Michael Garteig is having the time of his life and the year of his young career. Over the weekend he allowed just two goals in three games, picked up three first-star-of-the-game awards and collected his seventh shutout of the season which ties a BC Hockey League record.
Powell River Kings battled through a tough week to beat Surrey Eagles 3-0, Coquitlam Express 5-1 and Langley Chiefs 2-1, and with the wins clinched top spot in the Coastal Conference.
Finishing first earned them a bye in the first round of the playoffs, home ice advantage throughout the post season and to top it off a share of the shutout record for Garteig with Brad Thiessen.
First stop in Surrey on Thursday was a Kings’ classic when Matt Garbowsky scored in the first period, Cohen Adair in the second and Andrew Pettitt in the third. Garteig and the best defence corps in the league threw up a wall, creating the 3-0 shutout.
Second stop on the road trip was in Coquitlam and the Kings got off to an even better start when Brenden Forbes and Garbowsky scored in the first four minutes to jump out to a 2-0 lead.
Coquitlam quickly dashed the Kings’ hopes of a second consecutive shutout by scoring four minutes later but as they have done 21 times so far this year, Kings held the opposition to a single goal and won 5-1.
Pettitt, Brendan Hawryluk and Forbes, with his second of the game, rounded out the scoring and Garteig was sharp for the Kings’ 40th win of the season.
Not all of the news was good for the Kings in this game as Garbowsky limped off the ice in the second period after he was kneed by Coquitlam’s Matthew Hutchinson. Hutchinson’s blatant attempt to injure the Kings’ sniper forced Garbowsky to miss the rest of the Lower Mainland action but happily the damage was limited.
With Daniel Schuler and Garbowsky on the shelf Kings made the final stop of their trip in Langley on Saturday night and pulled out an amazing win over the Chiefs.
For the third consecutive game, Kings showed why they are ranked number two in Canadian Junior A Hockey League rankings.
After a scoreless first period, Bond Hawryluk and Justin Dasilva put the Kings up 2-0 after two periods which was plenty for the Kings to work with.
Chiefs did score on the powerplay in the middle of the third period but they were fit to be tied by the end of the game with the Kings’ impenetrable defence.
Kings suffered another injury to a key forward when Adair left the game after a collision with Chiefs’ defenceman Dillon Scholten.
Bruised but happy the Kings returned to Powell River within a win of securing the Chevrolet Cup, an award given to the top league club after the regular season.
“We’ll obviously, through these next six games, be able to use some APs [affiliate players] in certain situations and we’re going to be smart about the way we use the time,” explained coach Kent Lewis. “It’s a great time for us, not only to get rested but to get better and I know it’s a couple of weeks down the road, but the bye is a good thing.”
Of Garteig’s achievement Lewis said, “It is a great accomplishment for Michael but in saying that it is also for our team. Obviously it takes a goaltender to do it but our team is very good defensively so it’s a nice thing for him and it’s a nice thing for his teammates.”
Kings host Surrey Eagles at 7:30 pm on Friday, February 11 before they depart to play Cowichan Valley Capitals on Saturday, February 12. They return to Powell River to host Coquitlam Express at 1:30 pm on Sunday afternoon, February 13.
Kings Scroll:
Michael Garteig won BCHL player of the week honours.
DIVISION: Coastal Conference
TEAM GP W L T OTL PTS
Powell River 54 41 8 3 2 87
Surrey 54 33 18 1 2 69
Langley 57 28 21 1 7 64
Victoria 55 29 23 0 3 61
Nanaimo 56 27 22 1 6 61
Alberni Valley 55 22 26 4 3 51
Coquitlam 53 19 24 1 9 48
Cowichan Valley 55 20 27 1 7 48
