Sometimes the best move is to do nothing. Just one Powell River Kings player, centre Bradley Parker, was traded to Kindersley Klippers of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League for future considerations at the January 10 trade deadline. The rest of the team boarded the bus to head for the Interior.
First stop for the Kings was West Kelowna where they got off to a slow start and lost 2-6 to the Warriors. They regrouped with a 6-0 pounding of Vernon Vipers and wrapped up the trip with a 5-2 win over Salmon Arm Silverbacks.
On Friday, January 11, Kings had barely broken a sweat before the Warriors attacked and led 2-0, 3:14 into the game.
Drew Dorantes scored at 0:30 of the second period for the Kings but West Kelowna got the next two to lead 4-1 early in the third.
In keeping with the pattern, Matt Scarth got a powerplay goal at 5:40 but two more gave the Warriors a relatively easy 6-2 win.
Something must have happened on the road between Kelowna and Vernon that got the Kings charged up and back on track.
They were sharp from the drop of the puck at Wesbild Arena on Saturday and on goals from Dorantes, Noah Henry, Jordan Benton and JP Villeneuve, Powell River led Vernon 4-0 after the first period.
To the Kings’ credit, they didn’t sit on the lead and came out firing in the second period to stretch the lead to 6-0 on a goal from James Neil and Villeneuve’s second.
Vipers stepped up their urgency in the third in an attempt to spoil Jonah Imoo’s shutout but Powell River was very good defensively and he recorded his fourth goose egg of the year.
A long trip and a quick turnaround found the Kings in Salmon Arm to face the Silverbacks late afternoon Sunday.
Salmon Arm started slow this year but has played much better after a couple of trades, one that included the acquisition of Steven Iacobellis, a player who refused to report to Powell River from Cowichan Valley Capitals earlier this year.
Kings’ Evan Richardson got the ball rolling when he took a pass from Stephen Hiff at centre and raced down the wing and around the net to stuff the puck in at 10:03.
Kings led 1-0 after the first period and jumped out to a 2-0 lead when Landon Robin got his first as a King at 0:33 of the second.
Salmon Arm, however, evened the score 2-2 at the end of the second period but a strange twist in the third made one wonder about karma.
With a mass of bodies drifting toward the Silverbacks’ net, Villeneuve threw the puck in from the wing and the puck went off the leg of, none other than, Iacobellis and into the net.
The Kings’ third goal, credited to Villeneuve at 7:56, turned out to be the winner but the irony of the moment wasn’t lost on Kings’ fans or players.
Kings seemed energized by the moment and at 11:20 Villeneuve picked up his second of the game for the second game in a row by tipping a Dorantes shot into the net.
Luke Nogard rounded out the scoring when he, Teagan Waugh and Richardson stormed the net and slapped in the puck to make the final 5-2.
Kings’ coach and general manager Kent Lewis has always said that he does not like to move players unless absolutely necessary. He stayed true to form at the mid-season trade deadline.
This week his players rewarded his loyalty with a gritty effort and four big points on a tough road trip played against three very good teams.
They are at home this weekend but play two very good teams that added depth to their lineups.
At 7:30 pm on Friday, January 18 Kings host the defending Royal Bank Cup champions Penticton Vees and same time, same place Saturday, January 19, Nanaimo Clippers.
