It hasn’t been easy, but Powell River Kings have overcome absences, injuries and a tough schedule to finally call themselves a winning team.
The 500 barrier, meaning the club has won more games than it has lost this season, has been an elusive target for the club so far but a pair of 4-3 wins, first over Trail Smoke Eaters on Friday, November 30 and then Nanaimo Clippers on Saturday, gave them a much loftier view in the standings.
Coach and general manager Kent Lewis has consistently said this year’s team, “is a work in progress,” and possibly the glimpses of success are a sign that they are heading in the right direction.
Friday’s game was a positive one in the sense that the Kings prevailed despite a rather spotty performance.
They fell behind 1-0 midway through the first period but Bradley Parker and Stephen Hiff made it 2-1 after one.
Parker, who was filling in for injured Matt Dupont on the second line, gave the Kings a two-goal lead when he broke free and slipped the puck through the five hole.
Trail had a great chance to pull closer when they were awarded a penalty shot, but Jonah Imoo stood his ground and watched Trail’s Luke Sandler fire the puck harmlessly over the net.
The Smokies did manage to pick up a powerplay goal before the end of the period, but Parker shone again early in the third period. He fed JP Villeneuve perfectly in the slot, on a two-on-one rush, where Villeneuve picked the top corner to make it 4-2.
Trail was persistent, however, and scored to get to within one, but a too-many-men penalty killed their chances to do any more damage.
Kings admittedly weren’t at their best, but their best on this night was good enough to secure two points.
“It comes down to one thing,” said Lewis. “Maturity. When you think something is going to be easy that’s how you play and for whatever reason we’re pretty easy to please ourselves. We played a pretty good game earlier against Nanaimo and our practices this week were not where we needed to be and it caught up to us tonight.”
Game’s first star Parker agreed wholeheartedly and, while he stepped up to score twice and add an assist, he said, “We had to be better tonight, because tomorrow we have to go into Nanaimo and play a big and solid team. We can’t be satisfied with tonight’s win where we kind of let them back in the game. We have to learn to shut them down and be more consistent.”
Nanaimo was everything he said but add “angry” to it after losing 6-1 to Victoria Grizzlies on Friday.
Kings almost shut out two teams last year on Teddy Bear night, so the Clippers were hoping to score early this year to bring down the bears.
They got their wish at just 2:05 of the first but the determined Kings erased that deficit on JJ Coleshaw’s goal and then Matt Scarth scored to lead 2-1 after one period.
After a scoreless second period the teams each traded a pair of goals to give the Kings their second 4-3 win in two nights.
Hiff and Drew Dorantes did the damage for the Kings while Imoo made 24 saves for his 12th win of the year.
The result had the same score as in the Trail game the night before, but overall it was a much improved effort by the Kings.
“The bottom line for this team is how to please this grumpy old coach,” kidded Lewis, “and it’s two words we use: piss and vinegar, and it’s hard work.”
Kings have just one game this weekend and it’s a big one against first place Grizzlies at 7:30 pm on Friday, December 7 at Hap Parker Arena.
