Jan 19, 2015 | Jennifer Pain | 562 views
Kings End the Season with a Strong Finish
There was almost more hockey than the Kings, and their faithful following, could handle as the Kings played three games in less than 48 hours.
The Kings met with the feisty, physical Hagersville 10 team on Friday night. It was a game that was much closer than anticipated and kept the Kings fans furiously biting their nails and sweating with anxiety. The Kings opened the scoring with a fairly quick goal from leading scorer, Zach Archibald, assisted by Kyle Arnold. The score remained close at 1-0 until halfway through the 2nd, when Brayden Pauls netted a goal for the home team, assisted by Liam Rabbat. Hagersville didn't waste any time, and scored late in the 2nd period to push the score to 2-1 for the Kings. The scoreless third period did not ease the minds of the fans, but kept the game interesting! As the game progressed we saw a bit of a deterioration of "referee attentiveness".....a trend that continued through the weekend (and has been noted in many games leading up to the end of the season!). However, the Kings held on for the 2-1 win, setting the tone for the weekend!
The Kings met the undefeated Glanbrook 8 team at home on Saturday morning. The referees lost control of the game quickly and it became an intensely physical battle, which is not the type of game that parents like to watch! The Kings scored twice in the game, with both goals netted by sharp-shooter Liam Rabbat. Although the Kings led going into the 3rd period it was not enough to hold off the wild Glanbrook 8 team and the Kings saw their first loss since early January (4-2). As the game sheet mysteriously disappeared, details of the goals are sketchy - however, there were a few take-home messages: a) we can be proud of our team (and, dare I say, even our organization) for the manner in which the boys conducted themselves. It was a tough battle, much tougher than it should have been - the referees lost control of the game, yet our boys managed to keep their cool in VERY tough situations. b) Without a doubt, the Kings have the most supportive coaching staff in all of the league. With complete confidence we can say that the well-being and safety of our kids is the #1 priority for our coaches - thank you for protecting our kids! c) this Glanbrook team is not going to know what they're up against the next time we meet. I think we left this game feeling confident in our abilities to TAKE THEM DOWN the next time we face them. We met them head-on with our hockey abilities, but failed to match their rule "bending" antics. We can only hope that this behavior will be managed more competently by the officials the next time around; and d) games like these only bring a team together. The Kings have been on the upswing for a while now, and controversy and challenging situations have pushed this team closer together. Watch out, Glanbrook - you're in for a surprise!
The Kings ended the weekend on a high note, grabbing a huge "W" on Sunday night against the Caledonia Yellow Jackets. While the YJ's scored early in the 1st to jump to a 1-0 lead the Kings answered quickly with a goal from - you guessed it - Zach Archibald (assisted by Kyle Arnold). The Kings never looked back - scoring first in the second period (Archibald from Ty Mac) to go up 2-1. The YJ's tied it up but the tie was short-lived as Archibald netted his third of the game (fed by Dusty Hine). Arena staff was running wildly through the crowd, making sure none of us littered the ice with hats....it was all the fans could do to keep hats on heads and not honour the hatty scored by Archibald. Thankfully, there were many whistlers in the crowd to do justice to the accomplishment of Young Archibald. Entering into the 3rd, the Kings were enjoying a 3-2 lead. A quick goal by Kieran "Nachos" Lagan ( also know as "The Dancing Queen", or "King of the Macarena") put the Kings up 4-2. Archibald added to his game tally by netting his 4th of the evening, and giving the Kings some breathing room with a 5-2 lead. The YJ's scored one final goal before the horn, leaving the Kings victorious with a 5-3 win.
The Kings enter the playoffs solidly in Pool A, finishing 3rd with 21 points. Rounding out Pool A are Glanbrook (34 points), Cal 5 (orange - 24 points), Hagersville 9 (20 points) and Cal 2 (light blue - 20 point). Playoff schedule will be released early this week, so the Kings faithful can set their social agendas. All calendars will revolve around the time of the Kings' puck drop.