It started out as a yawner but turned into a brawler as the Kings dumped the Spruce Kings 4-1 on Friday night.
It was clear from the get-go that Powell River was the stronger team and it would just be a matter of capitalizing on the myriad of scoring chances they had throughout the game.
In the first period the Kings outshot PG 19-3 but the only goal came off the stick of Niddery and bounced in off the backside of goalkeeper Cameron Large.
Up 1-0 after the first, Kings started out the second on the powerplay and Jon Jutzi drilled a shot through the screen of Schuler and put the Kings up 2-0 just 29 seconds in.
Prince George surprised the Kings with a 2 on 1 break that they turned into a goal on a one timer from Khan at 2:02.
Kings got back to work and after Chad Niddery was stopped on a couple of rushes he decided to set up the Kings' next goal so he dealt the puck to Brenden Forbes who converted the pass at 8:43.
Kings delivered the knockout punch at 19:52 when Teagan Waugh picked up a loose puck in the slot and wired a shot from 15 feet to make it 4-1.
The stats man went from recording goals to recording penalties in the final period when a royal battle erupted.
Brenden Forbes received a hit from behind major from the referee for his hit on Faiz Khan near the Prince George bench and then he was jumped by Trevor Esau.
The game slowed down somewhat and after a couple of more scuffles Kings had recorded their league leading 27th win.
Shots on goal: Kings 52 Spruce Kings 16
Kings were missing quite a few key players such as Pettitt, Adair, Bardarson and Dasilva but their absence allowed for the debut of local product Mitch Ball.
“We're down some bodies right now and Mitch Ball did well with the twins,” said Kent Lewis
“Their goalie got lucky, we hit eight or nine posts and it should have been a lot more.”
“Their one goal was a bone headed play by two guys and we can't do that,” he said, “but I don't think they generated much after that.”
Ball almost got his first BCHL goal on a nice setup from Brendon Hawryluk.
“I knew there was someone there, I didn't know if it was him or Bond but I just fed him.”
He knows the feeling of scoring your first in your first game as he got his against Quesnel back on October 19.
As the Christmas break approaches he's getting excited as are the others to go home as the countries top team.
“It will be fun to go home and tell the friends and family,” he smiled.
The trip home to Nampa is 20 hours by road but he and brother Bond will make the five hour trip on flights through Vancouver, Edmonton, Grande Prairie and finally a short two hour drive.
“We're definitely going to hit the outdoor,” he smiled, “doing all the winter acitivies.
One more game to go before that happens and goaltender Michael Garteig warned, “we want to get excited on Sunday.”
“We have to get one more game done and we've just got to battle.”
“Victoria is a really good team and we can't take them light,” he said, “but we'll be ready to go.”
Victoria is in on Saturday night at 7:30 P.M, then the Kings are off until Wed Dec 29th when they'll face the Nanaimo Clippers.
Tickets are going fast for the game and the New Years Dinner and Celebration is almost sold out. GET YOUR TICKETS NOW.
Ron Armitage Mens Wear Three Stars:
1. Chad Niddery
2. Craig Dalrymple
3. Teagan Waugh
