The Terrace River Kings made it through to the Coy Cup semi-finals, but they certainly did not do it the pretty way.
A very undisciplined River Kings team made frequent visits to the penalty box in their final round robin game against Kitimat last night. The Ice Demons made them pay, scoring no fewer than six power play goals in a 6-1 win.
David Venman scored twice and added two assists as the hometown boys were in full control of this game from very early on. Ben Rumley, Derrick Delisser, Ian Coleman and Derek Wakita also scored for Kitimat, while Terry Whelan added 3 assists. Corbin Legros scored the only goal for Terrace.
Why the River Kings insist on making things so hard for themselves is puzzling. They will never beat Kitimat if they spend much of the game on the penalty kill. As witnessed on Thursday Kitimat will punish you by making you spend much of the game fishing the puck out of your own net.
The River Kings will have to play a much smarter game if they hope to win the Coy Cup. Eliminate the unnecessary shenanigans and they can beat anyone on any given night.
The River Kings will now play the Williams Lake Stampeders in the semi-final tonight at 8pm. The Kings had a great matchup against the CIHL championship finalists, and were unfortunate not to win.
The Kings could have their hands full on Friday, however. Word is the Stampeders have sent reinforcements, as a couple of players were unable to get off work and are arriving in time for the weekend playoffs.
The winner of Friday’s semi-final will meet first place Kitimat on Saturday night at 8 pm. Tickets for both playoff games are available at the door of Tamitik Arena, or here in Terrace at All Season’s Source for Sports.
Joe Pelletier is a hockey writer in Terrace, B.C.
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