Three more losses on the weekend have concluded with Powell River Kings saying ‘stick it’ to the Big Stick in Duncan.
They lost a road trip opener 5-3 on Wednesday against Cowichan Capitals, then fell 3-1 to the Victoria Grizzlies in the capital city on Friday. After a couple of days off, they went back to the island to lose their fourth in a row to the Caps 7-5.
Kings’ early season success was achieved with hard work, scoring first and proven defensive systems backed by solid goaltending. In fact they won eight of their first 10 games using this formula, but lately the Kings have been outhustled, outscored and outshot by their opponents, which has shaken their confidence.
Last Wednesday the Capitals scored three times in the first period and again in the second before the Kings could get untracked.
Down 4-0 heading into the final period King’s forwards Liam Lawson, Kyle Betts and Mitchell Hawes scored to give a glimmer of hope but Cowichan doused the flickering flame with a couple of late goals and a 6-3 victory.
Kings went 0-6 on the power play. Goalie Jeff Smith, usually solid in the net, took the loss and was pulled after eight minutes when he allowed three goals on just five shots.
Next up was Victoria and once again Kings limped out of the gate. Against the island division cellar dwellers, Kings were outshot 14-7 in the opening period and Grizzlies potted a couple against Smith to jump out to a 2-0 lead.
Victoria added one more in the second period on the power play before the Kings could get on the scoreboard in the third.
Kings were 0-5 on the power play in this game but right after one of them had expired Austin Kamer got loose in the slot and roofed a shot to spoil Victoria’s shutout bid in loss.
Treats were far and few between for the Kings this week but the Hallowe’en trick came in the form of a return engagement, their fourth and last of the year, in Duncan on Sunday afternoon.
They started this one with a lot more energy and early possession but the Caps scored against the flow at 2:45 on starter Stefan Wornig to go up 1-0.
Give the Kings credit for responding quickly when forward Chris Protopoulos used his quickness to score his first British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) goal at 5:42 and get them back in the game.
Caps, though, got another at 6:12 before an encouraging sign on Jeremy Leclerc’s power-play goal at 17:55 to tie 2-2 after one period.
Cowichan scored the next two goals but again the King’s power play clicked with Hawes redirecting Rylan Ball’s point shot at 13:56 to end the second period 4-3.
The seesaw battle carried on through the third period with the teams exchanging goals to make the final score 7-5 for the Capitals.
Kings notched a couple of third-period goals from Lawson, while Cowichan scored twice on Wornig and added an empty netter at 19:10.
Although the loss extended the King’s losing streak to six games, the good news is they scored multiple power-play goals for the first time since a showcase win over Coquitlam in September. The five goals was one more than the total of four scored in their last four games.
On that positive note, Kings finally get some home cooking with five out of eight games in November at home leading off this week with a couple of sub .500 teams.
They welcome former assistant coach Chad van Diemen and Prince George Spruce Kings back to Hap Parker Arena on Friday, November 6 at 7:15 pm and then Tuesday, November 10 Victoria visits at 7 pm.
