Thank goodness Powell River Kings have a couple of games at home this weekend.
After back-to-back wins against Cowichan Valley Capitals last week at Hap Parker Arena, the Kings embarked on perhaps the most difficult road trip of the season.
Shut out 3-0 in Chilliwack by the Chiefs, 4-0 in Penticton by the Vees and nipped 3-2 by Trail Smoke Eaters, Kings continued to struggle and have extended their road losing streak to six games.
Possibly even more damaging than the points was the loss of some more key components of their lineup.
Already missing the trip were top scorers Evan Richardson (head) and Matt Scarth (shoulder). The list of walking wounded grew when, in the Chilliwack game on Friday, JJ Coleshaw blocked a point shot with his jaw and Jordan Paddock suffered an upper body injury after a hard check into the boards.
In that game the Kings hung in pretty well with the Chiefs until ex-King Tanner Cochrane broke free with the puck at 10:18 of the second period and fired it into the top corner past Braeden Ostepchuk.
That was a surprising turn of events for the Kings who had opened up a 27-19 shot advantage but found themselves down 1-0 after two periods.
In the third Chilliwack took advantage of a couple of powerplay opportunities and added two more goals to make the final score 3-0.
Kings had no time to dwell on the loss as they made their way over the Coquihalla Highway to play Penticton on Saturday.
After enduring the agony of their third visiting home opener appearance this year, Kings looked to exact some revenge on this one for the team that eliminated them from the
Fred Page Cup last year.
The game, however, ended in similar fashion to the final series last year with a score of 4-0.
Outshot 33-16, the Kings never got untracked as the Vees scored the winner in the first period and added three more in the third.
What more could a team ask for to end a gruelling road trip than to finish up in the southeast corner of the province.
Trail, who was also playing their third game in three days, lost to the Warriors in Kelowna 9-2 on Friday but bounced back to blank Vernon 3-0 in Trail on Saturday.
Tired but desperate for their first road victory, Kings played their best game of the trip.
They outshot the Smoke Eaters 39-26 overall and opened the scoring with James Neil’s first of the year at 5:07 of the first period.
Trail answered to tie 1-1 after one period and then took the lead 2-1 at 9:31 of the second period.
Kings dug deep to even the score 2-2 with Jarryd Leung’s fourth of the year at 11:16 but a late defensive lapse cost the Kings when Trail got the heartbreaking winner at 19:12.
This was a cruel ending considering the Kings’ situation but a result, nonetheless, that probably reflects the performance of the team so far.
Two goals in three games is not going to cut it and defensively the Kings still have a propensity to give up too many odd man rushes.
Granted, injuries to key players and a brutal road schedule to start the year are complicating things but coach and general manager Kent Lewis wants his charges to turn negatives into positives.
“Yes, we’re dealing with adversity,” he said, “but you’re going to get that every year.” He added, philosophically, “It’s how you deal with it and the thing is to accept it as a challenge, perhaps even embrace it.”
His team gets a chance to do that at home as they welcome Merritt Centennials at 7:30 pm on Friday, October 5 and then division-leading Victoria Grizzlies at 7:30 pm on Saturday, October 6.
