Halfway through the schedule and Powell River Kings can add another impressive statistic to their growing list.
They racked up points with an 8-5 win in Chilliwack on Friday, 1-1 tie in Merritt on Saturday and a 2-1 double overtime loss in Prince George Sunday afternoon.
They’ve found some interesting ways to do it but they are the only team to collect points in all of their road games this year.
Kings hoped to jump-start the weekend with a solid effort over the Mainland Division cell dweller but the Chiefs surprised their guests with three goals in the first period to go up 3-1.
Jeff Smith replaced Jonah Imoo in the net to start the second period and Kings reversed the trend by scoring three to the Chiefs’ one.
Tied 4-4 going into the third period, Kings hit their stride and again put three goals on the board to one for the Chiefs and escaped with an uncharacteristically wild 8-5 decision.
Kings were led by Drew Dorantes with a hat trick, and Ryan Scarfo, Jarid Lukosevicius, JJ Coleshaw, Aidan Wright and Kyle Chatham each with one.
Smith got the win in relief with 19 saves on 21 shots from the Chiefs.
Not quite as tidy as they would have liked but with one gritty road win under their belt the Kings motored over the Coquihalla Highway to take on Merritt Centennials the next night.
This game couldn’t have been more different than the one in Chilliwack in that the checking was so tight from the start that the first goal didn’t come until 15:16 of the second period.
Kings’ Jarryd Leung got it and the Kings played with the lead until 4:40 when Jeff Wight of the Centennials hopped on a rebound to beat Smith.
Lucas Grayson took a minor penalty at 18:24 but Smith and the penalty killers did the job and when Grayson got out of the box in the first overtime he chased down a loose puck.
He broke in alone but the five-hole save was made on the best chance to break the tie.
A terrific effort from the Kings who had the better chances to win the game but did everything but bury the winner in the 1-1 tie.
They left with just enough time to pack up, board the bus and shuffle up Highway 97 to Prince George for a 3 pm start on Sunday.
Spruce Kings hadn’t played since Wednesday but they weren’t really the deciding factor in the 3-2 overtime loss.
Leung actually scored the first goal shorthanded but, despite the puck going in and the light going on, it was waived off by the referee who said he had blown it down.
Less than a minute later at 6:54, Prince George went up 1-0 and the Kings’ lack of sleep reared its ugly verbal head and they picked up a bench minor.
Kings were aggressive on the penalty kill again and Scarfo picked up a loose puck and scooted in to tie 1-1 on a nice deke at 8:46.
Prince George took a 2-1 lead on the powerplay at 11:27 and led 3-1 after one period.
The second period was scoreless but two controversial calls in the third period had a big impact on the outcome.
One, a hit from behind and game misconduct on Dorantes behind the Prince George net, and another call on Kurt Keats at centre ice, a hit to the head and game misconduct, had big impacts on the outcome.
Those two players, along with Coleshaw who left with an injury earlier in the game, were sorely missed but the Kings still managed to battle back in the last minute to tie.
With Smith out for an extra attacker, Scarfo circled out from the corner and snapped a shot through traffic and in to force overtime for the second consecutive game.
In the second overtime period Prince George’s Jake Lebrun was stoned by Smith but in the ensuing scramble they got the 3-2 winner at 0:56 seconds.
This week Kings host Chilliwack at 7:30 pm on Friday, December 6 at Hap Parker Arena before travelling to Victoria to take on the Grizzlies Saturday, December 7.
Kings Scroll: Although they remain at the top of the BC Hockey League, the Kings dropped another spot this week, going from sixth to seventh in the Canadian Junior Hockey League standings.
DIVISION: Island Division
TEAM GP W L T OTL PTS
Powell River 28 20 4 2 2 44
Victoria 30 19 7 3 1 42
Nanaimo 31 15 15 0 1 31
Cowichan Valley 32 12 19 0 1 25
Alberni Valley 31 7 20 2 2 18
