Game: Cowichan Valley Capitals vs Powell River Kings
Arena: Hap Parker Arena
Puck Drop: 6:30pm
Broadcast: Starts at 6:00pm
95.7 SunFM Free Audio
FastHockey PPV Video
Kings This Season vs Opposition: 6-2-0-0
Last Meeting: Capitals won 5-4 (February 8th, 2014)
Kings 2013/2014 Record: 33-15-2-4 (2nd Island)
Kings at home: 20-6-1-0
Kings Last 10: 3-5-0-2
Kings vs Island: 19-8-1-2
Opposition 2013/2014 Record: 21-28-2-4
Opposition on the road: 7-18-1-1
Opposition Last 10: 4-2-1-3
The Kings did something last night that they hadn’t done since February 1st….win a hockey game. It was also just the 2nd time that the Kings had even picked up points in a 5-game stretch dating back to the start of the calendar month. With the slump officially busted, the Kings focus turned from getting two points, to getting two more and building momentum into playoffs.
There was a lot to like about last night’s effort. The Kings hit all of the ‘keys’ we identified before…there were some good hits, they dominated the faceoff circle and the cover in their own zone was solid. There’s always room for improvement and as we mentioned in the recap, and the couple of two-on-ones are probably something the coaches will want to refine moving forward.
The Kings go with the same lineup tonight as they did last night. They’ll dress 21 for warmup. Jeremy LeClerc missed last night’s game, so we’ll see where the scratch goes. Jeff Smith again starts.
The Caps got a huge, HUGE win last night. It was big in the scoreline, a 7-2 result over Nanaimo and big in the standings as the Caps were able to take full advantage of an Alberni loss to move two points clear on the Bulldogs with 3 to play. Both teams are in action tonight, so the Caps will again have both eyes firmly fixed on this game, but as soon as the buzzer goes the phones will be whipped out and the out of town scoreboard will get a good look at. For reference, the Bulldogs host the 2nd leg of a home and home against Victoria.
Cowichan will be one short up front, and 3 down overall. Sam Curleigh, Adam Moody and Jarret Brown are out, with the latter perhaps being the biggest blow. Up front, the Caps will skate with 11, including AP Brodie Smith who has seen a couple of games action against the Kings this season, and looked good in doing so. The pressure, the onus, the responsibility (whatever you want to call it) will fall on that top six, and in particular guys like Myles Powell, Mason Malkowich and Jesse Neher, all of who have had good games against the Kings this season.
On the back end, Valik Chichkin’s game will be crucial but he’s well supported by guys like Matt Berry and Rylan Bechtel. Robin Gusse goes in net and will sweep the starts for the Caps against Powell River.
