If you ever thought that it would never get here…you’re not alone. After a 4-0 sweep at the hands of Vernon, Kings fans, staff and players have been waiting for an opportunity to prove that this team is for real, and that they can make that next step. Proving that to their fans, themselves and the league begins tonight, as the team takes on the Nanaimo Clippers at 7:30pm at the Hap Parker Arena. Here’s the rundown:
What’s What for the Kings?
No major injuries heading into tonight’s contest, which means Head Coach Kent Lewis will have a full squad of players to select from. It’s an exciting group of guys that looks deeper than last year’s team, with players on all four lines (and the blue line) that can do damage on the scoresheet. It’s not expected the Kings will have a Niddery or Garbowsky-type 80+ point scorer this year, but the talent is certainly there for that to happen.
Goaltending will be a real strength this season too, as you have the returning Sean Maguire and Jamie Phillips, coming off a year where he won Junior hockey’s greatest prize. The defence is solid and features a core group of returnees, lead by 2011/2012 Captain Chris Williams, college-bound Jon Jutzi and alternate captain Craig Dalrymple. Add in rookies Taylor Carmola, Jordan Benton, Brandon Smith and Jordan Paddock, and that’s a solid defensive unit.
What’s What for the Clippers?
If you’re a fan of the Clippers, perhaps pull up their roster if you’re listening to the broadcast, or if you’re at the game, don’t go through the game without a program, because it’s a whole new era for Nanaimo hockey. Mike Vandekamp is in charge and has made a swack of changes to this squad, highlighted by the big trade with Prince George during the summer, unloading the Fitzgerald triplets.
Billy Faust is in his last year of the BCHL and will look to relish in the number 1 role off the bat. He played in Penticton last year and the California native is looking forward to more responsibility I’m sure. For the rest of the Clippers, Trevor Fitzgerald (no relation to the triplets), who was acquired from Prince George (after failing to report to the Spruce Kings after he was traded from Vernon) is a solid offensive player and will centre the top line tonight. The Clippers also made a trade mid-week, bringing in Chris Allbee, a player who I know from my time with the Cariboo Cougars. He is a solid checking forward and look to him to do a lot of penalty killing this year for the orange, black and silver.
What’s on the Broadcast Tonight?
If you cannot make the game tonight, the next best place to be is anywhere that you can get 95.7 SunFM or an internet feed. We’ll go live with the pre-game show at 7:15pm and will have all the pre-game festivities, including the banner, clock and team unveiling.You can visit here to listen to the game through SunFM, or here to see live scores and listen to the game.
Also on the show, we’ll begin our player feature series, called Light the Lamp in the 1st intermission, where we will start off with rookie defenceman Taylor Carmola. After 40 minutes, we’ll talk with Clippers announcer Dan Marshall about his announcing background, his experience in the league and all the changes for the Clippers in the off season.
Finally, if you listen during the 1st and 2nd intermissions, you can try to win your way into a future Kings game! We’ll be giving away tickets to the next Kings home game (tomorrow night) through our trivia question! The iwnner will be announced during the post-game show. All that, and of course we’ll keep you up to speed on everything happening in the league, with 14 out of 16 teams in action, there will be 6 other games to talk about!
See you at the Hap!
