Wednesday, January 12, 2011

KINGS SCHEDULE BREAKDOWN

The Kings have past the two thirds mark on their schedule as there is 18 games left in the regular season. I've decided to break down the remaining games and see what the Kings will be up against.

JANUARY
Games Remaining: 9
Home: 4
Away: 5
Versus above .500 Teams: 8
At Home: 3
On Road: 5
Versus below .500 Teams: 1
At Home: 1

HIGH LIGHT: Four games in Five days on a tough Interior Conference road trip.

The remaining schedule for this month will be a good challenge for the Kings.  Most notably, Powell River will play five straight road games in eight days. The trip starts Saturday in Victoria on the 15th and ends Saturday the 22nd in Penticton. There is a quirk in that stretch as well.

Powell River will travel to Victoria on Saturday morning and return the following afternoon. It's a quick rest as the team will then have to turn around and head out on Monday morning for West Kelowna where they will base for their four game Interior swing. I'm sure the players will have enough of the bus by Monday night.

Those four games in five nights will be the biggest test up until now for this hockey team. There is only one rest day which falls on the Thursday. To further compound the fact,  unlike previous years, all four opponents on the trip are playing very well and no game will come easy. In season's past you might point to one of the four teams as having a down year and maybe see that game as a "soft" one. Not this year, as fifth place Trail still sports an impressive 23-18-2-1 record. Furthermore, the Kings edged the Smoke Eaters 1-0 back when the two teams played in Powell River in October.

The Kings do sport a 12-3-3-1 road record, but they lost their last road game they played, a 4-2 defeat in Langley. This team's motto is embrace the road like it's home, and their record reflects that.

UNDERRATED GAME OF THE MONTH: Tuesday, January 25th: Penticton @ Powell River.

This game will essentially be the back half of a home and home for both teams. The Kings will finish their Interior road trip three days earlier in Penticton against the Vees. Both teams sit atop of their respective conference and this could be a possible Fred Page Cup preview.


FEBRUARY
Games: 9
Home: 3
Away: 6
Versus above .500 Teams: 4
At Home: 2
On Road: 2
Versus below .500 Teams: 5
At Home: 1
On Road: 4

HIGH LIGHT: Three games in three nights on the Mainland.


This will be the Kings last visit to the Lower Mainland and second to last road trip of the season. They're in Surrey on the 3rd, Coquitlam on the 4th and Langley on the 5th.

I put this trip ahead of the two game trip to the Island on the final weekend of the season for a couple of reasons. First, with no disrespect to Alberni Valley or Cowichan Valley, two out of the three opponents for the Kings have above 500 records. Second, both Surrey and Langley have beaten the Kings in regulation.

The match up on the Saturday against the Chiefs will be the final of eight meetings in the regular season. Through the first seven, the Kings sport a 5-1-0-1 record but Langley won the most recent encounter on January 2nd in Langley. The Kings want to avenge that loss and end the season series on a positive note.

The contest against the Eagles will be the final one in Surrey in the six game season eries. Through three games up until now, the Kings have a record of 1-1-1 against the Eagles. This might be a foreshadow for what's to come in the playoffs.

Finally the first two games I talked about bookend the tilt with the Coquitlam Express. The Kings have won all four meetings so far this season, but have been challenged at the "Rhino" in Coquitlam. The Kings took both games in the Express; barn but squeaked out a 2-1 win back in October and took a 4-0 decision in November. The scores do mask what were two chippy affairs with emotions running very high for both teams. The Express will be battling for the final playoff spot over the next month and a half and the Kings will have their hands full.


UNDERRATED GAME OF THE MONTH: Wednesday, February 16th: Salmon Arm @ Powell River.

This will be the second and final regular season meeting between these two non conference opponents. The Silverbacks can boast they are the only Interior conference team at this point to beat the Kings. The 'Backs erased a 1-0 first period deficit and downed the Kings 3-2 at the Sun Wave Centre on October 23rd.

Also Salmon Arm has BCHL leading scorer Mike Hammond in their line-up and he adds even more fire power to an already impressive line-up. Last month the Silverbacks also acquired speedster Brad Reid from the Express. This team can roll out four lines that can cause damage.

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