The Kings gave the fans the final impression they wanted, heading out on the road for 7-straight on the back of a 4-1 victory over the Alberni Valley Bulldogs.
Scoreless through 20, a struggling powerplay got a little better to begin with, as Jon Jutzi’s 2nd goal of the season gave the Kings a 1-0 lead 1:19 into the 2nd frame. It was just the 2nd powerplay goal of the season for the team, the only other one being Jon Jutzi’s marker against Nanaimo on opening night. 12 minutes later, Steve Schmidt poked the puck at his own blue line and got out in front of his man, streaking in for his first of the night, the 5th shortie of the season and the Kings had a 2-0 lead. Then with 2:30 left in the 2nd period, Alberni’s Yan Kalashnikov got a puck out in front from his brother Artsiom and the Bulldogs were back in the contest, 2-1 going into the 2nd intermission.
In the 3rd, the Kings snuffed out any type of momentum from the Bulldogs, just 11 seconds into the frame, Steve Schmidt, again shorthanded, found a spot 5-hole on Bulldogs netminder Max Fenkell to make it 3-1 and restore the 2-goal lead. The Kings iced it 7 minutes later through Evan Richardson, turning a loose neutral zone puck into a breakaway, faking backhand and going forehand on Fenkell, 4-1 Kings final score.
The Kings hit the road for 7-straight, beginning with a contest against the Langley Rivermen Saturday night at 7:00pm, then a Sunday afternoon tilt with the Coquitlam Express at 2:00pm. You can catch all the action on 95.7 SunFM.
