There was a tremendous amount of joy in Hap Parker Arena last weekend as Powell River Kings won a couple of key games near the end of the regular schedule.
They toppled Surrey Eagles 4-1 on Friday night and then, following an alumni exhibition game in the afternoon, downed Cowichan Valley Capitals 5-2 Saturday.
The alumni game, quickly becoming a popular annual event, was played before a small but appreciative crowd and ended 7-6 with the winner scored by none other than Kings’ coach and general manager Kent Lewis.
“More and more guys are coming every year,” said Lewis gratefully, “and maybe I bridge the gap because I coached a lot of them.They’ve also kept in contact with their billets who were a big part of their lives. The program is rich in history, rich in tradition and rich in great people so it’s great to see them get together.”
The ex-Kings got to see a good weekend schedule that began with the Kings’ domination of Surrey.
Captain Aidan Wright led the way with a powerplay blast from the point at 18:14 and Curtis McCarrick added another at 19:16 to give the Kings a 2-0 lead after one period.
The game’s first star Jarid Lukosevicius converted a couple of neat passes from Kurt Keats to round out the scoring while netminder Jeff Smith allowed just a single goal to collect the win.
There were plenty of good things to talk about but it was very apparent that the Kings took their coach’s advice from last week—they trusted their instincts, executed and worked very, very hard for 60 minutes.
“We did a lot of good things and we didn’t give up a lot,” said Lewis. “Now we need to follow up what we did day to day.”
One of the leaders on the team, Keats, agreed saying, “When you get that monkey on your back it’s tough to get it off. We’ve worked hard and tried to stay positive in the room.”
Of the tough game the next day against Cowichan, which is currently tied for the final playoff berth, he said flatly, “they work hard but we want it just as bad.”
His determination was evident against the Capitals where he and linemates Lukosevicius and Luke McCaw combined for nine points in the 5-2 victory.
Kings never trailed in the game but early on it was a see-saw battle knotted at 2-2 midway through the second period, on goals from Keats and Lukosevicius.
Powell River turned it up a notch from there on a powerplay goal from Brian Rideout to end the second and then a shorthanded goal from Lukosevicius and an empty netter by Drew Dorantes sealed the win.
Perhaps the frustration of a very long day got the best of Cowichan’s coach Bob Beatty, who was ejected from the game after disagreeing with the referee and slamming a stick over the boards.
Kings, for their part, had another solid effort and second win in a row which made everyone, including their coach, very happy.
“I liked it a lot,” he said. “We had a good week of practice and we played hard and good things happen when you play hard.”
Execution was a big part of both games and goalie Smith made some incredible saves at key moments.
“I haven’t been solid the last few weeks,” he admitted, “so I felt I had to come up big and play like I had in the beginning of the season. It’s a big bounce back for the Kings and myself,” he said of the weekend success.
Also starring was Lukosevicius whose shorthanded goal was the cherry on top.
“Rideout chipped it up the glass and I broke through the d-men,” he said. “My backhand shot hit the goalie somewhere and the rebound went off my shoulder. We’re definitely feeling pretty good and we hope to feed off these wins.”
Just two games remain before the playoffs. Kings visit Nanaimo Clippers on Friday, February 28, and wind up the regular schedule in Alberni Valley against the Bulldogs on Saturday, March 1.
