Prior to the start of this season Powell River Kings traded for Kurt Keats and called him an impact player.
Two wins, 3-2 in overtime on Friday and 5-0 Saturday, clearly illustrated his significant influence as he returned to the Kings from the World Junior A Championships.
The captain of bronze-medalist Team West said the opportunity to wear a Canadian jersey again, “was awesome to get the invite back and then to make the team,” he said. “To be named the captain, obviously, was pretty exciting for me and my family.”
Team West won its pool but a quarterfinal loss to Russia meant it had to regroup to win the bronze medal game 5-3 against Switzerland.
“Bronze is tough,” admitted Keats, “because anytime you play for Canada you go in expecting the gold. But it’s nice to have the bronze.”
The first of two games against Alberni Valley Bulldogs at Hap Parker Arena was the much-anticipated Teddy Bear Toss and Kings’ Jarryd Leung brought them down at 5:22 of the first period.
A ton of credit goes to the Kings and Rona Building Centre for quick collection and resumption of the game. Unfortunately, the Bulldogs scored next to tie 1-1 after one period.
Luke Nogard put the Kings up 2-1 after two periods but the Bulldogs forced overtime with a late goal in the third.
The 2-2 tie was broken at 2:29 of the first overtime when Keats took the puck deep behind the Bulldog net and spotted Matt Scarth in front for a perfect pass and the winning goal.
“I drove the defenceman wide,” said Keats. “I actually got high-sticked and it popped my visor up, but I just saw Scarth there and fed it to him. It was a big win for us.”
Assistant coach Chad van Diemen agreed. “I thought the effort was there and it was a good start to the weekend.”
Smiles were evident due to the return of several regulars to the lineup. “That’s the first game all year with our forward group intact,” he said. “With the depth we’ve got up front sometimes it can be tough to get everyone into the game and rolling. It’s nice to have the depth but they’ve got to make the most of their ice time and make the most of powerplay chances when they get them.”
Come playoff time, good teams have good depth, he added. “That’s why we’ve built our team the way we have this year,” he said, “and we really like our forward group.”
It was tough to beat the excitement of game one, but the 5-0 rematch on Saturday reinforced what van Diemen was talking about.
With a win under its belt, Kings seemed to play with even more confidence than usual and that transcended into some very nice goals.
Scarth, Keats and Nogard got three of them while Drew Dorantes used his speed and willingness to drive to the net to collect two more for a team-leading total of 14.
His first goal came off a slick two-on-one pass from his winger JJ Coleshaw.
“I was 10 feet behind [Coleshaw] screaming for it,” said Dorantes, “and JJ is a good player and he knows where I’m at. He found me perfectly and I just did what I had to do and put it in the net.”
Kings are among the leaders in team scoring but they pride themselves on defence and have one of the best goaltending tandems in the league.
Jonah Imoo picked up his ninth win on Friday while Jeff Smith, who leads the BC Hockey League in goals against (1.88), picked up his second shutout and eighth win Saturday.
Kings will dust off their suitcases this week after a lengthy home stand with a visit to Vancouver Island.
On Wednesday, November 20, they are in Nanaimo to play the Clippers and Thursday, November 21, they play Alberni Valley, before returning to Powell River to face Victoria Grizzlies at 7:30 pm on Saturday, November 23.
Kings Scroll:
The two weekend wins move the Kings from fifth to fourth in the Canadian Junior Hockey League’s national rankings.
DIVISION: Interior Division
TEAM GP W L T OTL PTS
Vernon 25 13 6 2 4 32
Merritt 26 15 9 1 1 32
Penticton 22 14 5 1 2 31
Salmon Arm 25 13 8 1 3 30
W.Kelowna 23 13 8 0 2 28
Trail 26 7 16 2 1 17
DIVISION: Island Division
TEAM GP W L T OTL PTS
Powell River 22 17 4 0 1 35
Victoria 25 15 7 2 1 33
Nanaimo 25 13 11 0 1 27
Cowichan Valley 27 11 15 0 1 23
Alberni Valley 26 5 17 2 2 14
DIVISION: Mainland Division
TEAM GP W L T OTL PTS
Prince George 26 14 8 2 2 32
Langley 25 14 8 1 2 31
Coquitlam 23 10 11 0 2 22
Surrey 26 10 15 1 0 21
Chilliwack 24 6 15 1 2 15
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