Friday, December 31, 2010

: MALMO vs. KINGS



New Years Eve: The Powell River Kings take a break from their BCHL schedule to play some international puck tonight. The Kings welcome the Malmo Rehawks to the Hap Parker Arena. Malmo is a swedish junior club that compete's in the country's highest junior divison.

* Puck drop is 5:30pm

Gold n' Blue: The Redhawks are in search of their first win on their seven game western Canada exhibtion series. So far the Swedes have dropped games to the Dawson Creek Rage (NAHL) 2-1 and the Grand Prairie Storm (AJHL) 8-4.

This wll be the first of five games the Redhawks will play against BCHL teams. Malmo moves on to Nanaimo tomorrow afternoon, Alberni Valley Sunday, and Victoria and Cowichan Valley on the 4th and 5th.

Swedish Touch: Just before the Redhawks embarked on their Western Canada road trip they were dealt a blow. Their two top forwards, brothers, Panthrik and Ponthus were called up to the men's team. The juniors play under the Malmo IF umbrella, with the men's team at the top which plays in the Elitserien. The juniors are the feeder team for the senior side and when they call they have to answer.

Panthrik had 43 points (20 25-18-43)  to Ponthus's 42 (24 12-30-42) in limited action in the J20 SuperElit. With those two gone the offense will be lead by Zebastian Ilestedt.  Ilestedt is one of the elder statesman on the team at the age of 19. Others to look out for is Victor Ohman. The son of head coach Roger, Victor has 10 points in only nine games. Ohman had 27 points in 21 games for the Redhawks one season ago.



Wednesday, December 29, 2010

GAME PREVIEW: CLIPPERS at KINGS

AT


RECORDS: NAN- 18-17-1-3 PR- 28-5-3-2
ROAD < > HOME: NAN: 6-9-0-2 PR: 16-3-0-1
STREAK: NAN: 1 Loss PR: 8 wins


BIG STORY: The Kings meet the Clippers for the sixth and final time this season. The Kings have yet to beat the Clippers at home losing 4-3 and most recently 6-3 on November 23rd. The season series is dead even at 2-2-1-0.

CLIPPERS: Nanaimo is in the midst of a road odyssey,  including  the Christmas break their trip spans over 16 days. The Clippers only won one of their four games on their interior swing before the Christmas break. The Clippers surrendered five or more goals in three of the four games.

This month Nanaimo has been up and down, sporting a 4-5 record in December. Of note the boatmen dropped three in a row and most recently three of their last five. The Clippers have been dogged by bad starts and a faltering penalty-kill.

In their three losses on their interior road trip Nanaimo gave up leads early.  Penticton, Salmon Arm and Westside scored two or more goals in the first period against the Clippers. Salmon Arm scored four in the opening period and Penticton was up three early as well. Also Nanaimo was hampered by their penalty-kill.  Combined, Penticton, Salmon Arm and Westside were six for ten on the power-play. Including the Vees going three for seven and the Warriors and 'Backs being perfect on their chances.

For Nanaimo to be successful tonight they will need to be sharp right from the get go.

KINGS: Powell River is playing some of their best hockey of late. The Kings are riding an eight game winning streak that dates back to November 23rd, which so happens to be the last time they lost to Nanaimo. You could assume that humbling loss at home served as some motivation.

The Kings have been in the festive spirit as well, having not lost in December (6-0 ) including shutouts over Coquitlam and Langley. Also a major reason for the success of late is the Kings turn around on the power-play.

The only negative this season has been the teams struggles with the man advantage. The Kings still only have the 13th best power-play but have made strides lately. In their last five games the Kings are 6 for 26, which works out to about 23 percent. That pace would be good enough for a top six power-play in the BCHL.


WHO'S HOT: Carter Shinkaruk and Teagan Waugh are proving the Kings can hurt you with more then just one line. Shinkaruk is riding a five game assist streak and Waugh has scored in five of his last six games. Matt Garbowsky has five goals in his last five games, three of which came against the Grizzlies December 19th. Andrew Gladiuk has scored in two straight for Nanaimo and has points in his last three games.

INJURY REPORT: The Christmas break has done some good for the Kings injury situation. Cohen Adair, Andrew Pettitt and Justin Bardarson are healthy and back in the line-up. That means Only Breden Forbes (Suspension) is out for the Kings. You could say with all their injury woes this season, the line-up Nanaimo ices tonight is the closest thing they have to a full line-up. Tristan Lowenberger, Kiefer McNaughton, Brett Hartskamp and Todd Gebert are out for Nanaimo. Back is Brayden Jaw and Mike Dopko.

STAT PACK:  The Kings are an impressive 22-1-3-1 when the score the first goal of the hockey game. In Nanaimo's last five games, they have surrendered the first goal three times.

PUCK DROP:  Note the start time tonight is 7pm which means a 6:45pm pre-game show on 95-7 SUN FM. This is Powell River's first game in nine days and last in 2010.Nanaimo is playing their  first game  in ten days.

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Happy Holidays




First and foremost, Happy Holidays to all of the readers, and fans of the BCHL. I will do my best to keep the Ramble updated throughout the Christmas break. Over the next few weeks I will share tidbits from around the hockey world and also give my two cents on the upcoming World Junior Hockey Championships in Buffalo, NY.

