Ben Berard had a career night with four goals and an assist, helping the Kings rebound from two deficits and get past the Cowichan Capitals 7-5 on Saturday night at the Hap Parker Arena.
The Kings thought they’d opened the scoring 6:11 into the first period as Carter Turnbull batted one past goaltender JJ Pichette however it was waved off. Scoring didn’t open until the Capitals scored shorthanded midway through the opening frame through Caleb Franklin’s 1st in the BCHL and a 1-0 lead for the visiting Capitals.
The Kings responded quickly however, less than a minute later Hunter Findlater made a power move to net for his 7th on the campaign and a 1-1 hockey game. A couple of minutes later, the Kings took their first lead of the game through Ben Berard’s 1st of the night and 10th of the season made it 2-1 late in the period.
However a breakdown inside the final three minutes gave the visitors the lead through 20 as the Capitals got goals from Coughlin and Gosselin to hold the advantage, despite being outshot 13-6 through 20 minutes.
After conceding 3 goals on 6 shots, Mitch Adamyk made way for Matteo Paler-Chow, coming off a shutout of the Caps on Friday night. The Kings began to rally and withstood a press from the Capitals until midway through the period when the Caps were rewarded via a nice goal to Hugh Larkin and a 4-2 advantage for the Capitals.
The Kings had not rallied for a win after trailing by 2 at any point in a game…cue Ben Berard. The Duncan, BC product score twice inside 49 seconds, both crisp, quick shots from the faceoff circle for a 4-4 scoreline late in the period.
Then, late in the period the Capitals were robbed by Matteo Paler-Chow after the Caps worked the puck out front and into the skates of Ben Raffler. In an effort to find it, Raffler inadvertently kicked the puck to a Capital player in front, forcing a save-of-the-season contender from Paler-Chow to preserve the 4-4 tie through 40.
The third belonged to the Kings. A pair of goals inside the first three minutes, first Kyle Kawamura getting on the board after some work behind the net from Ethan Kimball for his 8th of the season. Then Berard completed a stellar 5-goal weekend with his fourth of the game on the powerplay and a 6-4 win that would eventually seal it for the Kings.
Neal Samanski picked up one late, as did the Caps through Cherwalk, the Kings cruising to a 7-5 win over the Cowichan Capitals and a weekend sweep at home for the first time since early October.
The four goal output is the third consecutive year a Kings player has achieved the feat. Jonny Evans notched 4 goals and 2 assists last year against the West Kelowna Warriors in a 7-2 win, and Carter Turnbull’s 4 goal, 1 assist night in Wenatchee during the 2015/2016 season during a 6-0 win. For Berard, it’s his first hattrick in Junior A hockey and the four goals (totaling 13 on the season) matches his goal output from his rookie campaign, done in 25 games compared to 56 last year.
Here’s our postgame show with Brock Sawyer and Neal Samanski
Three Stars of the Game
1. Ben Berard (Kings) – 4 goals, 1 assist
2. Matteo Paler-Chow (Kings) – 20 saves, 6th win
3. Trent Bell (Kings)
The Kings head to Victoria on Tuesday for a lone midweek game against the Grizzlies at 7:00pm, before returning home for a pair of games hosting Langley and Surrey on Friday and Saturday at the Hap Parker Arena.
