A trio of American-born players led the way offensively for the Kings against the BCHL’s lone American franchise as Kevin Obssuth, Kyle Kawamura and Ethan Kimball all tallied against their countrymen en route to a 4-2 win over the Wenatchee Wild on Saturday night at the Hap Parker Arena.
A good start to the first period, albeit without the offensive jump from a night prior. The Kings got off to an early advantage in the shots department and carried a bulk of the play in the opening 10 minutes. While Wenatchee generated a few good scoring chances, it was the sustained pressure put on by the Kings that resulted in a couple of penalties to Wenatchee and the Kings able to capitalize on their 2nd man advantage of the game.
Ben Berard grabbed a pass on the right goal line and drew the Wild over to the short side of the ice, leaving Kyle Kawamura all alone for his 3rd of the season and a 1-0 lead.
Powell River would double up not long after as Kevin Obssuth forced an error at the blue line and out skated the Wenatchee defenceman to the puck. He then cut in on a partial break and was able to beat the goaltender for his team-leading 8th of the season and a 2-0 lead through 20.
Wenatchee found fire in the second period to start, scoring twice to tie the game at 2 before Ethan Kimball scored the eventual game winner midway through the 2nd period on a two-on-one with Carter Turnbull. Kimball looked off Turnbull and shot off the far post and in for his 3rd of the season and a 3-2 lead. The goal also saw all three Americans on the Kings roster get into the scoring, with Franklin Tennessee’s Kawamura, Chester New Jersey’s Obssuth and Holden Massachusetts’ Kimball all on the board.
Into the third period and very much a “bend but not break” period for both teams. The Kings pushed for insurance but couldn’t get it til late. Wenatchee pushed back but both the Kings defence and Mitch Adamyk were strong. It wasn’t until a stellar individual effort from Jonny Evans to beat out the Wenatchee defence and slide around the goaltender for his 2nd of the season that the Kings had the insurance they wanted, ultimately heading to a 4-2 win.
The win is the Kings 3rd in a row and 7th on the season. A short three game home stand resulted in the maximum 6 points on offer, with the Kings scoring 13 goals and allowing just 6 in 4-1, 5-3 and 4-2 wins against Alberni, Trail and Wenatchee. The 19 shots on goal given up tonight is also a new season low, eclipsing the 24 Trail generated at the Showcase in Chilliwack last month. Wenatchee average 35 shots per game this season.
Three Stars of the Game
1. Kevin Obssuth (Kings) – 1 goal, 1 assist
2. Kyle Kawamura (Kings) – 1 goal, 1 assist
3. Jonny Evans (Kings) – 1 goal
The Kings now head out on the road for three straight games next weekend, their lone trip in October. They’ll face the Chilliwack Chiefs on Friday night at Prospera Centre, then up to Vernon on Saturday evening to face the Vipers before wrapping the trip in Trail on Sunday afternoon. All three games are live on 95.7 CoastFM and HockeyTV beginning 20 minutes prior to puck drop each night.
