The Powell River Kings became the first club to punch their ticket to the Conference Finals, defeating the Langley Chiefs by a 3-0 score to secure a series sweep at the Langley Events Centre.
In a game that was otherwise a saw-off offensively, the Kings struck for a pair of goals in the span of 16 seconds late in the first period to take a lead that they would never relinquish. Much like a night earlier, where the visitors held the Chiefs to eight total shots after the first intermission, Powell River shut down Langley offence over the final 40 minutes. Kings starter Josh Watson saw just 20 pucks on the evening, including five each in the second and third periods.
Justin DaSilva opened the scoring, beating Langley's Mark Friesen from the point through a screen and Matt Garbowsky struck again moments later. Garbowsky, who leads all postseason scorers with 20 points, later capped off the game with an empty netter 21 seconds from regulation.
The loss put the finishing touches on a frustrating series for the Chiefs, who managed three goals in a Game 2 loss but otherwise beat Watson just twice in 180 minutes of action.
Powell River now awaits the winner of the Alberni Valley/Nanaimo series, which is tied at two games apiece after the Bulldogs drew even with a 5-1 road victory at the Frank Crane Arena on Saturday evening.
The teams traded goals in the first period, as a power-play effort from the Clippers' Victor Newell was soon answered by another man-advantage goal from Alberni Valley blueliner Kevin Ross.
The Bulldogs took control in the second despite being outshot 14-7, as Matt Hatch scored shorthanded at the 1:48 mark of the frame before David Dziurzynski increased the lead to a pair minutes later. The visitors then added a pair of power-play goals in the third while holding Nanaimo to just four shots in the final 20 minutes.
Frank Slubowski picked up the win for Alberni Valley, allowing just a single goal on 27 shots. At the other end of the ice, the Bulldogs finally succeeded in solving Nanaimo starter Loic Boivin, who made 23 saves while allowing five goals.
The teams will return to the ice for Game 5 on Monday in Alberni Valley. Gametime is 7:00 PM.
