Trombley and RDC Kings down NAIT Ooks in Penhold

Brent Forster - RDC

In the RDC Kings' final regular season game at the Penhold Mutliplex, they hosted the NAIT Ooks and played a complete game as they knocked off the first place team 4-1. The Kings have played extremely well against the Ooks, earning five of a possible six points in the three games played.

The start of the first period had a good pace. Chase Thudium was one of many noticeable Kings who had their feet moving and the first-year forward from Sylvan Lake created several good scoring opportunities. The Kings hemmed the Ooks in their own zone and frequently tested Nathan Park. RDC was eventually rewarded at 12:50 when Tyrell Mappin beat Park on the stick side with a quick release. Tyler Berkholtz and Tyler Podgorenko had the helpers. The Kings continued to pressure the Ooks and they struck again with 3:24 remaining. On the power play, Tyrell Mappin sniped his second goal of the period to give the RDC Kings a 2-0 lead. Tyler Berkholtz was in the slot and sent a perfect backhand pass to an open Tyrell Mappin on the left side, and the first-year forward from Big Valley made no mistake into the open cage. Over 20 minutes, the Kings outshot the Ooks 16-5.

While NAIT had a bit more jump in the middle frame, Troy Trombley was sharp. The Kings played a well-rounded period and capitalized on a pair of opportunities. At 11:52, the RDC Kings went up 3-0. A Kings' shot bounced off the right post to Scott Ferguson and he buried the chance on the power play. Chase Thudium and Trevor Costello had the assists. With 2:02 remaining, Scott Ferguson scored his second of the period to give the Kings a 4-0 cushion. Chase Thudium and Tyler Podgorenko assisted on the goal. In the second period, the RDC Kings tested Park 13 times and Troy Trombley turned aside all 8 shots directed his way.

In the third period, NAIT tried to put more pucks on net. At 4:13 of the third period, Colton Waltz got the Ooks on the board with a wrist shot high on the glove side but that was as close as NAIT would get on the night. The Kings earned a 4-1 victory. Park contended with 3 shots and Trombley turned aside 10 out of 11 shots in the period. The Kings outshot the Ooks 32-24 over 60 minutes. 

Troy Trombley was named the player-of-the-game for the RDC Kings and stopped 23 out of 24 shots (0.958). Colton Waltz received the honour for the NAIT Ooks.

Kings Hockey Head Coach Trevor Keeper has been pleased with the play and preparation from his goaltenders, and liked Trombley's game Friday. "Both Troy Trombley and Mike Salmon have been good. They were in the weight room three times this week and they support each other," said Keeper. "Trombley has a presence and poise. He plays the puck well and he knew that it was a big game tonight. He focused on his first ten saves and when you do that your head is in the game, and your body usually follows."

Keeper had his team ready to compete at the drop of the puck. "We had a really good week of preparation. We talked to the guys that it doesn't matter what is happening in the standings," said Keeper. "It is so tight and anything can happen in these next two days. We want to be playing playoff hockey and in the end we could possibly be playing NAIT so we wanted to be as good as we could against them."

The Kings were good in many areas and watching the shift length was important in the win. "We played with structure, energy and discipline. Our special teams were good and Troy Trombley was solid in net so it was an all around good effort," said Keeper. "One key element to how we played was that our shifts were short to have gas - to keep those shifts to 40 seconds or less and get off the ice. We rolled four lines and six D, and we were able to execute because the players were committed to each other." 

The Kings connected on 2 out of 6 power play chances. RDC killed off all 6 of NAIT's opportunities with the extra skater.

The third place RDC Kings (18-7-2-0) will compete against the first place NAIT Ooks (21-3-2-1) in the final regular season game, Saturday, February 24, at 6:00 p.m. in Edmonton. After the Ooks, who have 45 points in the standings, the MacEwan University Griffins are next with 39 points. The RDC Kings and SAIT Trojans have 38 points, and the University of Alberta Augustana Vikings follow with 35. The Concordia University Thunder round out the playoff teams with 17 points.