WOW!!!! WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW! Not a bad way to start your Junior A Broadcasting career!!! A fight, broken glass, a rockin’ crowd and a double overtime game winner from the home team. If you were at the rink, how good was that game? If you listened to it on the radio or online, I hope Andy and I did it justice….if you missed it, you missed out BIG TIME. Let’s dissect.
Click here to listen to the highlights
With all the anticipation surrounding this team, it didn’t take long for the team to get on the board. Matt Scarth found a loose puck in the slot and backhanded it over Billy Faust, 4:24 into the contest to give the Kings the lead. Dan Schuler and Evan Richardson got the assists, and all three were a threat all night long. The Kings went to the 1st break with a 1-0 lead and control much of the play, outshooting the Clippers 9-8.
Into the 2nd and it took all of 17 seconds for the Kings to double the lead. Dan Schuler scored to make it 2-0, on a goal we thought was unassisted, but give Craig Dalrymple and Jon Jutzi the helpers on the 2nd goal of the night. Schuler was just putting the puck on net, maybe looking for a rebound, but it found its way through Faust between the blocker and the pads. Ugly goal for Schuler, but they look they look the same on the scoreboard.
The 2nd ended early with Brayden Jaw broke the glass behind Sean Maguire with 1:54 to go. Both teams agreed to take the intermission break then and play the 2nd afterwards. The Kings looked to be cruising, but at 18:25 of the 3rd, the Clippers, who had been playing progressively better as the night went on, scored through David Iacono, pinching down from the point and putting one home from the slot. 2-1. Then 1:04 later, Trevor Fitzgerald channeled his inner Steven Stamkos when he got a feed from Brayden Jaw from the point and put home a snap shot from one knee to the side of the net. Tied at 2.
First overtime solved nothing, 2nd OT and the Kings put out Scarth, Richardson and Williams in the 3-on-3 situation with less than 2 minutes left. After the end of a long shift, Scarth and Richardson looked set for a change, so Williams pinched down on the forecheck, rocked a big hit on the Clipper defenceman, and jarred the puck loose. A quick pass out to Scarth, who had stayed on, and it’s in and Scarth is the hero! Final is 3-2.
Three Stars
3rd: Trevor Fitzgerald (NAN) 1 goal, 1 assist
2nd: Daniel Schuler (PRK) 1 goal, 1 assist
1st: Matt Scarth (PRK) 2 goals, game winning goal
Lots of penalties too. Referees were enforcing the hits to the head pretty strictly. Carter Shinkarek got booted from the game after a 2nd goalie interference penalty, something I missed on the broadcast. And James Neil took a hit to the head in the 1st and sat out the rest of the game…he’s fine though and will likely play tomorrow.
Tomorrow night, the Kings play the 2nd leg of the double header against the Clippers. Game time is 7:30pm, and you can join Andy and myself for all the action on SunFM, beginning with the pre-game show at 7:15pm.
