Kings scoring in record numbers
By Tyler Lowey, Times Reporter
Tyler Lowey Photo
Zach Meadows was the latest veteran to complete an unprecedented four-game hat trick streak, when the Kings pounded the Ponoka Stampeders 7-2 Oct. 28 at the Strathmore Family Centre.
Never in the Kings recorded history have there been four-straight Heritage Junior Hockey League games with hat tricks recorded by different players each night.
George Montour got things going Oct. 20 in a 7-5 loss to the Okotoks Bisons (8-3-0). A rare midweek game saw Jaks Faris net his first hatty as a King Oct. 25 in an 8-3 rout of the Three Hills Thrashers (0-8-0). On Oct. 27, Matt Thomson’s goal with 35 seconds remaining in overtime pushed the Kings past the 2-7-2 Stettler Lightning 8-7 in overtime.
Then, with the game well out of hand against the Stampeders (1-8-1), Meadows streaked down the left wing and snapped one past tortured netminder Keenan Starkell to complete his first hat trick in his third season with the club.
“That’s four hat tricks for our vets,” said Kings Head Coach Shadoe Stoodley. “They’ve been working hard and some have been struggling to start the year, so it’s nice to see them finally go in.”
Not surprisingly, the Kings offence is on fire right now, having scored 23 goals in the three latest victories.
“I think the competition has something to do with it. I don’t want to take anything away from the other team, but we have played the three last-placed teams from the Northern division,” said Stoodley. “I thought Ponoka played well tonight, but they only had two lines and our full lineup piled on them at the end. Then in Three Hills, I thought it was tight to the end, then we pulled away and against Stettler we let too many goals in; we shouldn’t have given up that extra point.”
Wins now count the same as wins in February, and the Kings will gladly take the soft schedule as October drew to an end.
The main reason for the goal-scoring spike has been the funneling of more pucks to the net. Over this three-game stretch, the Kings have pelted the opposing netminder with 162 shots, including a season-high 65-shot performance against the Thrashers.
“Our game plan is getting pucks to the net,” said Stoodley. “Goalies in this league are good, you’re not going to score on every shot, but if we get traffic and get shots through – and we did a good job of that tonight – then we are going to score more often.”
Getting in front of teams is one thing, but it’s another thing to be able to put teams in the rearview mirror and leave them in the dust, which is another feat being accomplished lately by the Kings.
During this three-game heater, the Kings have outscored their opponents 8-1 in the final stanza.
“It’s good to get our confidence back again. We got our butts kicked in the locker room after our last home loss to Stettler. Since then, everyone is simplifying the game and we are beginning to find ourselves as we come up to the midpoint of the season,” said Thomson, who flanks a line responsible for three of the four latest hat tricks. “Our line has been together for a couple years now and we are playing really well and keeping it simple. The other night, the puck just happened to be on my stick at the right time, but it’s great to see guys like Faris and Meadows put up numbers. They certainly put the work in and deserve the points.”
Against the Stamps, Thomson drove defenceman Kacey Straub into the end boards on what was viewed as a late hit by the referee. He was given a five-minute major and a game misconduct.
Already up 1-0 following a Hayden Vander Ploeg bomb from the point, the Kings jumped in front 2-0 when Austin Holmes netted his second of the season while killing off the Thomson major.
Stealing the puck at the Stamps blue line, he skated in and sniped blocker side for his first goal since the first game of the year.
Holmes, a Bassano product, spent two years with the Coaldale Copperheads while attending post-secondary school in Lethbridge. There, he scored a career-high seven goals and 11 points in 28 games during the 2015-2016 campaign.
“It’s nice when everything is going in for a team; it’s been a while since I was able to score,” said Holmes. “After two years in Lethbridge, I wasn’t ready to give up hockey, so I was happy that they welcomed me into the team. I’m just trying to come in as a 20-year-old and contribute as much as possible.”
The Kings (6-4-1) will look to see if there is a new contributor for the hat trick streak Nov. 3 when they take on the High River Flyers (6-5-1) at the Bob Snodgrass Recreation Complex. The next Kings home game goes Nov. 7 (Tuesday) when they host the Bisons (8 p.m.).