It was close, right to the last second. However the Kings used a great road period in the 1st to earn a 2-1 win against the Cowichan Valley Capitals on Tuesday night to move to a share of 2nd in the Island Division.
Thoughts from the game:
- Great start. Whenever you near-triple your opponents shots on goal, you know you’re doing something right. For the Kings they played a fantastic opening 20 minutes, made all the more impressive that they did it on the road. Everyone was clicking with some great chances up and down the lineup. Credit Caps goaltender Lane Michasiw for making some good saves and keeping his team tied through 20.
- The 2nd and 3rd were less impressive, but the Kings consistently ‘did enough’ to win the hockey game. The team let off the pressure a little in the 2nd as the Caps got more in the game. What impressed through the remaining 40 were the clearances around the Kings net. What stayed in front of Brett Magnus was quickly moved aside. Even when the Kings seemed to be scrambling, the team was able to get a blocked shot or a good clear to take away any 2nd or 3rd chances in close. These were the goals the Kings had been giving up so far this season.
- Speaking of goaltending, Brett Magnus was full value Tuesday night. He looked confident, calm and in control all game. He made quality saves with both pads, the blocker and a beauty with the glove in the 1st period. His judgement playing the puck was better and communication between he and the defence seemed better too, with barely any mix-ups. It was the perfect game for Magnus to build confidence…getting a solid 31 saves under his belt and a victory to boot.
- Kurt Keats has been on a big roll lately. His goal Tuesday night was his 7th of the season and the 3rd straight game he’s notched a goal. He’s showing much more patience with the puck this season and it’s showing on the scoreboard in both the goal and assist column. The goal moved Keats into 12th in league scoring, just behind his part-time line mate Jarid Lukosevicius in a share for 5th.
- Nick Gomerich had a tough night and was a victim of “red tape”. Due to a pre-game error on the game sheet, Gomerich was in illegible player and was forced to leave the game. The Kings were lucky to have this caught early as certain circumstances could have resulted in them receiving a penalty or worse, losing the two points they’d earned. Ultimately it means a missed game in front of some friends and family. Gomerich is expected back in the lineup Wednesday against Nanaimo.
- That ending. Go back and watch it. The puck, a few inches away from tying the game up on the last second. Again, credit Magnus for challenging on the first shot and the back-tracking defenceman for some good positioning. Another foot above the goal line and LePage tucks it in easily to force overtime and a massive momentum swing for the Caps. Not to be and the Caps drop another 1-goal game, something that’s become an early season trend for the club.
- Finally, on the defence, a good game from Nick Nonis and Colton Sandberg in particular who were shouldered with extra special teams responsibilities when Jeremy LeClerc decided to drop the gloves in the 2nd period and ejecting himself from the game. In the 3rd period when both Cole Arcuri and Jordan Burns took penalties, it left just 4 defencemen to kill it off, meaning some more challenges for both rookies. Both answered the call well.
Here’s the post-game comments from Brock Sawyer:
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The Kings move to a share of 2nd in the Island Division with the Victoria Grizzlies, and are 3 back of the Nanaimo Clippers. The Kings can close that gap to just 1 point with a win in Nanaimo on Wednesday night. It’s a 7:00pm puck drop at the Frank Crane Arena.