Speaking of which, who do you think will take home the gold this year? Does Canada reclaim gold in enemy territory or do the Americans repeat on home soil? Don't count out the Swedes or the Russians, who will be Canada's first opponent on Boxing Day.

Here's a quick refresher for those who some how might of forgot how last year's final went down.
To our two American players (Chris Williams and Dan Schuler) don't say I have never done anything nice for you.

I worked in Melfort, Saskatchewan last year, just north of Saskatoon, which played host to the tournamnet and had the fortunate pleasure of covering all of the action in person. I was on "assignment" for Canada's New Year's Eve thriller against the U.S. (6-5 SO). Even though Canada won I think red flags were raised in that game. In particular, how they played in their own zone. As Assistant Coach, Geoff Grimwood put it, "The Americans out Canadianed Canada." What he means is the U.S. defeated Canada at their own game, big, physical and fast hockey. I think the Hockey Canada brass took noticed.


One thing I have noticed from the pre-competition games as TSN likes to call them, is the Canucks have great goaltending (Mark Visentin and Oliver Roy) and a big forward group.

Canada is only returning four players, but three will be on the blue-line. I have liked what I've seen thus far from the boys in red & white. Coach Dave Cameron is all about hard fore-checking, defensively responsible hockey. Sound familiar?

Moving in a different direction.....

To help you get through the next 48 hours of junior hockey-less mall mad hours, here's a clip from a recent meeting between two bitter ECHL rivals.


That's the Florida Everblades and the Gwinnett Gladiators sharing the Christmas Spirit.


Here's some more eye candy for you. In my humble opinion, one of the best donnybrooks in recent memory. This one comes from the CHL (Central Hockey League) tier three pro hockey. 

The two teams are the Corpus Christi IceRays and Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs. They should beat each other for those gastly names alone.


*My favourite moment, " THAT WILL TEACH YEA TO RUN KEN CARROLL!!!"


On that note,  have a very Merry Christmas and how ever you do celebrate, do it safely.












Monday, December 20, 2010

Holiday Monday

This update comes from gate A1 at the Vancouver International Airport.

The Kings received an early Christmas present this morning from the CJHL.
CLICK HERE


The Kings exchanged their holiday well wishes with one another yesterday, as the players start to make their way home, wherever that may be. Powell River heads into the break as the number one ranked team in the BCHL, and the country. The Kings have a 13 point lead atop the Coastal Conference standings with three games in hand on second place Langley. Many positives to look at indeed.

- The Kings sport a record of 28-5-3-2, which is a staggering winning percentage slightly above .800. Powell River not surpisingly owns the league's best home and road records. What has impressed me most is how they play as well on the road as they do at home. You have to go back to October 23rd in Salmon Arm to find their last regulation loss on the road. That's almost two months.

- Much has been made of the Kings stingy, almost air tight defense. Powell River has a goals against average of 1.66. To put that into perspective, Vernon is second in goals against and has allowed 26 more goals. The seven that have been put together on the blue line are exceeding expectations in a big way.

- Powell River boast two blue liners that will be going to Ohio State University over the next two years. Justin DaSilva and Craig Dalrymple have been imposing forces for the Kings. Their height and speed makes a deadly combination. Those two won't be the only defensemen who will play college puck. I expect both Jon Jutzi and Jason Yee will also find a home in the NCAA. The pair has developed into a top shut down pair and Jutzi is starting to find his rythm on the power-play as well.


- Don't forget about Chris Williams and Braden Pears. Williams is making a name for himself as one of the hardest D-men to play against. He also gets my vote as the most intimdating to look at. Just watch him on the ice, the stare is chilling. Pears at times gets past over as he is the "smallest" of the six. Many also forget he is only 17 and could blosom into a premier defender in the BCHL. He is one of the best skaters I've seen.

- I can't mention the defense without giving credit to the two men who stop the puck. What's left say about Mike Garteig? All he's done is assemble the lowest goals against average, highest save percentage, the most wins and the most shutouts in the BCHL. Some argue is numbers are from the six that play in front of him. However, when I last checked pucks still have to be stopped, and boy does he do a lot of that. I have lost count of how many key saves he has made. Sean Maguire hasn't missed a step either. Mags is second only to Garteig amongst the goaltenders in the league. His athletic ability is second to none and the sky is the limit for the 17 year old.

- When you mention the forward group, Matt Garbowsky and Chad Niddery are the first names to come to mind. The former went into the break in style. Garbowsky registered a hat trick, two of which were power-play markers. Garbs leads the team in goals (25) power-play goals (10) and short handed goals (7). Captain Clutch? Garbowsky's co-captain has been heating up too.

Niddery leads the team in points with 51 and assists with 39 in 35 games this season, about 1.5 points per game.  If you extrapolate those numbers over the remaining 25 games, Niddery is on pace for an 89 point season. That's a 23 point increase from last season. Hey, the other forwards ain't bad either.

