Kings pick up 2-1 victory in Saskatchewan

In Saskatchewan, the Red Deer College Kings Hockey team faced off against the Briercrest College Clippers Friday night. Entering tonight's contest the Kings sat in a tie for fourth place in ACAC Men's Hockey with the University of Alberta Augustana Vikings with 15 points. The Clippers have earned 6 points. In 14 games, the Kings have averaged 3.29 goals per game and have allowed 3.14 goals. Briercrest College have averaged 2.43 goals for and 5.14 goals against in 14 games and typically compete hard in their home rink.

Troy Trombley started in goal for the RDC Kings while Dan Dekoning was in net for the Clippers. The Kings netminder from Sherwood Park entered tonight's game with a 2.24 goals against average and has stopped 92.1% of the shots he's faced. In a close game, the Kings scored the winning goal in the third period for the road victory.

Both goaltenders were perfect throughout the first 20 minutes. Trombley stopped all 16 shots he faced while Dekoning turned aside all 14 RDC attempts.

At 2:10 into the second period Blair Mulder put the Kings up 1-0 with a blast from the point. Ben Williams and Trevor Costello picked up the assists. The RDC Kings fired 14 more shots on Dekoning while the Clippers tested Trombley 13 times.

On the power play at 1:17 into the third period, the Clippers tied the game 1-1 on a goal by Tristan Hermanson. Dustin Gorgi put the RDC Kings up 2-1 at 11:37 into the final period. Dylan Thudium and Mike Statchuk picked up the assists. This turned out to be the game-winning-goal as neither side could find the back of the net for the remainder of the game. The Kings had another 14 shots in the final frame for a game total of 42. Testing Trombley 8 more times in the third period, the Clippers had a total of 37 shots.

Dustin Gorgi was chosen as the Kings player-of-the game. 

The Kings went 0-for-6 on the power play while the Clippers were successful on 1-of-6 man advantages.

Kings Head Coach Trevor Keeper gave credit to the Clippers in a close game.

"Briercrest plays well at home," said Keeper. "They are fast and have added some size." 

There were several strong performances in Saskatchewan.

"Trombley had another solid outing in net. He not only saved 36-of-37 shots but is skilled at playing the puck," said Keeper. "Blair Mulder played well for us and had a goal from the point while logging a lot of minutes. Tyler Berkholtz got his line going with several hits and shot blocks."

Despite the win, the Kings are looking to make a few adjustments Saturday.

"It's a smaller rink and it seems like the opposition is right on you," said Keeper. "We want to move the puck faster. Ideally, we would like to only give up 3 power play opportunities or less."

With the win the Kings move into sole possession of fourth place in ACAC Men's Hockey with 17 points in 15 games and are 6-4 in their last 10 games. In a rematch, the RDC Kings compete against the Briercrest College Clippers Saturday, Nov. 26 at 2:00 p.m.