Sorry about the lateness of this recap. The team travelled from Salmon Arm to Langley last night, then were up very early to get back to Powell River, at which point I went straight to work.
The Kings held a 2-0 lead, but were reigned in before the 2nd intermission. However an ‘own-goal’ from a “former King” wound up being the game winner in a 5-2 decision against Salmon Arm.
Here are some thoughts from the game:
- Salmon Arm came out strong in the 1st period, getting 2-3 great chances on Jonah Imoo on the first shift, 10-15 seconds into the period. Credit Imoo for standing tall, and the Kings defence scrambling in close.
- After that first wave, the Kings began to take take control, with multiple rushes and some nice cycles in the offensive zone. Evan Richardson’s blue line to goal rush showed skill and speed, and resulted in his 8th of the year. Richardson has missed scoring in just 2 games since returning from the World Junior A Challenge, 6-16-22 in 11 of the last 13 games for #22.
- Good on Landon Robin. He’s been consistently getting better and better, and finally was rewarded with a goal early into the 2nd period. He also did it with his Mum and Dad in the crowd. Dickson and Lori Robin followed the team around this weekend, making the trip from Saskatoon to watch Landon play and support the team.
- Also on the trip were the Burns’. I spoke with Jordan’s Mum and his Grandfather throughout. Burns was good this weekend, and went unrewarded in the goal scoring department, but played well in front of his home town, then again on Sunday. On a side note, Jordan’s mother apparently made cookies for the team in Salmon Arm. I say apparently, as they never made their way up to the broadcaster’s seat on the bus…weird.
- Back to the game and the Kings slowed in the 2nd period and let a 2-goal lead slip. Give Salmon Arm credit, they pushed back and tied the game up, but the Kings definitely took the foot off the accelerator. Momentum slipped when Richardson faught a Silverbacks player. It was more of a wrestling match, in which Evan got 2 for instigating, the 5 for fighting at a 10-minute misconduct.
- 3rd period and the Kings were looking for someone to step up and restore the lead. The team was undefeated in regulation when leading by 2 at any point this season (15-0-0-1) and needed to preserve that. Enter JP Villeneuve. He was fantastic all weekend long and led by example. The go-ahead and eventually game winning goal was a rush down the left wing, throwing one towards net. In off Steven Iacobellis’ leg along in front and the Kings with the lead. Villeneuve added another and again, was excellent all night. Got snubbed in the 3-stars of the game unfortunately, but I’m thinking that doesn’t matter much.
- With the lead, the Kings closed the game out, the Silverbacks looked defeated and the game was the Kings. Great all-round effort, minus a bit of a dip in the 2nd period.
- One thing we haven’t mentioned is the knee-on-knee hit on Stephen Hiff. Getting a loose puck at centre, and skating parallel to the blue line to allow Matt Scarth back on-side, Hiff collided with Brayden Sherbinin knee-on-knee. Hiff left the game immediately, but ended up returning. There was no call on the play. It looked pretty bad on video after the game.
Three Stars of the Game:
- Jonah Imoo (Kings) – 27 saves
- Noah Henry (Kings) – 1 assist
- Brayden Sherbinin (Silverbacks) – 1 assist
great weekend for the kings!
glad to see Hiffer back on the ice!
glad to see the team bring home two out of three wins!
go kings go!