After a period of adjustment for a roster heavily laden with rookies, Powell River Kings seem to have turned the corner on their season.
Last week a couple of strong character wins, 4-3 in overtime on Tuesday against Alberni Valley Bulldogs and 6-1 over the Canada Junior Hockey League’s honourably mentioned Chilliwack Chiefs, added an ever-increasing level of confidence for the young players.
After a pre-game ceremony to honour emergency personnel on Remembrance Day, the Bulldogs went on the offensive and quickly opened a two-goal lead.
Brett Magnus had no chance on a screened point shot at 4:24 and then after making a pad save at 17:29 could only watch as the rebound was deposited to make it 2-0.
Kings continued their work ethic, however, and it paid off when Jarid Lukosevicius capitalized on the power play with just four seconds remaining in the first period.
The physical nature of the game, combined with lengthy delays caused by officials’ discussions with anyone who would listen, led to a high level of frustration for the players and fans alike.
Nonetheless, trailing 2-1, the Kings and Bulldogs slogged through a penalty-filled second period with the Kings adding a couple of power-play goals from Kurt Keats and another from Lukosevicius to lead 3-2 after two periods.
Alberni outshot the Kings by a 2-1 margin in the third and tied the game 3-3 on the power play but the Bulldogs’ Dylan Haugen took an undisciplined penalty with 20 seconds to go in regulation.
Keats, a pain for the opposition all day but hero for his fans, scored a nifty goal from behind the Bulldogs’ net to win at 1:32 of the first overtime.
“I saw the goalie’s back off the post there and banked it in off him,” said Keats, smiling. “It was definitely in.”
“I liked our first period,” said Kent Lewis, head coach and general manager. “We were down 2-0 but we were moving and making things happen. With our energy we just kept going and I think their [defence] had a hard time keeping up.”
Keats’ aggressive play drew the wrath of the Bulldogs. “I was expecting us to go on a power play which we did.” However, he wasn’t on the ice for it. “I took the punches on the ground. When I got up and got a 10 [minute misconduct] I was pretty upset with that. We wanted to play hard between the whistles, and let them do the stuff after the whistles. We definitely finished our hits tonight and we’ve got to be better at that game in and game out.”
In their only weekend encounter, Kings were itching to get at a team they’ve lost to twice so far this year.
An opening season 6-3 showcase loss and another a few weeks ago obviously didn’t sit well with the Kings and they shocked the Chiefs with a good 60-minute game to win 6-1.
This game featured the annual Teddy Bear Toss and the fur flew early when Jonny Evans opened the scoring at 3:21 of the first period.
Brent Lashuk and Jacob Pritchard, with a breakaway shorthanded goal, made it 3-0 before the end of the period to give the Kings a comfortable lead.
“There was a guy right on me,” Pritchard said, “but I was always able to stay a step in front of him until I got the shot off.”
The Chiefs’ frustration reared its ugly head early in the second when Evan McEachern drove Lukosevicius head first into the boards. While McEachern was ejected, the Kings’ scoring machine was helped off the ice and missed the rest of the game.
Chippy play continued but more importantly the Kings dominated with Lashuk’s second goal and two more from Pritchard to give him a hat trick in the 6-1 win.
“It was really just the power plays that kept them around,” said Lewis, “but we had to get some big kills.”
Special teams and defence have steadily improved. “It was a rough start this year with guys learning new systems,” said rookie defenceman Nick Nonis. “I think we’ve worked hard to get it back to where it is now, and that’s what this program prides itself on.”
He likes the work ethic on the team. “There’s never really a day off because at our practices you’re always going hard.”
Nonis is happy with his own progress and his decision to come to Powell River. “It’s a great league and definitely taking some adjustment. I feel like I’m getting better every day and it has been a great experience for me so far.”
Kings host Salmon Arm Silverbacks at 7:15 pm on Friday, November 21, and then Victoria Grizzlies at 5 pm on Saturday, November 22.
DIVISION: Island Division
TEAM GP W L T OTL PTS
Nanaimo 22 16 6 0 0 32
Alberni Valley 21 11 7 1 2 25
Powell River 22 10 7 0 5 25
Victoria 20 8 8 0 4 20
Cowichan Valley 22 4 17 0 1 9
