The Kings come away from their first real road test of the season with 3 of a possible 6 points, courtesy an overtime loss on Friday to Chilliwack, and a gutsy 3-2 win in Prince George on Sunday afternoon.
Here are some thoughts from the weekend:
- Lets start Saturday in Merritt, where a hit on Hunter Findlater with 80 seconds to go overshadowed a slow and disappointing Kings effort against the Centennials. A 5-1 scoreline was a just result from a Kings team that struggled to adapt to the dimensions of a narrow Merritt barn. The hit on Findlater though was the thing that both teams came away talking about with Jake Clifford lunging into an ugly, dirty headshot on the Kings rookie winger. Luckily, Sunday provided a positive update for Hunter as he woke up in the lower mainland with little to no headache, a good first step. I’m not expecting him back in the lineup for a while, but it’s certainly an encouraging sign.
- Not much else to say from Saturday other than it was messy and sloppy, what we’ve come to expect from games there. No room to move, no chance to stick handle, and at the end of the day no opportunities unless you work hard for them which the Kings, in large part, didn’t do.
- Sunday a different story. Early Prince George pressure was turned aside by Brett Magnus who was nothing short of excellent in the win, and then Liam Lawson’s shot along the ice split the wickets of Spruce Kings goaltender Alex Brooks-Potts as he adjusted to his left, going 5-hole. The 2-0 goal was a really smart play by Tony DeVito, notching his first BCHL point by hussling off the bench, recognising Keats all alone on the left side and getting him the pass…the rest was done by the Winnipeg product who’s goal and point streaks continue to 9 and 11 respectively.
- I thought the Kings did an excellent job managing the boards very well, both using them on their own offence, and taking away opportunities from Prince George who practice using them every day. To give you some sort of an idea on how lively the boards are in Prince George, you could easily pass the puck to yourself from the blue line without a whole tonne of effort.
- Back to Brett Magnus, 44 saves including 2 breakaways show just how good he was. It was a confident Magnus in all aspects from playing the puck to challenging shooters. Being close to the ice I also thought his communication was good as several times you could see and hear him marshalling players.
- Side note: On Magnus’ 1st period penalty for delay of game, he cleared the puck out of play and it struck a spectator. That woman required some pretty intense medical care and was stretchered out of the rink by paramedics. Reportedly she needed 16 stiches but is ok and called Magnus (via one of the Kings trainers) to tell him she is ok.
- On paper, getting out shot 16-2 would be cause for concern. while it’s hardly flattering, it showed the Kings fortitude and ability to close out a hockey game despite a lot of pressure from the Spruce Kings. Prince George had some good chances, but some excellent shot blocking and lane clogging meant that if pucks did get to Magnus, they were from a fair distance, or had a lot taken off them before he was forced to reach out and cover up. Kings were especially good below the goal line, and while Prince George had some good pressure down low, there weren’t a lot of chances for PG to step out in front.
Here’s what Brock Sawyer had to say in the post-game show:
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Three Stars of the Game (Sunday vs Prince George):
- Brett Magnus (Kings) – 44 saves, 4th win
- Kurt Keats (Kings) – 2 goals, tied for league lead in goal scoring
- Chad Staley (Spruce Kings) – 1 goal
The Kings return home overnight Sunday and into Monday, then get set for a home weekend double header against the Nanaimo Clippers Friday and Saturday night at the Hap Parker Arena.
Here’s an alternate version of the highlights, courtesy of CKPG News in Prince George:
