It is difficult to tell from the results on the weekend exactly where Powell River Kings stand in terms of readiness, but with final cuts to be made the busload of players gave it everything they had.
A 3-1 win in Coquitlam and 3-1 loss in Langley were- supposed to include a third game on Sunday afternoon but when Surrey changed coaches they also changed their minds about meeting the Kings.
Such as it is, Powell River coaches got an abbreviated chance to see their players in action and get closer to the 22-man roster.
Certainly, as in years past, Kings are solid in the net. Rookie Jeff Smith made several key stops to get the win against Coquitlam Express with 32 saves on Friday night, August 30, while Jonah Imoo looked extremely sharp as he turned away 34 of 36 shots in the 3-1 loss on Saturday night against Langley Rivermen.
On the offensive side of the game, Kings opened the scoring in Coquitlam on a goal from Drew Dorantes exactly four minutes in, added a powerplay goal by JJ Coleshaw in the second and went into the final period leading 2-1.
Smith then held off the Express in the third until Lucas Grayson clinched it with a minute and change to go.
Coaches made some minor changes in game two versus Langley but the Rivermen had it a little more together in their fourth exhibition game to edge the Kings 3-1.
Langley opened the scoring in the first period but the Kings couldn’t get untracked until late in the second when Jared Lukosevicius converted a nice set-up from linemates Dorantes and Kurt Keats.
Langley answered with a breakaway goal and another late in the game on an empty-netter to get their third pre-season win.
Obviously, it is too early to tell what the Kings have this year but after the first two games coaches are encouraged by what they see.
“We were pretty rusty both games,” admitted assistant coach Chad van Diemen. “It was clear that they both had played a few more exhibition games.” However, van Diemen was “very happy with the goaltending in both games,” but he added, “a lot of room for improvement in our own zone. We definitely need to clean some things up but overall a good building block and gage of where we go from here.”
From here, Kings go to the BC Hockey League showcase in Chilliwack and start their season with a game against the host Chiefs at 7 pm on Saturday, September 7. They return to the ice the next morning at 10:30 am to play the Salmon Arm Silverbacks.
