Nanaimo, BC – The Nanaimo Clippers celebrated 50 Years of Clippers’ Hockey with a 5-4 overtime victory against the Powell River Kings. The Clippers honoured alumni with a special ceremony bringing former players onto the ice prior to puck-drop.
It only took one minute for Illinois native, Max Itagaki, to score his 17th goal of the season as he swatted a rebound into the back of the net. Four minutes later, Powell River tied the game on a 3 on 2 that saw Clippers highest scoring forward, Sean Donaldson, take a 5 minute plus a match penalty for spearing, leaving the Clippers down a player less than 5 minutes into the game. The Clippers penalty killing unit held Powell River off the board for 4:50 of the 5 minute penalty, before the Kings scored to take a 2-1 lead. The first period was littered with after-the-whistle action and a plethora of shots, 15 for Nanaimo and 12 for Powell River.
The second period was much of the same, both teams playing solid defensive hockey. The only goal of the second period came from recently acquired Clippers defender, Alex Sukunda, who scored his first goal as a Clipper. Sukunda took a pass from Jake Hewitt, glided down the sideboards before cutting towards the net and firing a sharp angled laser that snuck over the shoulder of Kings Goalie, Zak Brice. The Clippers headed to the locker room tied 2-2, in what was a tightly contested period.
The third period started with the Kings going on an early power-play as Quebec native, Jérémie Payant took a hooking penalty a minute in. The Kings were unable to capitalize with the extra skater, and took a penalty of their own. Kings forward Karter McNarland sat down for 2 minutes for a slashing call. A short lived 4 on 4 resulted in no chances for either side. McNarland returned to the sin bin again, this time for a trip, and gave the Clippers a full power-play. The Clippers were buzzing around the offensive zone, Tristan Fraser was fed a seeing eye pass from Austin Spiridakis and was robbed of a goal by the Kings goalie. Nanaimo maintained control for the majority of the power-play and with 13 seconds left on it, Whistler born Kai Daniells whistled a rebound through a crowded net front to regain a 3-2 Clipper lead. Two minutes later, the Kings retaliated with a goal of their own to tie the game a second time. The Clippers responded shortly after when Keighan Gerrie wheeled around the offensive zone for what seemed like an eternity, drawing multiple Kings defenders. With most of the attention on Gerrie, he spotted a wide open Ethan Mistry who had snuck down from his blue line position to guide the puck into the net to take a 4-3 lead with only eight minutes remaining. The Kings wouldn’t be sent to the ferry terminal so easy, however, as they tied the game for a third time. Both teams locked down defensively for the remainder of the period, but an errant clearing attempt by the Kings goalie sailed over the glass for a delay of game penalty with 40 seconds to go.
The Clippers were unable to capitalize during regulation, but started overtime with a 4 on 3 advantage for the first minute of OT. Powell River blocked an Andrew Noel one-timer attempt, forcing the Clippers to regroup. Running the same play, Maynard, Mass. product Noel wouldn’t be denied a second time. Noel’s one timer from Keighan Gerrie sailed over the goaltenders shoulder and tickled the twine to give the Clippers an overtime victory on Alumni Night. For his game winning effort, Noel was awarded the first star of the game. Ethan Mistry was second star and Kings forward Hunter Andrew was named third star for his performance. Opening goal scorer Max Itagaki earned FortisBC Energy Player of the Game.
The Clippers look to finish their three games in three days stretch with another win, tonight at Frank Crane Arena against the 18-16 Surrey Eagles presented by Wildplay. Tickets can be purchased at Nanaimoclippers.com or at the Frank Crane box office before the game.
Written by Malcom Cooke
Recap presented by NextGen Automation
https://www.nextgenautomation.com/
