In Penhold, SAIT over RDC in a physical game

Friday, only 1 goal separated the Red Deer College Kings Hockey team and the SAIT Trojans in Calgary. Saturday, the venue shifted to the Penhold Multiplex. Troy Trombley started in goal for the Kings while Bolton Pouliot was between the pipes for the Trojans. 

On the power play, Kevin Massy put the Trojans up 1-0 at 11:23 of the 1st period. At 16:30 Joel Hamilton connected on another SAIT power play to increase their lead 2-0. SAIT outshot RDC 10-5 in the 1st period.

It looked like neither team was going to score in the 2nd period until with 3 seconds left Riley Simpson found the back of the net for the Kings to narrow SAIT's lead 2-1. Tyler Berkholtz and Ben Williams picked up the assists. The Kings outshot the Trojans 13-11 in the middle frame.

With 11:20 remaining in the 3rd period Dean Allison scored to give the Trojans a 3-1 lead. A long aerial pass sent Pat Martens in alone and he put the Trojans up 4-1 with 2:09 left in the game. RDC outshot SAIT 12-9 in the 3rd period. After 3 periods, the shots were even 30-30. The Kings went 0-for-7 on the power play while the Trojans connected on 2-of-7 chances with the extra skater. 

Tyler Berkholtz was chosen as the Kings player-of-the-game. The forward from Penticton worked hard and had 1 assist for RDC. 

Kings Head Coach Trevor Keeper identified special teams as a difference maker tonight.

"This weekend, the wins for them and losses for us came down to special teams. Both teams have good power plays, penalty kills and the stats were very even. They got 2 power play goals in each game." said Keeper. "We had 2 power play goals in Calgary but none tonight. The combination of the power play and penalty kill should be between 110% to 120%. Today we were 60% and that's the game in a nutshell. The guys worked hard. There wasn't a single guy that didn't compete tonight."

Keeper had positive words for Ben Williams. 

"Ben has been working really hard since he got back at Christmas. We have put him on our top line and he's one of those guys that does a bunch of little things to create opportunities," said Keeper. "He keeps pucks in, gets pucks to the net and gets into those spaces to score goals."

While it was a disappointing weekend without a win, the Kings showed a good work ethic and competed against 1 of the top teams in ACAC Men's Hockey.

"I've talked to the guys about not hanging their chins, finding their way through this. We have to push each other through this," said Keeper. "The important thing is that we are playing better as we move towards playoffs. We have 8 games left and have to keep getting better every day."

In the ACAC Men's Hockey standings the Kings remain in 5th place with 19 points. The top 6 teams qualify for playoffs.

Friday, Feb. 3 at 7:00 p.m., the RDC Kings will host the MacEwan University Griffins at the Penhold Multiplex.