Their line-mate, Dan Schuler, is averaging just under a point per game as he has 25 points in 29 games. Remember he's in his first season and has missed what amounts to almost a month due to injuries. Same too goes for Cohen Adair and Andrew Pettitt, who are two thirds of the regular second line. Adair and Pettitt are both expected to be healthy for the 29th. Adair was having a great start before his upper body injury last month. The 19 year old has 28 points on 14 goals. Pettitt was starting to heat up after a slower than anticipated start, before he was also saddled with an upper body injury.

I would be a fool not to mention the emergence of a talented trio. Carter Shinkaruk, Brenden Forbes and Teagan Waugh have stepped up recently to form a new look second line and they have been clicking. Waugh had a five game goal streak snapped against Victoria and Forbes and Shinkaruk were averaging over a point per game in December.


All in all, this team is on the right track as we wind down 2010. Here's to an even greater new year and a deep playoff run.

Saturday, December 18, 2010

GAME PREVIEW: GRIZZLIES at KINGS






21-14-0-2 (4th)
Road: 9-8-0-2



27-5-3-2 (1st)
Home: 15-3-0-1


LAST 10:  Victoria -- 5-4-0-1   Powell River -- 8-1-1-0


BIG STORY: The Kings and Grizzlies tangle for the fourth time this season, and second at the Hap Parker Arena. So far it's the Kings who have held court, winning all three meetings by a combined score of 12-6. In the most recent meeting, back on October 2nd, the Kings downed the Grizz' 4-1 at Bear Mountain Arena.


TEAM SCOPE:

VICTORIA: The Grizzlies snapped a three game losing streak with a 5-4 victory on home ice over Alberni Valley last night. Before that the Grizzlies dropped games to Vernon, Trail and Cowichan Valley. This team has been up and down as of late, just look at their last ten games as they are one game above the five hundred mark.

You could excuse Victoria for not having the Christmas spirit. In December the Grizzlies are 2-4-0-1 and 2-3 in their last five games. Over that stretch their goals for and against is dead even at 16. Also the roster the Kings will face tonight is much different than it was in October.

Six players have changed places since the Kings last squared off against the Grizzlies. Gone is former captain Jake Baker, along with Brett Kolins, Ryan Stanimir, Scott Milnthorpe and goaltender Tanner McGaw. In are Graeme Strukoff, Taylor Love, Kyle Aschim and goaltender Cam Gorchynski. Also Bruin MacDonald who was with the club for a short time was dealt to Vernon.

Once this team's roster is settled it will be interesting to see how they play in the new year. The Grizzlies have one of the most talented line-ups, but the question is can they put it all together?

POWELL RIVER:  The Kings will be playing with a shorter bench than they are used to tonight. With Brenden Forbes out due to suspension, Powell River will only dress 11 forwards. That means certain players will have to step up and fill roles that they are otherwise not used to. It isn't all grim news for the Kings.

Justin DaSilva will be back in the line-up as he returns from missing last night's game due to the flu. DaSilva will be a welcome addition to the blue line and on the power play. Give the Kings defense credit as they stepped up in his absence. Jon Jutzi scored on the power-play and Klay Kachur slid back into a regular defensive shift for the first time in well over two months.

Tonight's game will be a much bigger test than what they faced versus Prince George. Victoria wants to prove they can challenge the Kings at the top of the standings and return the feeling of losing at home in this season series.

WHO'S HOT:  Chad Niddery picked up three assists last night and now has nine points in his last eight games. Teagan Waugh scored for the fifth consecutive game, which is a BCHL best.  Brenden Forbes' goal last night gives him six points in his last seven games. Carter Shinkaruk saw his six game point streak come to an end...Michael Colantone is streaking for the Victoria Grizzlies. The Arizona native has three goals and four helpers in his past five games. Keep in mind though that six of those points came in a win over Prince George. Evan Richardson has two goals and five points in the past five games for the Grizz.


INJURY REPORT: Adrew Pettitt, Cohen Adair and Justin Bardarson are still out with their respective injuries.  Brenden Forbes will sit the first of his two game suspension.

STAT PACK:  As they have done in most games this season, the Kings scored the opening goal last night and that's not good news for the opposition. The Kings are 21-1-3-1 when they score first. More impressive is that they have yet to lose in the 24 times when leading after the second period. They have 22 wins and 2 ties.
PUCK DROP: Pre-game show at 7:15pm and the game gets under way at 7:30pm


POWELL RIVER OUT SLUGS PRINCE GEORGE 4-1

View 2156.jpg in slide show

That was the scene last night as the Powell River Kings out slugged the Prince George Spruce Kings 4-1. However no one was talking about the scoreline as much as they were talking about the fight card.

In total 111 penalty minutes were dished out, 45 of which belonged to the Kings. Furthermore the two teams combined for 10 fighting majors all of which came in the third period. Chris Williams, Brenden Forbes, Matt Garbowsky, Teagan Waugh and Scott Renner all received fighting majors.

Brenden Forbes received a five minute major and a game misconduct for a hit from behind and is automatically tagged with a two game suspension. He won't be eligible to return until January 2nd in Langley.

If your wondering, the Kings ended up one for eight on the power-play and Prince George was one for three. This game was more one sided then it looked.

Powell River out shot Prince George 52 to 11, including out shooting the Sprucies 18 to 3 in the first period.  The Kings stretched their win streak to seven games and now sit 12 points ahead of Langley for first in the Coastal conference.

Friday, December 17, 2010

GAME LINE UPS


Faiz Khan Nic DeSousa RJ Berra

Lyndon Martell Jujhar Khaira Brandon Watson

Kyle Manlow Connor Tiechko Jeff Earnest

Scott Mackey(AP)  Stephen Ryan Trent Murdoch

Trevor Esau Justin Fillion

Chase Golightly Derek Henderson

Isaac Davies Jamie Lively (AP)

Cameron Large
Kirk Thompson

Scratches: Zac Ashdown and  Bennett Hambrook





Chad Niddery Matt Garbowsky Dan Schuler

Carter Shinkaruk Brenden Forbes Teagan Waugh

Mike Sones Steve Schmidt Scott Renner

Bond Hawryluk Brendon Hawryluk Mitch Ball (AP)

Jon Jutzi Jason Yee

Braden Pears Craig Dalrymple

Chris Williams Klay Kachur

Mike Garteig
Sean Maguire

Scratches: Andrew Pettitt, Cohen Adair, Justin Bardarson and Justin DaSilva (Flu)






GAME PREVIEW: SPRUCE KINGS at KINGS


Prince George native Mike Garteig is featured in today's Prince George Citizen newspaper. Click Here

Congratulations to Spruce King Justin Filllion who has commited to Michigan Tech for next fall. The full article can be found here

Record: 7-30-0-2
Road: 2-17-0-1

Record: 26-5-3-2
Home: 14-3-0-1

 LAST 10:

 Spruce Kings: 1-9-0-0      Kings: 7-1-2


BIG STORY: Two teams at opposite ends of the spectrum meet for the second and final time in Powell River tonight. The Kings and Spruce Kings are separated by 41 points in the BCHL standings. Powell River took the first encounter 5-0 in Prince George on October 20th.

TEAM SCOPE:

SPRUCE KINGS: Prince George has a had a tough go in the BCHL this season. The Spruce Kings are last in the 16 team circuit and have lost 15 of their last 16 games. Prince George's last win came on Dec 11th a 4-2 victory over Quesnel. That's over a month between wins as they last won before that against Salmon Arm on November 5th. At one point in November and into early December PG lost 13 in a row.

During that stretch Ed Demsey was fired as Head Coach and Dave Dupas has since come on board. Dupas is familiar with the BCHL as he was the Head Coach in Williams Lake at the start of last season. This team, you could say, is in it's rebuilding stages as they look to get this franchise back where it once was. The Spruce Kings are only five years removed from their Royal Bank Cup semi-final appearance as hosts in 2006. This year's addition still has some players who can hurt you.

A home town boy leads the team up front. RJ Berra leads the team in points with 51 and in goals with an impressive 31 which is a league best. The 20 year-old is the centre piece of the Spruce Kings offense and will be relied on heavily throughout the rest of the season. Berra is joined by two other 20 year-olds that chip in on the offensive end.

Nic DeSousa and Justin Fillion have 75 points between them this season. What's impressive about Fillion is that his point total comes from the blue line as he is the team's top defenseman.

* DeSousa and Berra recorded their 100th BCHL point on the same goal against Coquitlam on Wednesday.

Another promising piece is 16 year-old Jujhar Khaira, who has 27 points as a rookie. Khaira was featured in an October issue of The Hockey News magazine

KINGS: Powell River is playing some of their best hockey of late, as they are riding a six game win streak. That was good enough for the Kings to climb to number one in the CJHL rankings. Powell River recorded roads wins over Langley (4-0) and Surrey (3-1) last week. What  impresses me  is that the Kings have not lost since dropping a 6-3 home decision to Nanaimo on November 23rd. That shows how the team has responded after a less than stellar effort. The Kings have been winning in spite of their struggling power-play, something that isn't often uttered.

The power-play is third last in the BCHL at a shade over 18 percent. However, the team did show signs of improvement in Surrey scoring twice on the man advantage in the 3-1 win. The coaching staff has said it needs to improve and the team spent a lot of time this week on special teams play.

The defense remains air tight for Powell River. The team is running away with the leagues best goals against average. Entering tonight's game, the Kings sport a 1.69 goals against which is almost a full goal less than their closest competitor.


WHO'S HOT: Teagan Waugh has come back from an injury with a bang. The 18 year-old has scored in four straight games which is tops in the BCHL. His linemate, Carter Shinkaruk, has assists in five consecutive games and Brenden Forbes has points in five of his last six. That line has 16 points in their last six contests. On the other side of the ledger, RJ Berra has been on fire for Prince George. The native son has a 12 game point streak and has scored in three straight contests. Nic DeSousa has points in his last three and Lyndon Martell has put up points in five straight games.

INJURY REPORT: Cohen Adair, Andrew Pettitt and Justin Bardarson remain out for the Kings. Also Justin DaSilva will sit tonight's game out with the Flu.

LOCAL DEBUT:  With four regulars out of the lineup for the Kings, they have called up Powell River Minor Hockey product Mitch Ball to make his first BCHL appearance.  Mitch has 18 goals and 15 assists to go along with 14 penalty minutes in 29 games with the Comox Valley Glacier Kings in the VIJHL.  Mitch is a young and exciting prosepect with a lot of potential.


STAT PACK: The Kings are 20-1-3-1 when they score first this season and are 21-0-2-0 when they have a lead after two periods. Suffice to say Prince George can't go down early to the Kings tonight.


Monday, December 13, 2010

Kings move to Number One in Canada; Weekend Wrap Up

The Powell River Kings have dethroned the Spruce Grove Saints (AJHL) as the number one ranked team in the CJHL.
full rankings here

This is the first time the Kings have been ranked #1 in the country and the first BCHL team this season. The Kings swept their two game mainland road swing last week, including blanking the Langley Chiefs 4-0 and downing the Surrey Eagles 3-1.

The ranking is a reflection of the dedicated members of the Kings organization who have put countless hours into making this program what it is today. Kent Lewis and his coaching staff have rebuilt a team that only a short time ago was struggling to crack the .500 mark. Now this team is sitting first place in the league and as of today, the country.

Congratulations Powell River, you've earned it.


----

Going back to the weekend, the Kings continued to flex their muscle on the road. The two wins bumped their road record to 12-2-3-1. Powell River has the best winning percentage and second most wins on the road.

The Kings didn't do anything fancy in their approach for both games. Kent Lewis wanted an early forecheck and players going hard after pucks. It sounds simple, and it is, but it was mighty affective as well. Powell River used their forecheck and cycle game to get chances early and often in both games.

Weekend Three Stars:

1. Tegan Waugh
The 18 year old second year product has been on a tear since returning from injury. Waugh scored in both games last week and is riding a four game goal scoring streak. Waugh is still technically a rookie in the BCHL, but he sure isn't playing like one. Waugh, along with Brenden Forbes and Carter Shinkaruk have been racking up points in their past handful of games. That line has 17 points in their last 6 games.

2. Brenden Forbes

Forbes could be called the man behind Teagan Waugh's success. The centreman registered two points in two games both in the 4-0 win over Langley. Forbes scored once and assisted on the game winning goal by Chris Williams on Wednesday. His efforts did not go unnoticed either as he was named third star of the game. Although he did not pick up a point on Friday, Forbes was terrific on the draw and was effective in winning puck battles in the opposition's end. Brenden is coming into his own with the Powell River Kings.



3. Jason Yee

You will find Jason at the bottom of the team scoring race but that doesn't matter. The third year King is arguably the best defensive defenseman in the BCHL and that was on full display this past week. Yee was a force in his own end. On Wednesday, Yee and his partner Jon Jutzi held the BCHL's second leading scorer, Matt Ius, without a point or scoring chance. On Friday, for an encore performance, Yee held the top scorer in the league, Bradley McGowan, without a point or a shot. Jason doesn't get noticed on the ice and that's exactly what the coaches want.

Friday, December 10, 2010

GAME LINE UPS



Richard Vanderhoek Brad McGowan Dale Hunt

Tyler Morely Daniel Gentzler Brandon Morely

Colton Mackie Scott Holm Robert Lindores

Cobi Smith-Mass Hayden Trup Michael Stenerson

Steve Koshey Josh Monk

Mitch Jones Beau Orser

Doug Wedel Riley Sweeney

Karel St. Laurent
Andrew Hunt

Scratches: Jeff Vanderlugt, Tim Coish and Zach Hillhouse



Chad Niddery Matt Garbowsky Dan Schuler

Carter Shinkaruk Brenden Forbes Teagan Waugh

Mike Sones Steven Schmidt Klay Kachur

Bond Hawryluk Brendon Hawryluk  Scott Renner

Justin DaSilva Chris Williams

Jon Jutzi Jason Yee

Braden Pears Craig Dalrymple

Mike Garteig
Sean Maguire

Scratches: Andrew Pettitt, Cohen Adair and Justin Bardarson


GAME PREVIEW: KINGS at EAGLES

 
                                                           


BIG STORY: Two streaking teams meet for the third time in South Surrey. The Kings have won five straight including back to back shutouts over Coquitlam and Langley. Surrey has won three straight and four of their past five games. Interestingly, Powell River has yet to beat the Eagles, as they are 0-1-1-0.


TEAM SCOPE:

KINGS-- Powell River is playing some of their best hockey over the past week. The team is coming off a convincing 4-0 blanking of the Langley Chiefs on Wednesday. After a so-so first period the Kings found their legs and controlled the rest of the hockey game. The only negative you can drawn on with this team is their struggles with the man advantage. The Kings own the best record in the BCHL yet have the third worst power-play and second worst on the road. In their last five games, Powell river is two for twenty five with a man up. Kent Lewis told his team this morning that will need to improve significantly in the new year.

EAGLES-- Surrey is coming off an successful interior road trip where they won two out of three and their only loss came in a 2-1 overtime decision to Vernon. The Eagles have collected points in their last five games and are now closing in on the Langley Chiefs. Surrey is only two points back of second with four games in hand on Langley. A major reason for their success has been their ability to score with regularity on the power-play and the production they are getting from their back end.

The Eagles own the BCHL's best power-play which is humming along at just under 29 percent. Surrey is seven for twenty six in their last five games. Richard Vanderhoek leads the attack on the power-play as he leads the team with 12 power-play tallies.

The Eagles defense core has chipped in with 14 points in their last five games. Steve Koshey leads the way with six points, all assists over that span.

WHO'S HOT-- The Kings have a laundry list of players who have found their scoring touch. Matt Garbowsky leads the way with points in eight straight games including a six game scoring streak. Garbowsky has gone 5-1-6 in his last five games. His line mates are red hot as well, as Dan Schuler and Chad Niddery are riding 6 game point streaks respectively. In fact, that line has 17 points in their last five games. Speaking of dynamic trio's, Brenden Forbes, Teagan Waugh and Carter Shinkaruk have teamed up for 14 points in their last five games.

The Eagles are lead by an unlikely pair. Steve Koshey and Dale Hunt have six points in their last five games. Vanderhoek over that span has four goals and five points. Brad McGowan, the team leader in points and goals, has five points in his last five.

STAT PACK: The leagues best power-play in Surrey (28.57) goes head to head with the leagues best penalty-kill in Powell River (92.50). The difference in this game will be which unit comes out on top.


INJURY REPORT: Cohen Adair and Andrew Pettitt remain out for Powell River. Tim Coish is the only Eagle player listed as injured.

PUCK DROP: This is the last road game of 2010 for Powell River. Their final two games before the Christmas break are back at home. So far in 2010 the Kings road record is 24-14-4-4 dating back to last season.


Wednesday, December 8, 2010

KINGS WIN AGAIN OVER CHIEFS 4-0

Judging by the opening period the score posted above would come as a surprise to some But games aren't decided after twenty minutes and the Kings showed why.

After a scoreless first period which saw chances for either team the Kings scored four consecutive including two in the second for a 4-0 win over Langley. Mike Garteig made 27 saves for his sixth shutout of the season now only one back of tying the single season record.

Chris Williams, Teagan Waugh, Brenden Forbes and Matt Garbowsky scored for the Kings. the trio of Waugh, Shinkaruk and Forbes collected four points and played yet another great game. Shinkaruk has five points in his last six and Waugh now is riding a three game goal scoring streak. Speaking of goals streaks, Garbowsky's 23rd extends his goal scoring streak to six games.

Powell River now has a record of 4-0-1-1 against Langley  and are now 10 points up on the Chiefs for first in the Coastal Conference.

Powell River is in Surrey on Friday.

GAME LINE UPS



Chad Niddery Matt Garbowsky Dan Schuler

Carter Shinkaruk Brenden Forbes Teagan Waugh

Mikes Sones Steven Schmidt Klay Kachur

Bond Hawryluk Brendon Hawryluk Justin Bardarson

Justin DaSilva Chris Williams

Jon Jutzi Jason Yee

Braden Pears Craig Dalrymple

Mike Garteig
Sean Maguire

Scratches: Drew Pettitt Cohen Adair Scott Renner

Brandon Thompson Brad McBride Trevor Gerling

Darnell Dyck Josh Myers Matt Ius

Kit Sitterley Kody Dhaliwal Austin Plevy

Cam Lawson AP  Sebastion Pare AP

Ryan Bakken Kevin Tuohy

Dillon Scholten Trace Strahle

Tyler Miller Tim Daly / Brad Haber

Wyatt Galley
Cole Huggins

Scratches: Mike Tebutt Brandon Scholten Mason Blacklock Josh Hansen

GAME PREVIEW: KINGS at CHIEFS

Powell River Kings vs. Langley Chiefs
24-5-3-2              20-11-1-4

LAST 10: Kings-- 6-1-2-1 Chiefs-- 6-3-1-0

BIG STORY: This is the sixth meeting between the Kings and Chiefs and second in three games. The Kings have won three and tied one since dropping the opener 3-2 in overtime on October 15th. These two teams will meet two more times in the new year, both in Langley.

TEAM SCOPE

KINGS: Powell River recently has flexed their muscle over the Chiefs. The Kings have outscored the Chiefs 17-8 in five games, including holding them to only one goal on three occasions. Also Powell River has not surrendered a power-play goal to Langley, killing all 18 Chief opportunities. The Kings have been successful stooping Langley's explosive offense. The Chiefs have scored a staggering 151 goals which is tops in the BCHL yet only been able to muster eight against the Kings, three of which came in the first encounter.

If it ain't broke don't fix I imagine is the Kings mentality against the Chiefs. That is to keep doing what's made them so successful in the first five match ups.

CHIEFS: Langley has been up and down in recent weeks. The Chiefs are 3-2 in their last five and 2-1 to start the month of December.  They have started strong in the final month of the year, picking up a road win in Alberni Valley on Thursday before downing a hot Clippers team at home on Sunday.  That can help erase an auspicious end to November where they lost two of three and surrender 12 goals in that span. For the Chiefs to be successful against the Kings they will have to find ways to generate offense and early. In the last three defeats to the Kings and four games overall the have given up first period leads to Powell River. Also as mentioned above they will need to find a way to get production from their power-play.

Their success hinges on players like Matt Ius and Josh Myers producing against Powell River, which hasn't been the case so far.

Who's Hot: After a slower then expected start, Langley native, Carter Shinkaruk has four points in his last five games. The 19 year-old has scored once and added three helpers over that span.  Matt Garbowsky has scored in five straight games and has three goals and one assist in his last three games. Chad Niddery broke his 17 game scoring slump on Sunday and has five points in his last three games and is riding a five game assist streak. The third member of that trio, Dan Schuler, has picked up points in five consecutive games...No one is hotter on Langley then Brandon Thompson. The future RIT Tiger is riding a four game assist and six game point streak overall.

Stat Pack: Powell River hasn't lost in regulation on the road since October 23rd in Salmon Arm, that was a 3-2 setback. That's a record of 5-0-2-1. Langley is starting to feel comfortable at home as they do on the road. The Chiefs are 3-1-1 in their last five games at the Events Centre.

Injury Report: Cohen Adair and Andrew Pettitt remain out for the Kings. Mike Tebbutt and Mason Blacklock where no go's on Friday for Langley. It remains to be seen if they are healthy enough to return.

Puck Drop: Pre-game show at 6:45 play-by-play at 7pm on SUN FM.



Tuesday, December 7, 2010

MID SEASON REPORT CARD



I know I'm four games late on submitting my mid season report card.  So without further adieu, here it is.

RECORD: GP 34 -- 24-5-3-2 53 pts (1st)
09-10: GP 34-- 18-10-1-5 42 pts

Just by looking at this season compared to last season, the Kings have made big improvements. They have recorded six more wins and five less regulation losses, which is a nine point swing since last year. 

One statistic that stands out is that the Kings have decided more games in regulation this season. Last year Powell River went to overtime eight times in their first 34 games. This year the Kings have gone to overtime 6 times, winning just one.  They do have their fair share of struggles in the extra session, however leaving less games to chance is always an improvement in the eyes of coaches.

GRADE: A
  • Team owns the league's best record and is ranked second in the country.  Hard to argue against that.

MONTHLY RECORD

SEPTEMBER: 5-3-0-0
09-10: 4-3-0-1

Over the past two seasons the Kings have not come out of the gate running. This season they were one point better than one year ago. A better start is always an improvement, no matter the margin.

OCTOBER: 10-1-1-1
09-10: 8-4-1-1

I believe you can look back at the first month of fall as the turning point in the Kings season thus far. They played one fewer game than last year but collected two more wins and five more points. Collecting 23 of a possible 28 points is quite the month indeed.

NOVEMBER: 7-1-2-1
09-10: 4-3-0-2

This was another month where the Kings showed improvement from the previous year. The team grew out the "dusters" for Movember and it might have helped. The team secured 17 of a possible 22 points and continued to widen the gap at the top of the standings. The only negative could be the late November mainland road swing. The Kings tied Surrey and Langley and beat Coquitlam. The team felt they left some points on the table.

DECEMBER: 2-0-0-0
09-10: 2-0-0-1

Powell River played one less game this season in December to reach the halfway point. It was a good start to the month too as they have picked up wins over Langley and Coquitlam. Hopefully they can continue the momentum into the Christmas break.

CONFERENCE RECORD:

vs. COASTAL CONFERENCE: 16-4-3-2
09-10: 14-6-1-4

Another area where the Kings have shown improvement over last year. They have played the same amount of games against Coastal Conference opponents (25) but have two more wins and four more points. Wins and points are crucial within your own conference when it comes to jockeying for playoff position. The Kings are on pace to secure a first round bye in the playoffs and that could be beneficial for a deep playoff run. Who knows, the five games they had to play against the Captials last spring was maybe five too many?  A well rested and fresh team is key in the post-season.

vs. INTERIOR CONFERENCE: 8-1-0-0
09-10: 4-4-0-1

This could be the best year over year improvement. The Kings can point to their Cariboo road swing as a shining example. Last season Powell River went 1-2-0-1 in the four games (Williams Lake included).  This season Powell River went 3-1-0-0 with the lone loss coming on the final game of the trip, 3-2 in Salmon Arm. That trip also saw Mike Garteig and Sean Maguire collect consecutive shutouts in Prince George and Merritt.

Collecting wins and points versus non conference opponents can make all the difference when the dust settles at the end of the season. You never know if a 5-3 win in Quesnel in mid October will be the difference come playoff seeding.


GRADE: A-
  • Improved their record  in every month. However, they also fought with complacency on a couple of occasions.

OFFENSE
GF: 117
09-10: 105

The Kings have seen their goal total go up by 12 from last year. An increase in scoring is always a good sign at this point in the season. Powell River is also getting offensive contributions throughout their line-up. The Kings have 11 players in double digit point totals and six players with 20 or more points. Also, four players have scored 10 or more goals. However, you're left with a sense that there could be more before too long.

The general consensus from the coaches is that some players have had slower than anticipated starts offensivley and they expect them to heat up in the second half of the season.  Add to that, the fact that the Kings have seen numerous players go down with injuries.  If the team can stay healthy and get some more production from some key players, this team could be very dangerous in the second half.

