Home sweet home. That was the mantra heading into the first weekend of a nine-game home stand at Hap Parker Arena, which gives the Kings an opportunity to rest, recharge and make a run at first place in BC Hockey League Island Division standings.
On Friday night, Powell River entertained Alberni Valley Bulldogs. Two weeks prior, via a lopsided 6-1 score, Bulldogs earned their first win against the Kings in five attempts this season.
Kings took advantage of a furious pace to the game with several early chances and shots on goal, but were unable to beat the Bulldogs goaltender until Austin Kamer converted a pass from Gavin Rauser 7:03 into the first period.
Kings continued to mount attacks but were victims of their own success, either due to the Bulldogs netminder, or by over handling the puck. Kings outshot Alberni Valley 15-6 in the first period.
The same trend continued in the second period and throughout early stages of the third. Kings eventually found the insurance goal through a Kyle Betts shorthanded rush for a 2-0 lead. After Alberni Valley scored on the same power play to cut the lead to one, Nick Halagian added an empty-net goal with 1:13 remaining to seal the victory. Stefan Wornig stopped 31 shots for his sixth win of the season and fourth against the Bulldogs.
"Full credit to their goalie; he played really well," said Rauser about the Kings getting 40 shots on goal. "You could feel it coming all night, we put a lot on net tonight and great job by Betts, using his jets and finally getting that insurance."
The mismatch in goals to shots Friday night did not concern Kings staff following the game.
"We need to be more ready for rebounds on the power play, but I thought we had some looks, put a lot of shots at the net, but just didn't bury them," said head coach Kent Lewis. "I liked that the game was contested, I liked our jump and it was a good 60 minutes."
Sunday afternoon's game versus Surrey Eagles had a similar start, with Kings taking the advantage in shots and scoring chances, but ending up down a goal after the first period.
A five-goal second period, led by a pair from Rauser, helped the Kings take a 5-2 advantage after 40 minutes. Betts scored the eventual winner goal on a power play while Jonny Evans and Carter Turnbull added one each.
Kings cruised in the third period on the way to a 7-2 win. Evans added his second and Chris Protopoulos scored with less than a minute remaining.
Wornig, starting his sixth consecutive game in the absence of the injured goaltender Jeff Smith, stopped 19 shots for his third straight win, improving his record to seven wins and nine losses.
"Even with the lead it wasn't until the final buzzer when we really felt comfortable," said Kings defenceman Adam Brubacher. "After the second period, we knew it'd be tough and we had to score a couple more goals to give us a bit of cushion."
Powell River outshot Surrey 46-21, piling on pressure after a 10-6 advantage after the first period.
"The first was a pretty solid period, our effort was there, but we didn't throw enough towards the net. Our 10 shots weren't high quality," said Kings assistant Brock Sawyer. "We'd come down main street and look to make a pass or a move instead of just putting it on goal. Once we figured that out, we scored some nice goals and generated better scoring chances."
The pair of wins improves Powell River's record to 26-18-0-2, second in the Island Division. The team is 10 points behind Nanaimo and four up on Cowichan Valley.
Kings continue their home stand this weekend, hosting Coquitlam on Friday, January 29, and West Kelowna on Saturday, January 30. Both games start at 7:15 pm.
