It will no doubt be an emotional night tonight, as the Kings and the Clippers go toe to toe at the Hap Parker Arena for the first of three straight meetings. Before we get to the skinny of tonight’s contest, it is GUARANTEED $2000 50/50 JACKPOT NIGHT at the Hap Parker Arena, which means someone’s walking away with a cool $2000 (minimum) in their pocket! Bring your friends to the game, but for now, here’s the rundown:
Game: Nanaimo Clippers vs Powell River Kings
Arena: Hap Parker Arena
Puck Drop: 7:30pm
Broadcast: Starting at 7:15pm live on 95.7 SunFM
By The Numbers
Kings This Season vs Clippers: 2-0-0-0
Last Meeting: Kings won 3-1 (September 24th, 2011 at Hap Parker Arena)
Kings at Home: 8-0-1
Kings on the Road: 2-5-1
What’s What for the Kings
The Kings couldn’t find a way to beat Spruce Kings goalie Kirk Thompson during the last part of last Saturday night’s game, so this week it’s been all about scoring for the Kings, and finding ways to put the biscut in the basket. The Kings are tied for 12th in the league for goals scored (53), and while that’s not necessarily a problem due to the fact the Kings lead the league in goals against (38, next lowest is 48 by Vernon), the team recognises the fact that the team needs to score more goals.
In terms of the roster for tonight, it’s still a patchwork quilt-type situation with another night of jumbled lines due to absences and injuries. Sean Maguire and Evan Richardson won last night with Team Canada West and will move onto the semi-final tonight at 7:30 (we’ll keep you up to date on the score throughout the broadcast). On that topic, thanks to Ron Gallo for alerting me to this, but check out this great shot of Sean Maguire from last night’s game
Jordan Paddock is still out with an upper body injury, and now Craig Dalrymple will sit tonight due to a lower body muscle strain. I’m lead to believe it’s nothing remotely serious, and more preventative and precautionary than anything. Coming into the side will be goaltender Jonah Imoo, who leads the PIJHL with a perfect 9-0 record, 5 shutouts, a 964 save percentage and 0.89 goals against average. Joining him will be Jacob Dunlop up front (to replace Evan Richardson) and a defenceman yet to be named to cover the Dalrymple/Paddock injuries.
What’s What for the Clippers
Perhaps the most weiry of the Clippers tonight will be their broadcaster, Dan Marshall, who has been pulling double duty this week covering some of the World Junior A Challenge games for Hockey Canada’s web cast. He was in Langley last night and I’m assuming will join the team in Powell River today instead of travelling with them. On the ice, the Clippers are at the bottom of a logjam at the top. Having said that, a win tonight (and other results going their way) ties them with the conference lead. Just 2 points seperate 1st (Surrey) with 5th (Nanaimo).
While not missing any players due to the WJAC tournament, it was announced recently that David Iacono would join the tournament for the prospects game tomorrow afternoon. It’s not known if he will be in Powell River tonight, I doubt it, but you never know. His 4 goals and 14 points have helped the Clippers early on in the season, complimenting guys like Kyle Kramer and Andrew Gladiuk well. Another player to look for will be AP call-up Luke Gordon, who should play in his 7th game of the season tonight. He has a bullet of a shot and has already scored twice this season. He’s not afraid to drop the gloves either, and if the first two games were any indication, we could have some action in that department this weekend.
What’s on the Broadcast tonight?
During the 1st intermission, we’ll Light the Lamp with Jamie Phillips as we begin to wrap up our player feature segment. We’ll also talk with Kent Lewis about last night’s win against the Czech Republic at the WJAC, and tonight’s game. In the 2nd intermission, we’ll continue our RBC Contenders series with the AJHL’s Brooks Bandits, and their long-time play by play voice Dennis Seibel. We’ll also keep you right up to date with the WJAC game between Canada West and Sweden, as well as give away some more tickets on the trivia contest.
