The penalty killing proved key, as the Grandview Steelers blanked the Richmond Sockeyes' powerplay en route to a 3-1 victory in Game 1 of their Pacific Junior B Hockey League quarter-final at the Burnaby Winter Club on Wednesday.
Adam Rota's powerplay marker six minutes into the third proved to be the game-winner, giving Grandview a temporary 2-0 lead after Anthony Benevoli had opened the scoring midway through the first.
While Richmond went 0-for-5 with the extra attacker, the Steelers won the specialty teams battle. Nico Bruno buried his shot into the empty net with 1:21 remaining to round out the scoring.
Matteo Paler-Chow turned aside 22 shots, while at the other end Grandview tested Merek Pipes with 31 shots.
Game 2 in the series was played Thursday, past the NOW's deadline. The series continues Sunday, 4 p.m. when Richmond visits the Burnaby Winter Club. Game 4 is slated for Monday at the Richmond Arena, while Game 5 goes next Wednesday, 7:15 p.m. in Burnaby.
