Powell River Kings have been gone so long even the familiar faces were unfamiliar but after an exciting 4-3 win over Alberni Valley Bulldogs fans were thrilled with what they saw.
The weather was more suited to a day at the beach but 800 fans enjoyed a tailgate party and a chance to cheer on the Kings in their home opener.
Alberni was coming off a 4-3 overtime win in Victoria on Friday, October 3, and 4-3 loss to the Grizzlies Saturday at home before taking the early ferry on Sunday morning.
Kings eagerly awaited the arrival of the tired Bulldogs but perhaps the excitement of the home opener was an early equalizer.
“We were just a little flat,” shrugged head coach and general manager Kent Lewis, “but we were resilient, stuck with it and came back.”
King’s Kurt Keats agreed saying, “This is my fourth year of junior hockey and I still get butterflies on opening day.”
An example of what they were talking about was the early missed opportunities on the power play.
Kings had two in a row in the middle of the first period where just one shot was recorded with the man advantage. However, neither team could find the net in a period that registered just eight shots for the Kings and nine for the Bulldogs.
Alberni opened the scoring at 1:29 of the second on the power play but the Kings answered almost immediately at 2:07 when, on a two on one, Nic Gomerich used his winger as a decoy and fired in a wrist shot.
After two Bulldogs’ goals in the middle of the period threatened to spoil the Kings’ party, rookie Jonny Evans circled to the high slot and wristed in his first BC Hockey League goal at 12:23.
It had to happen at some point but the Kings started to take over the game in the third and were rewarded, once again, on the power play when Jarid Lukosevicius turned a nice passing play into his fourth of the season and tied the game 3-3.
Just as they had in their loss the night before, the Bulldogs turned the puck over inside their own blue line and it cost them the game.
“Luko made a great pass down to me,” Jacob Pritchard said, smiling after the game, “and it was just me and the goalie and I was fortunate to score. I knew I had a ton of time so I held on and waited a second for the goalie to go down and went up top.”
The goal fooled a few people, including the referee and goal judge, but Pritchard wasn’t worried saying, “They thought it hit the crossbar but it hit the backbar and I knew it was in.”
Of the comeback he said, “We were down by a goal going into third so for us to come back that’s huge. We wanted the win and we deserved to win that game.”
One of the reasons the Kings were within reach of the Bulldogs was the play of goalie Brett Magnus who stopped a number of good scoring chances.
“It’s a big relief,” said 20-year-old Magnus of his first win for the Kings. “It’s a load off my back and it’s a lot better than losing.”
He’s not only adjusting to a new team in a new system but he also commented on the BCHL versus the Central Canada Hockey League where he played last year.
“I’d say it’s a little faster, everyone’s here to compete and everyone is here to play, big time,” he said. “Smarter shots, passes around the net, waiting for lanes to open, the players seem to be better at that.”
The early problems on the power play were solved by the Kings who used it to come back in the game.
“More shots for sure is something we definitely want to work on,” claimed Keats. “We have a lot of skill on both units but definitely need to get more shots.”
It seems the more they play the better they get and if that’s the case then the Kings will thrive on the upcoming schedule.
They host Trail Smoke Eaters at 7:15 pm on Friday, October 10, and Coquitlam Express at 1:30 pm on Sunday, October 12, before playing four games in six nights the following week.
