The fans weren’t forced to wait long to get rid of some extra baggage in the aisles, but it was the lone highlight for much of the game, as the team fell to the Victoria Grizzlies 3-2.
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Here are some thoughts for the game:
- Good on Stephen Hiff. I’d say you’d be hard pressed to find another player on the team this year who has been as consistantly good as Stephen has been this year for the Kings. Factor in he’s an 94-born old rookie, and it makes it all the more impressive. Stephen is in a purple patch of form, points in his last 7, goals in his last 5, so his contributions speak for themselves. But even when Stephen wasn’t putting up consistant points, he was performing in other areas. Now he’s doing it all. The backcheck in the 3rd period, saved a great scoring opportunity by lifting the stick before Victoria could get a shot away, then factor in he’s on the powerplay and penalty kill, and you get a complete all-round player. He also looked pretty good with the ‘A’ on his jersey.
- Speaking of additions to a jersey, Matt Scarth wore the ‘C’ well. As we said on the broadcast, Matt is the kind of guy who will be first in line to give it back to Teagan when he returns. But Matt has thrived in his new leadership role. He seems to have a good dialogue with the referees, works well on the ice with Benton and Villeneuve, and is very vocal on and off the ice with his team mates. It’s hard to fault much of what Matt’s done since returning.
- Let’s tackle the elephant in the room…well two of them. One, the penalty kill. Not good, and as Derek Bachynski said in the post-game show (audio below), probably cost the game. We’ve had teams come into the Hap, and even on the road, boasting league-leading special teams…Cowichan and Chilliwack spring to mind…and not perform up to expectations. Credit the Kings PK on that. I think Friday was the first time we’ve seen a team come in ‘as advertised’. The Grizzlies opened up a shooting gallery from the point. One after the other after the other, and got two garbage goals to the side of the net. It tightened up as the game went on, but the Grizzlies are full value up a man.
- The other elephant in the room…that goal.3rd period, down 2, Matt Dupont thought he’d scored. It got waved off, and it may have been the difference in the game. My initial split second reaction is that it wasn’t in. I had a view of the puck, and did not see any white between it and the goal line. Andy thought it was in, but wasn’t 100% sure. We looked on video as the discussion took place on the ice between referees, the goal judge and the players. Inconclusive at best. Speaking with some players after, both Benton and Dupont said it was in, by a fair way. A lot of fans after said they saw it in as well. Did it cost the Kings the game? No. It’s just a split second in a 60 minute game. Did it hurt? Absolutely.
Here’s what Derek Bachynski, and special guest Jordan Benton had to say in our post-game show:
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Three Stars of the Game
- Michael Stiliadis (Grizzlies) – 26 saves
- DJ Jones (Grizzlies) – 1 assist
- Stephen Hiff (Kings) – 1 goal
The Kings hit the lower mainland for the only time this season. Surrey Friday, Coquitlam Saturday and Langley on Sunday.
