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.

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