“Everyone who bought a ticket is a winner.”
At least that’s how Powell River Kings Dream Lottery organizer Joe Mastrodonato laid it out for the fans and ticket holders who were at the game on Friday night, January 3, at Hap Parker Arena.
Certainly, the importance of the Kings to the city is well documented but the biggest smiles were worn by the 15 winners who had their tickets drawn.
One of them, Louis Perreault, had his pulled for the brand new Chevy Cruze from Massullo Motors and he knew exactly what he was going to do with it.
“I’ve won the 50/50 occasionally and I’ve won the shoot the puck once,” said the excited winner, “but this is a major prize and it’s the first time I’ve won anything like that. I bought the ticket from Joe out front at a game about a month ago. I’m going to keep it [the car] for my wife and she’ll give hers to my son who is graduating university this year.”
To cap off a winning night the Kings also won the game 2-1 against Prince George Spruce Kings but failed in their attempt at a perfect weekend, with a 3-1 loss to Victoria Grizzlies on Saturday.
Over 1,000 fans were treated to a tight but exciting come-from-behind victory for the Kings on Friday.
A little rust in the first period after the break was evident with shots and passes just missing their mark but Prince George, on a nice give-and-go, two-on-one break, made it 1-0 at 19:34.
Not to be outdone in the late period drama department, Kings also scored in the last minute when Jarryd Leung snapped in the tying 1-1 goal from the slot at 19:48 of the second.
Kings kept up the pressure in the third and were rewarded on the hard work of Luke Nogard who rounded the Spruce Kings’ net and kept hammering away on his wraparound until he had the eventual winner in at 6:58.
“A little tentative at first and I thought, ‘here we go and lay an egg,’” confessed coach and general manager Kent Lewis, “but we cleaned up as the game went on and started to dominate it. We told the guys it’s going to come down to execution and want and we got that in the second and third period tonight.”
Kings’ most consistent line of late has been the combination of Leung, Nogard and Stephen Hiff.
“Our line has been working hard so we’re getting a lot of chances,” said Leung, reigning BC Hockey League Player of the Week. “That was a fun game, close game, gets you ready for playoffs because it’s hard and you’ve got to be tight in your defensive zone.”
The next night in Victoria was another big challenge for the Kings but turned out to be a disappointing 3-1 loss to the Island Division leader.
After a close checking scoreless first period Kings drew first blood when JJ Coleshaw tipped a point shot by Grizzlies’ goaltender Alec Dillon 14 seconds into the second period.
Grizzlies replied less than a minute later and took a 2-1 second period lead on the powerplay at 7:52.
Victoria got an early go-ahead goal to make it 3-1 at 1:22 but, even with lots of time left, Kings lacked the finish or discipline to stage a comeback.
The loss gave Victoria a three-point cushion for top spot in the division however the Kings do have a couple of games in hand.
Speaking of hands, it’s time for the Kings to take matters into theirs as 12 of the remaining 20 games on the schedule are against Nanaimo Clippers, Alberni Valley Bulldogs and Cowichan Capitals, all teams below them in the standings.
First up however, Kings host Salmon Arm Silverbacks, the team they lost to 5-0 before the Christmas break, at 7:30 pm on Friday, January 10. Kings play again at 7:30 pm Saturday, January 11, against Nanaimo.
