Three up, three down as Powell River Kings lost 5-1 in Victoria, 5-2 in Langley and 4-1 in West Kelowna, costing them more than points in the standings.
They started the trip without injured forwards Matt Scarth and JJ Coleshaw and defenceman Luke Ripley, then added defencemen Brian Rideout and Captain Aidan Wright to the list after the game on Friday.
Heading into Victoria, Kings were hoping to capitalize on the unrest in the Grizzlies’ organization with yet another change in ownership and subsequent firing of their boss Bill Bestwick on Tuesday.
A 3-2 win over Nanaimo Clippers the same night and a couple of days off, however, seemed to be enough for the Grizzlies to rebound.
Gerry Fitzgerald opened with a natural hat trick and Victoria managed to fire two more past Jonah Imoo in the third period while Curtis McCarrick spoiled the shutout bid of netminder Nic Renyard.
The road loss was the first one in regulation for the Kings all year but of far greater concern was the injury of two more key players.
Nevertheless, Kings carried on without them to Langley where they were scheduled to meet the Mainland Division leaders on Saturday.
This matchup looked like a good one for the Kings who are one of the top penalty killing teams in the league while the Rivermen were near the bottom on the powerplay.
What a surprise then, that after a phenomenal shorthanded goal from Jarid Lukosevicius in the first period, Langley struck for three powerplay goals and one other in the second to hold a 4-1 lead after two periods.
Lukosevicius got another goal at 11:42 of the third period but when the Kings pulled Jeff Smith for an extra attacker at 17:26, Langley scored into the empty net to ice the game 5-2.
Players had no time to dwell on their second loss in a row for the first time this year because their focus immediately turned to West Kelowna for a Sunday afternoon game against the Warriors.
The two teams played quite close to the vest for much of the start and Imoo and his counterpart were sharp enough to keep it scoreless until 8:58 of the second period.
That’s when the Warriors’ Seb Lloyd struck for the first goal and they added a second one before the end of the period.
Kings came back with a little more energy in the third but after the Warriors scored at 6:10, Nyshan Basra’s first goal as a King at 12:37 served only to spoil another shutout.
Warriors added an empty net goal to complete the 4-1 win and leave the Kings winless in three tries on the trip.
With the injuries the added ice time seemed to wear on the Kings as the games progressed but they did nothing to help their woes with untimely penalties and no scoring touch around the net.
Also, the usually strong special teams were a considerable concern for coaches who winced with a 0-11 powerplay effort while allowing five goals on 13 kills to a couple of teams that were struggling with the man advantage.
“When you’re not icing a complete lineup the guys who are in the lineup have to play picture perfect and we threw everything out the window,” said coach and general manager Kent Lewis. “When one of the better scoring lines in the league goes all goose eggs, it kind of sums it up.”
Never one for excuses, Lewis has always said he can accept a loss if the effort is there. “It was a tough trip but you go through a year and it’s how you respond,” he said. “It gives us a chance to see how players react. Guys have to pass the test and we have deadlines that we have to look at too. I have to know who I can count on.”
Kings are uncertain about the status of their injured players but will board the bus again for three more out-of-town games. Coquitlam Express will be first stop on Friday, December 20, then Vernon Vipers on Saturday, December 21 and the last game before the Christmas break takes place against Salmon Arm Silverbacks at 3 pm on Sunday, December 22.
