The Powell River Kings will take on the Cowichan Valley Capitals in the first round of the BCHL Playoffs. It’s the 15th consecutive visit to the playoffs for Kings, while Cowichan make their first appearance in four years since a first round exit to the Surrey Eagles (who the Kings would later beat) in 2012.
A best-of-seven Island Division Semi-Final series will be the sixth time the Kings and Capitals have faced each other in the playoffs and the first since 2009/2010 where the Kings advanced in 5 games. Powell River are 3-2 in the playoffs against Cowichan.
Teams split the season series 4-4, with both teams sweeping their home portions. The schedule is odd because the Kings haven’t visited Cowichan since November 1st (a 7-5 loss), while Cowichan played four straight in a pair of double headers in Powell River and were shut out twice. The Kings also outscored the Capitals 29-23 in the eight games.
September 18th, 2015 – 5-1 Cowichan (in Duncan)
October 17th, 2015 – 3-0 Cowichan (in Duncan)
October 28th, 2015 – 6-3 Cowichan (in Duncan)
November 1st, 2015 – 7-5 Cowichan (in Duncan)
November 27th, 2015 – 6-1 Powell River (in Powell River)
November 28th, 2015 – 3-1 Powell River (in Powell River)
February 5th, 2016 – 4-0 Powell River (in Powell River)
February 6th, 2016 – 7-0 Powell River (in Powell River)
Neither side saw a decided advantage on the powerplay through the eight games. Powell River went 8/43 (18.6%), while Cowichan converted 5/29 (17.24%). Both numbers are not overly different from the respective clubs season numbers where the Kings finished 12th (18.1%) and Cowichan 17th (14.3%).
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Here’s a positional breakdown of the key stats and storylines from the season series:
Goaltending
Both teams have a similar mix in goal with a 20-year-old veteran projected to be the starter for the series, but an experienced backup in waiting should the worst occur.
For the Kings, Jeff Smith has been the mail carrier not only for the bulk of the season but the majority of the 8-game season series. Smith went 4-2 against the Capitals with a 2.10 GAA and a .927 save percentage in 343:07. He also registered the back to back shutouts in February, the first such results of their kind for the Kings since October 2011 against the startup Langley Rivermen. Stefan Wornig had a couple of cracks at the Capitals, both in Duncan, and came out on the losing end both times. He went 0-2, 3.95 GAA and .890 save percentage through 136:42 of playing time.
In Cowichan, Storm Phaneuf has been THE guy in his final year of Junior, but first in the BCHL. The former QMJHL’er went 4-3 against the Kings with a 3.00 GAA and a .917 save percentage in 440:03. He shut the Kings out on October 17th, his only shutout of the year. Phaneuf’s understudy is Lane Michasiw, in his second year with the Capitals. Michasiw went 0-1, 7.65 GAA and a .806 save percentage in 46:56. His stats are the victim of conceding a couple while in relief of Phaneuf a couple of times this season.
Defencemen
One of the key aspects of the Kings opening night roster was that out of the six players dressed, all but one had not only played for the Kings, but had played in playoff hockey for the Kings (15-year old (at the time) Jack Long was the exception). The blue line has been bolstered over the year and is now 8-strong with plenty of mobility, flexibility and offence. The Kings enjoyed 31 goals from the blue line this season, compared to the Capitals 18.
In the season series, Jeremy LeClerc led the core offensively, scoring 5 goals and adding two more assists to be third in overall scoring. Rylan Ball went 3-3-6 to rank 6th for the Kings. By comparison, Mitch Meek was the only blue liner to register in the top 7 scorers from the season series, recording six assists along the way.
Forwards
Neither group of forwards have that one dominating force who can single handily turn a game. Both teams do however have duos and lines that can achieve the same task with ease, and that’s been showcased through the season.
For the Kings, Tristan Mullin and Kyle Betts have been the team’s dynamic duo all year, scoring 50-49-99 between them and going 1 and 3 in team scoring. Add in Jonny Evans and Carter Turnbull (39-43-82) for a secondary punch, plus contributions from players like Austin Kamer (18-16-34), Liam Lawson (15-22-37) and Nick Halagian (16-27-43) and it’s a well rounded group.
The Kings had 10 players crack double digit goals this season, which is the highest since these two teams last met in the playoffs. Several others went very close, with Curtis McCarrick scoring 9 while Mitchell Hawes and Jeremy LeClerc each scored 8. Everyone, including the departed Colton Sandberg and Jeremey Leipsic scored at least once this year.
In the season series, it was Betts (4-4-8) and Evans (2-6-8) to lead the way. With the aforementioned LeClerc and Turnbull (2-5-7) close behind. Chris Protopoulos (1-5-6), Ball and Lawson (4-2-6) also contributed. Combined, the Kings scored 29-50-79 through the eight games.
Cowichan also has a few 1-2 punches that can turn a game. Players like Kade Kehoe (22-33-55), Matt Hudie (24-17-41) and Ryan Burton (16-37-53) are all extremely dangerous given time and space. Factor in top six guys like Patrick Geary, Adam Osczevski and the thorn in any opposition’s side Ayden MacDonald and it’s a very imposing forward unit.
Through eight games, Geary and Burton both went 4-2-6. Kehoe notched 1-4-5 while Osczevski (4-0-4), Jared Domin (1-3-4) and Matthew Hudie (1-3-4) rounded out the top seven scorers from the season series. Overall, Cowichan went scored 23-39-62 in the eight games.
The schedule for the series is as follows:
Game 1: Friday March 4th (7:15pm) @ Powell River
Game 2: Saturday March 5th (7:15pm) @ Powell River
Game 3: Monday March 7th (7:00pm) @ Cowichan
Game 4: Tuesday March 8th (7:00pm) @ Cowichan
Game 5*: Thursday March 10th (7:00pm) @ Powell River
Game 6*: Saturday March 12th (7:00pm) @ Cowichan
Game 7*: Sunday March 13th (7:00pm) @ Powell River
* – if necessary
The winner of this series will advance to the Island Division Final to face the winner of the Nanaimo Clippers vs Alberni Valley Bulldogs series, also beginning Friday.
Tickets for the opening two home games are available through tickets.powellriverkings.com. All games will be broadcast live on the Kings Broadcast Network, 95.7CoastFM and FastHockey PPV beginning 20 minutes prior to opening faceoff each night.
