Kings’ Special Teams Sink Vipers:

This is posted on the Vipers website:

Kings’ special teams sink Vipers

by Don Klepp | Added 2010-04-06

In a game where shots, hits, and scoring chances were even, the Powell River Kings used special teams to defeat the Vernon Vipers 4-0 on Monday.

Mat Bodie led the way for the Kings with a goal and two assists on the power play. His solo rush and net drive created the first at 15:12 of the first period. Graeme Gordon stopped Bodie’s scoring attempt, but the Kings’ captain was joined by three team mates including Chad Niddery, who eventually bundled the puck home.

That goal came in the second half of the period, where the Kings held the balance of power after the Vipers had been the stronger team in the first half of the period. The tide turned during a Powell River penalty kill. Soon after, they fashioned the Niddery goal.

The second period was surprisingly wide open: the Vipers had 10 scoring chances while the Kings had 9 of their own. For the Vipers, it was a story of missed opportunities. Several times they had Josh Watson at their mercy, only to miss the net. They seemed to try for the perfect shot, high to the corner, but Kane, Short, Collins, Pimm, and Kakoske all shot high and wide.

The only goal of the period was scored by Cody Rainaldi, who came over the blue line at high speed and unleashed an unstoppable slap shot that went in just under the bar at 5:17.

The Kings delighted their 1243 fans with two more power play markers in the final period. From the right point, Mat Bodie set up Drew Pettit for a perfectly-placed one-timer at 0:48. Pettit, who shoots right handed, was positioned all alone at the left faceoff dot.

On a five-on-three advantage, Bodie completed the scoring at 6:58 when his screened wrist shot from the left point found the top corner over Gordon’s right arm. The Kings finished the game with three goals in seven power plays against a Vernon penalty kill that had been nearly perfect in the playoffs until the last two games.

Meanwhile, the Kings’ aggressive penalty kill negated three Viper power plays. Indeed, although the final stats suggested the game was closer than the score would indicate – shots favoured the Kings 30-28 and the Vipers had 23 scoring chances while the Kings had 22 – the Kings were the more aggressive and insistent team for much of the game. Even when the Vipers out shot the Kings 16-8 in the second period, the King defenders were tenacious as they prevented second-chance scoring.

Josh Watson was named the first star for stopping all 28 Viper shots, but frankly he made very few sensational saves. He was steady and, as mentioned earlier, he was the beneficiary of some woeful Viper shooting.

Watson’s best save came in the third period when Braden Pimm stole the puck from Justin Dasilva during a King power play. Pimm fed Mike Collins, who was unimpeded as he unsuccessfully tried to beat Watson through the five hole.

Both teams had reason to be confused by the inconsistent refereeing of Trevor Hanson. Blatant infractions were ignored in some instances and flagged for penalties at other times.

However, his calls were not the reason the Kings won this game. The home team simply executed with the man advantage, while the visitors did not.

The series continues on Tuesday in Powell River with the Kings leading the series, 2-1.