Kings gave us a good look at what they can be when they beat the Surrey Eagles 7-1 on Friday night.
Aside from celebrating the BCHL's 50th party, fans were treated to an awesome tailgate party put on by Quality Foods, raised much needed funds for the team and capped off the evening with a convincing 7-1 win over Surrey.
Kent Lewis likes grit, energy and discipline from his teams and the Kings put a smile on his face with a full 60 minutes of great hockey.
Special teams were prominent and despite missing a couple of key players in Cohen Adair (two game suspension against the Express) and Jon Jutzi (injured)
AP callups Brian Rideout and Jackson Garrett filled in nicely and Jordan Benton was key on the powerplay.
Teagan Waugh got it started on a great feed from Evan Richardson at 1:14 and five minutes later it was Matt Scarth's turn to knock a Richardson pass by Surrey's Hunt.
Eagles frustration started to show early when Brandon Scholten flopped on top of Jamie Phillips in the crease and started to work him over as he lay face down.
Neither linesman stepped in so Brandan Smith pulled Scholten off and the two fought and were sent off with Smith getting a misconduct added to his fighting major and instigator minor.
Scholten got two for roughing and five for fighting.
"I don't know what happened," said Phillips.
"I bobbled the puck, it went off the net and I went down," he said, "and all of a sudden the guy's knee went in my back a couple of times and his stick's in my neck and I went out for a bit."
"But Smith stepped in and that's what a good team player does."
"We're a team and if one guy's getting picked on," he said, "then you've got to step up and show the visiting team that no one comes in our home barn and gets away with that."
Kings added to their lead when Jarryd Leung pounced on a rebound at 3:24 and the Kings continued to work hard to hold a 3-0 lead after two.
Surrey took a raft of penalties early in the third for boarding, roughing, slashing and after being hemmed in for an entire shift threw out an extra player but were caught for too many men.
Kings struck for three powerplay goals by Williams, Dalrymple and Richardson before Linden Saip broke up the shutout with a high slot shot that beat a screened Phillips at 15:35.
Kings ended the scoring with Richardson undressing his check and from behind the net centered to Waugh who was stopped but Scarth got his second of the game at 17:25 to make the final 7-1.
Several Kings, such as Scarth, Waugh and Richardson had a great games with 11 points between the three of them but the team as a whole put in a full 60 minute effort which almost resulted in Phillip's 3rd shutout.
"They had a good powerplay going and they just put a shot through a screen," said Phillips, "and I just didn't see it."
"But we got the win and that's what matters."
In a race as tight as the coastal conference is, he is exactly right and the two teams will go at it again in Surrey on Saturday night.
Captain Chris Williams wants his team to stay focused for the rest of the weekend and continue to strive for consistency.
"We talked about playing hard and smart for a full 60 minutes," he said, "no letdowns."
"When we play the right way, everyone's going, positive and we're having fun and stringing good shifts together."
"When you see it working guys just keep going and going and going and that's why when we play a full 60 there's no letdowns."
Ron Armitage Mens Wear Three Stars:
1. Evan Richardson
2. Jordan Benton
3. Matt Scarth
