Two third period goals propelled the Powell River Kings to a 3-2 BCHL exhibition win over the Coquitlam Express before about 200 hockey fans Sunday afternoon in Gibsons.
Coquitlam opened the scoring less than two minutes into the contest when Justin Georgsen fired a high shot from just inside the blue line that beat Kings' goalie Billy McGladrey over the shoulder.
Powell River tied up the contest 13 minutes later as Brandon Tidy scored his first of two goals on the day and the teams skated off tied 1-1 after the first.
Coquitlam came out hard in the second and saw John Siemer snap a wicked wrist shot top shelf behind McGladrey at the 6:41 mark and Coquitlam led by one after two.
The Express got into penalty problems in the third and it cost them as Tidy tied the game at 2-2 at the five-minute mark and Brenden Forbes scored the game winner on the power play with seven minutes to go.
The final seven minutes produced lots of rough stuff with a bit of a parade to the penalty box.
"It was a better third period. The first was OK, but the start of the second was pretty bad for about the first eight or nine minutes," said Kings' associate head coach and assistant general manager Chad van Dieman. "But the guys really responded in the third. It's good to see that our guys kept their composure, and the power play gave us the chance. We're happy to come out with the win."
With the win, the Kings finished the pre-season with a 4-0 record while the Express dropped to 1-2.
"I think in a 60-minute game we played pretty well for 50. In the third period we became undisciplined and took some penalties, which caused us some problems," said Express head coach Jon Calvano. "For 45 to 50 minutes, I thought we played well. We're playing physical. We were hard on the forecheck, our goaltender played quite well and made some good saves out there. But it's exhibition and that's what it's about - there's no two points. It's a chance to test ourselves against some of the best teams in the league."
The Express open the season at home Sept. 23 against Penticton while the Kings open at home the same night against Nanaimo.
The game was highlighted by a minor hockey mini game from the Tyke division and a performance from Sunshine Coast Figure Skating Club member Caitlin Jarvis.
At the start of the game after the singing of the national anthem, first responders from the Coast, including RCMP, paramedics and firefighters made their way onto the ice where a moment of silence was observed in remembrance of the victims of 9/11. Gibsons Fire Chief Bob Stevens performed the ceremonial puck drop between the two team captains.
