably the best chance of the game for the visitors at that point, midway through the second period.
The Spruce Kings continued to dominate the play and Paler-Chow continued to be the difference-maker, keeping the game scoreless with a series of spectacular saves. He had to stretch out the full length of his five-foot-11 frame to get his glove in the way of a hot shot from the slot from Johnson, 15 seconds before the second intermission.
In the third period, Manz put one off the goalpost early, and Brar shot high when sent in alone on a clearcut breakaway pass from Blake Hayward. Powell River showed a lot more life in the offensive zone and DeBrouwer had to be sharp to get his shoulder in the way of a backhander from Hunter Findlater to keep the game deadlocked.
Powell River outshot the Kings 18-12 in the third period but they weren’t getting to the rebounds thanks to the aggressive play of the Spruce Kings defence.
The Smoke Eaters will try to keep their championship hopes alive when they resume the Interior Conference final tonight in Washington State against the Wenatchee Wild. The Wild lead that best-ofseven series 3-1… Spruce Kings right winger Spencer Chapman missed Thursday’s game with a concussion he sustained late in Game 4 in Powell River when he was checked from behind into the boards by Powell River forward Kevin Obssuth. Obssuth used his stick to pin Chapman against the boards and hit his head into the glass. Obssuth was not penalized on the play but Chapman was assessed an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for embellishment. A doctor in Powell River diagnosed the concussion and estimated Chapman will be sidelined for at least 10 days.
The goal touched off an explosive reaction from a near-sellout crowd of 2,032 in attendance at Rolling Mix Concrete Arena. The fans reacted with chants of “We want the Cup.”
LOOSE PUCKS: