Road Trip!!!!!

The Bus will log a few more "K's" this weekend as the team gets set to head out for a three game Island swing, starting tonight at the Dawg Pound in Alberni Valley.

In fact, the Kings will play three games over the span of 48 hours, when the trip culminates with a stop at Bear Mountain Arena on Saturday against Victoria. Also on the schedule is a date with the Clippers at Frank Crane Arena, which will be the teams first visit to the Crane.

This will be a good test for the Kings, yes, they have played three games in as many days, however, two out of three were at home. You can sense an atmosphere of excitement, as the Kings are about to embark on their first "roadie" of the season. However they will be missing two key pieces on the back-end.

Both Jon Jutzi and Chris Williams will be out for tonight's game against the Bulldogs. The Former might be  an game time decision, as both D-men have been bit by the injury bug. The Coaching staff don't believe both injuries are long term, however you want to take every precaution necessary to ensure the health of both players.

That means we will see one of the AP's for the Powell River Kings. Defenseman, Brandan Smith (92), will dawn the green & gold tonight on the blueline.  Smith was most recently with the Dawson Creek Rage of the NAHL.  His 6'3 205 lb frame will fit right in with the Kings D-core, and shouldn't feel out of place. A brief scouting report has Smith pegged as a good puck mover, with a physcial presensce who likes to keep it simple in his own end. In other words, a Kent Lewis hockey player.

Shifting gears, the Dawgs are an interesting team. They have since gone undeafted after dropping the season opener to Powell River 3-0. That includes wins over Cowichan, Nanaimo and Langley and most recently a 3-3 draw with Westside. Granted, they have yet to play a road game since Sept 10th, but Paul Esdale's club looks to be on a roll. They have a good assortment of forward depth and a very good goaltender in Frank Slubowski.

Tid bit of information: Both Starting Goaltenders tonight hail from the BC Central Interior(I picture Wayne Cox and his ugly polyester shirts when I say that) sorry, out of province fans, that reference won't register with you. Mike Garteig calls the Cariboo home as he is an Prince George Native and Slubowski hails from the "City of Rainbows," Prince Rupert.

I will try my best to keep a travel blog going today.

Check back later,