Kings got their weekend off to a great start with a 7-0 win over the Langley Rivermen on Thursday night.
Cohen Adair opened the scoring and and as it turned out, the winner, at 4:13 of the first period. Adair, after some great work by Richardson and Waugh, was allowed to walk in and lift a backhand over the goaltender.
If Adair's goal was the highlight of the first period, then Chase Haley's injury was the lowlight. The young AP from Campbell River reached forward to move the puck along the boards but he left himself vulnerable to a check from one of the Rivermen's large defensemen and had to be helped from the ice by Schmidt and Tidy. He later left for the hospital with ice on his ankle for further assessment.
Kings started to pull away in this game with four unanswered goal in the second period.
Matt Scarth got it started at 0:58 seconds on a beautiful feed from Williams.
Williams was next on the powerplay with a move down the right wing that looked too easy but he smiled later, "I was just coming down the right side on my forehand and I was trying to sell like I was going to go behind the net and I think he thought that, and he got ready to push off and I just put it on net."
"When you put it on net, good things happen," he said, "it's just simple."
Next up was Brandan Smith, who was in the right spot at the right time to pop in his first of the season.
Only regrets was the PA system which cut out his name for the goal and robbed him of his minute of fame.
Nonetheless, he was thrilled saying, "still felt good though."
"I was just grinding in the corner and then Steve got it and he put it on net and I put in the rebound."
Out comes Barr and in goes Rivermen backup Kruger.
Carter Shinkaruk rounded out the second period scoring when he converted a nice pass from Matt Scarth and the Kings led 5-0 after two.
In the third, just like the Alberni Bulldogs, the Rivermen started to take some cheap shots and it took just 3 seconds for Jon Jutzi to make Danny Vlanich pay for his boarding minor.
The last goal put an exclaimation point on the one sided contest when Teagan Waugh slammed the puck against the goaltender and the puck went straight up in the air and lost to most of the players on the ice.
When it came down, it hit the back of goalie, Jim Kruger and rolled into the net for the 7th and final goal of the game.
Kings closed out the game and the 7-0 shutout of the Rivermen and Jamie Phillips had a light night but recorded his 5th shutout of the year with 19 saves.
"The team played well tonight," said Kent Lewis after the game, "and it was a good effort all around."
It certainly was and now the team has to carry that momentum and effort onto the bus and down to the mainland for games against Surrey and Coquitlam.
Ron Armitage Mens Wear Three Stars:
1. Brandan Smith
2. Matt Scarth
3. Brandon Tidy