Andrew Pettitt started slower than expected but started to heat up in November, before being saddled with an injury at the end of the month.  At the time of his injury, he had scored 13 goals and was back on pace for a 30 goal season.

Teagan Waugh and Carter Shinkaruk also got off to slower than expected starts.  Teagan was sidelined with an upper body injury and has looked great in his first two games back, scoring a goal in each.  Carter has been given more ice time due to the recent injuries, and he has seized the opportunity collecting 4 points in the last 5 games.

You can look at a handful of cases such as these on the Kings roster this season. It's impressive that they have still put up the offensive numbers they have. It shows how much depth the team has up front.

GRADE: B

  • What they have accumulated so far is good, but they rank 5th in the Coastal Conference and 9th in the BCHL with 3.4 goals scored per game.  That needs to go up and the team knows it.  Look for some players to heat up in the second half.

DEFENSE
GA: 60
09-10: 87

Cutting down your goals against by 27 from one season ago is a drastic improvement. The team owns the league's best goals against (60), which is 23 better than second place Vernon. On average, opponents are only averaging 1.80 goals per game.That isn't a common feat in hockey, let alone junior hockey.

Mike Garteig owns the leagues best goals against average, save percentage and has the most shutouts and leads the league in wins (19).  Some might argue that he is blessed with a great defense in front of him which has helped his numbers. Yes the Kings have a great D-core but you still need a goalie between the pipes. I bring up the fact he has now twiced stopped penalty shots in overtime this season. Garteig is one of the best masked men in the league this season and in my mind should have been the starter for Canada West at the recent World Junior A Challenge in Penticton. His protege is no slouch either.

Sean Maguire sits right behind Garteig in goaltender statistics. In seven games Maguire has a 2.09 GAA, a .920 Save Percentage and two shutouts of his own. "Ron's" play in Nanaimo and Alberni two weeks ago was simply stellar as the 17 year-old made some saves that hurt just to look at. His athletic ability is something to behold.

As strong as the defense has been, they have also been a major contributor on the offensive side as well.  Powell River has 78 points from the blue line.  Justin DaSilva leads all defensemen with 28 points (6-22-28) and is followed by Craig Dalrymple's 19 points (8-11). 

Jon Jutzi has made a smooth transition to the BCHL out of Jr B in Ontario.  The lanky smooth skating defenseman has 10 points this season and could have more. Jutzi plays a pro-style game and showed his offensive flare with a nice end to end rush against Alberni  two weeks ago. The Tavistock, ON native weaved his way into the Dogs' zone before capping it off by going bar down shortside for a highlight reel snipe.

The remaining four d-men (Chris Williams, Klay Kachur, Jason Yee and Braden Pears) have put together solid seasons as well. Yee is developing into a prototypical shutdown defenseman who continually plays against the opposition's best forwards. Williams is showing why he might just be one of the best open ice hitters in the league. Don't forget he has an offensive punch as well.  He has scored two goals and they were both spectacular. Kachur has been very valuable as both a defenseman and forward for the hockey club and Pears is developing into a very good puck rushing defenseman.

GRADE: A

  • Tough to critique a back end that has been as solid as the these seven have been.

SPECIAL TEAMS
PP: 17.86%
PPG: 30
09-10: 17.39%
PPG: 32

The power-play statistically is slighty better at this point this season compared to last year. However they have scored two less goals and have had their struggles. They started off well, and, for most of the month of September the team had a top three power-play.

Kent Lewis has commented on several occasions that their power-play has tried to be too fancy at times looking for that one extra pass to put the cherry on top, so to speak. In the BCHL, and junior hockey in general, the power-play is a very important factor to a team's success. Right now the Kings are winning games in spite of their man advantage. Just think how scary good this team could be with an improved power-play. To their credit they have shown improvement, especially over the weekend against Langley. If the team can get production out of players not named Matt Garbowsky (7 PPG) look out BCHL.

GRADE: C-

  • The team with the best record in the BCHL only has the 13th best power-play.

PENALTY-KILL: 90.20 % (1st)
09-10: 85.88%

The Kings are a much defferent story when they are a man down. The team has the best overall penalty-kill in the BCHL. The Kings are tied for third most short handed goals with six. Garbowsky leads the team in shorties with three.

In fact, Garbowsky and Chad Niddery have been the best forwards for Powell River on the PK. The dynamic duo are very aggresive and continually create chances for themselves. One key for the Kings has been their hard nose fore check while a man down. The team attacks the oppositions breakouts which leads to plenty of turnovers and short handed opportunities.

I can't forget the efforts of others on the penalty kill. Andrew Pettitt has developed himself into one heck of a shot blocking machine and Jon Jutzi and Jason Yee are like pitt bulls in front of their own net. Finally, your goaltender has to be your best penalty-killer and that has been the case with Garteig and Maguire.

GRADE: A+

  • If your penalty-kill continually hovers in the 90th percentile,  you're doing something right.  Salmon Arm has the next best PK at 83.7% (That's a big gap)

OVERALL GRADE: A

  • A great start to the season but they don't hand out hardware in December. The team needs to improve every day and take time to enjoy the journey that is the BCHL regular season.