The lone meeting of the season between these two teams happens tonight, and its a typical coastal day to welcome West Kelowna’s very own. Here’s the rundown:
Game: Westside Warriors 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 Westside: 0-0-0-0
Last Meeting: Kings defeated Warriors 3-2 (January 18th, 2010 in West Kelowna)
Kings at Home: 5-0
Kings on the Road: 2-4-1
What’s What for the Kings
After 21 days, 7 games and only 1 win, the Kings are finally back on Hap Parker Ice. After a 4-1 win over the Bulldogs, the Kings went 1-5-1 on a 7-game road swing through the Coastal Conference and into Merritt. The lone points came against Coquitlam (in a tie that the Kings lead 4-2 after 40 in) and against the Chilliwack Chiefs (in a game where the Kings scored 3 powerplay goals, 1 shorthanded and one empty net). The Kings will look to get back into the win column tonight without a lot of big names in the lineup.
This is is the final game for a bit for forwards Evan Richardson and Teagan Waugh, defenceman Jordan Paddock and goaltender Sean Maguire, as they head to Langley for the Canada West camp and will not be in the lineup until, at worst, after the tournament is over (November 13th). That means that the Kings 20 year olds, and the Kings rookies must step up to log more responsibility. Up front, more will be asked from guys like Cohen Adair and Steve Schmidt, while James Neil, Jarryd Leung, Tanner Cochrane could see some enhanced roles. On the backend, it remains largely unchanged, however Chris Williams is currently without a partner, so the challenge is finding someone to compliment Chris on that 2nd pairing.
In net, Jamie Phillips might have free reign for the next two-three weeks (or until Sean is returned), but it’s Sean Maguire tonight in his final start for the month. There are a few AP goalies which would love to snare a start from Jamie, so depth shouldn’t be a problem. Jonah Imoo was the last goalie cut from camp this pre-season, so one might except to see him in the next couple of weeks.
What’s What for the Warriors
Take a look at the Warriors stats through 12 games this season and you’ll see something sticking out like a sore thumb…Connor Dempsey and Tyler Krause. Through 12 games, the pair have recorded 21 and 19 points respectively and are the crux of the Warriors offence. Not to state the obvious, but perhaps shutting down those two players may go a long way towards victory. The injury bug has hit the Warriors, with forward Seb Lloyd out 4-6 with a broken collar bone and that will take away a lot of speed and grit from the top 6. The addition to the lineup is former Silverback Taylor Fauchoux, who had been playing in the SJHL and MJHL prior to joining the Warriors, registering an assist in 6 games. Another tidbit about the Warriors is Steven Racine in net, who has played in 10/12 games for the team this year (going 7-2). The listed backup, Robert Kennedy (20 years old) is yet to see action, while AP goalies Conor Wilkinson and Darren Hogg have both been saddled with the loss in their lone games.
What’s on the Broadcast tonight?
Another episode of Light the Lamp tonight, this time with Dan Schuler. He is the overwhelming choice for ‘best singer on the team’ and I asked him to sing Oh Canada. Does he do it? Find out in the 1st intermission. Then in the 2nd break, Jon Zacks, the voice of the Warriors will talk to us about the team and his background in the broadcasting world, including his eventful summer. All our regular features as well, so tune in line on 95.7 SunFM starting at 7:15pm with the pre-game show. Oh, I also neglected to mention that Andy Welsh is back! So tune in to listen to Andy and I call the game and lets see if the Kings can kick this losing habit.
