There is, indeed, a silver lining to every cloud. During one of Powell River King’s darkest moments, they are still able to celebrate a berth in post-season play.
Despite losing a couple of lopsided games last weekend, 9-1 to Alberni Valley Bulldogs and 6-2 to West Kelowna Warriors, they will move on because Cowichan Valley Capitals lost.
The celebration is muted however as they turned in an abysmal performance against Alberni and, although they played better against West Kelowna, were still plagued with defensive breakdowns, spotty goaltending and scoring problems.
Friday’s game against Alberni was billed as a big one but the Bulldogs mauled the Kings early with a wrist shot at 0:23 seconds from 30 feet that beat starter Jonah Imoo high to the far side.
That goal was the first in a furious attack by the Bulldogs that ended with a 6-0 lead after 17:53 of the opening period.
Kings’ Noah Henry made it 6-1 before the end of the frame but the damage was done and the Bulldogs easily skated to an embarrassing 9-1 final.
While fans fled Hap Parker Arena, coach and general manager Kent Lewis’s immediate message was, “I’m sorry,” to the Kings’ faithful.
Disappointment in the performance was from one net to the other. “People may wonder why we kept our goaltender in,” he said, “but you have a game like that and it’s no fun for any of us to be a part of. We have to be accountable...we all have to fight through things and you’ve got to man-up in preparation for your game. You’re not going to run and hide.”
Certainly the Kings have a lot of work to do before the playoffs but their play of late is doing nothing for their confidence going in.
“Confidence comes from success,” said Lewis, “and that comes from playing hard and playing well. I know what we do in practice but it does not transcend into our games. That’s what life is all about, throws you challenges and it’s how you handle them.”
His frustration is shared by players like Matt Scarth, who probably took on more than he could handle in a fight with six-foot, four-inch, 213-pound Marlon Sabo.
Scarth needed an ice bag for each eye after the bout with his much bigger opponent. However, the loss stung more than his injuries.
“Gross,” was his first comment after the game. “You come out in the first 20 minutes and they get six goals in 11 shots. To let it get that bad is embarrassing and the whole night becomes a moan.”
Saturday’s game against the Warriors was a much better effort but sports have a way of kicking teams when they are down. Despite outplaying and outshooting their opponents 44-24, Kings lost 6-2.
“You’ve got to have a short memory,” said Scarth of the psyche going into the game. “At this point you’re just playing for yourself because if you can’t be your best then you’re just hurting everyone else in the room. Tonight was a lot better, but we would play hard for 10 minutes and then it seems like one relapse ends up in the back of our net. Hockey gods make you pay for those.”
Kings have four regular season games to iron things out before their best-of-five game series with Victoria Grizzlies. “We really have to simplify what we’re doing,” said Scarth. “It comes down to hard work and it really comes down to the one-on-one battles.” It also comes down to consistency and each player playing better, he added.
At 7:30 pm Friday, February 22, Kings will host Surrey Eagles at Hap Parker Arena. At the same time and place the following night, they play Nanaimo Clippers.
