Cowichan Valley Capitals – 2
Powell River Kings – 1 (OT)
Matthew Crasa’s fourth of the playoffs tied the game in the final minute and Luc Wilson’s power-play goal in overtime clinched the series as the Cowichan Valley Capitals beat the Powell River Kings 2-1 to win their opening-round series in five games.
Ethan Schmunk continued his strong play this postseason for Powell River when he scored his third of the series just over six minutes into the first period to make it 1-0 after one.
With Kings goalie Derek Krall stopping everything he faced all game long, it looked like that lone goal would be all the scoring in this one, until Crasa beat him with a screened wrist shot with 37 seconds left in the third period to force overtime.
The Caps went to the man advantage 6:07 into overtime and it didn’t take long for them to capitalize as Wilson skated the puck into the offensive zone and and buried his own rebound which set off an epic celebration from the home team.
Krall stopped 32 of 34 shots in the loss, while Cowichan goalie Zach Borgiel made 32 saves and was named the game’s third star.
With the win, Cowichan now has a date with the Island Division champions the Nanaimo Clippers in Round 2.
Vernon Vipers – 8
Wenatchee Wild – 3
Cameron MacDonald had a four-point night and defenceman Hunter Donohoe chipped in with two goals of his own as the Vernon Vipers beat the Wenatchee Wild 8-3 in Game 5 to win the series and advance to the second round.
Vernon came out firing in this one when Logan Cash scored just 23 seconds in. Donohoe and MacDonald would add on in the first before Nick Cafarelli replied for Wenatchee to make it 3-1 after one.
The Wild got one closer in the second on a Matt Dorsey goal early in the frame, but Colby Feist notched his first of the series midway through the period to restore the two-goal lead.
Things broke open in the third with Vernon scoring four times on goals from Connor Marritt, Trey Taylor, MacDonald and Donohoe, while Wenatchee just managed a single tally from Brett Chorske to make it an 8-3 final.
MacDonald was rewarded as the game’s first star for his two-goal, two-assist performance.
This win clears things up in the Interior Division and sets up a date between Vernon and their rivals the Penticton Vees in Round 2.
