S-Kings love that home cooking
Victoria 4 Phoenix 3 (SO)
Cleve Dheensaw, Times Colonist
Published: Friday, November 30, 2007

Victoria Salmon Kings captain Kiel McLeod clinked a laser shot off the post and into the net in sudden-death shootout to give the S-Kings a 4-3 ECHL victory last night over the Phoenix RoadRunners.

"You shoot when you see net, and I saw it [on the left side], and was lucky enough to have it go off the post and in," said McLeod, the towering six-foot-six Victoria team leader.

Victoria forward Chris St. Jacques showed why he had four 30-plus goal seasons in WHL junior at Medicine Hat by scoring on the Salmon Kings last shot of the regular round to keep the home team alive and sending it to the sudden-death shootout round.

Victoria goaltender Billy Thompson held his ground and stopped five of the six Phoenix shooters as the Salmon Kings improved to 13-5 on the season and the RoadRunners, farm team of the Sharks, fell to 6-9-2 before 3,217 fans.

"I come out far and let the shooter make the first move," said the former Prince George Cougars junior.

"It's the last thing we do in practice and because there's a point involved, there's a lot of incentive to practise it."

Victoria-native Sean O'Connor, who always leaves a memorable calling card when returning home, tied the game 3-3 for Phoenix with just 41 seconds remaining in regulation time.

"No one got down after that because we're such a resilient team," said

Thompson. "It's just another day for us."

And another win.

Be it ever so humble at $30 million, there's no place like home at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre as the Salmon Kings won their ninth game in a row and 19th in their last 20 regular-season games at the Memorial Centre, dating back to last season.

Derek Krestanovich deflected home a Gary Gladue point shot at 1:33 of the third period to make it 2-1 for the Salmon Kings. Defenceman Matt Kelly, lurking in deep on a Salmon Kings powerplay, converted a sharp pass from Kiel McLeod to make it 3-1 at 5:02 as Victoria looked on its way. But that turned out to be an illusion as Phoenix got to within one at 6:33 of the third on a zippy shot from the point by defenceman Corey LeClair and then tied it through the late heroics of Oak Bay High-grad O'Connor.

Victoria controlled much of the scoreless first period, in which the Salmon Kings outshot the 'Runners 18-10.

Victoria continued the pressure in the second period but it was rookie-pro Chris Stevens of Dawson Creek, a 32-goal scorer last season with the Memorial Cup finalist Medicine Hat Tigers, who struck first to put Phoenix ahead 1-0 at 3:07 of the middle frame. Wes Goldie buried brother Ash Goldie's rebound at 13:36 of the second as Victoria tied the game 1-1.

Tonight's closing encounter of the three-game set is teddy bear toss night, with fans encouraged to bring a stuffed toy to throw on the ice after the Salmon Kings first goal of the game. The toys will be collected and distributed to Queen Alexandra Children's Hospital, pediatric ward of Victoria General Hospital and to the C-FAX Santas Anonymous.

Following tonight's game, the venue for the five straight games against the RoadRunners shifts from the Canadian rain forest to the U.S. desert with games next Thursday and Friday at the U.S. Airways Center in Phoenix. Those two games against the 'Runners begin a five-game Victoria road trip with the next home game after tonight not until Dec. 19 against the arch-nemesis Alaska Aces.