The Martlet

The Victoria Salmon Kings outscored the Phoenix Roadrunners 13-1 in back-to-back games during a Nov. 15-16 weekend series.

Friday’s 4-1 victory was a hard-fought match compared to Saturday’s game where the Kings mowed down the Roadrunners 9-0.

Friday night’s 4,590 Victoria fans welcomed the Phoenix Roadrunners to town for the first of the back-to-back series. The first period was kept scoreless as both teams played conservative hockey to keep from allowing scoring opportunities.

The second period opened with Kings right winger Curtis Billsten connecting with a pass from Darryl Lloyd to score his third goal of the season. Less than a minute later, Kings captain Wes Goldie roofed his eighth regular season goal past Phoenix goaltender Craig Kowalski on the power play.

Two minutes into the third period, Roadrunner Daniel Sisca finally solved Kings netminder Jonathan Boutin to bring them within one. This was as close as the visitors came to narrowing the point margin, however, as Olivier Fillion notched two more goals in the third period to boost the Kings lead to 4-1.

Victoria goaltender Jonathan Boutin gave a stellar performance throughout the game, flashing the leather multiple times and making key saves on the penalty kill.

“I think Boutin made some great saves early,” said Salmon Kings manager Mark Morrison. “[The] break-away where he robbed a guy with his glove, [it] gave us a chance and [turned it into] a different game.”

Boutin credited his teammates for his outstanding performance.

“I think the guys are playing really [well],” Boutin said. “Every game they get better. They’re always there for my rebounds and I give [out] some juicy ones.”

When the sides suited up for Saturday’s rematch, the Salmon Kings set two organizational records during the 9-0 shutout — one for largest margin of victory and another for the most goals in one game.

Vancouver Canucks Prospect Dan Gendur opened the scoring in the first period with two power play goals. Chris St. Jacques scored the Salmon Kings’ first hat trick of the season and added an assist to finish the night with four points and a plus-three rating.

After Saturday’s game, Victoria’s Captain Wes Goldie is now tied with Olivier Labelle in goals, assists and points with 14 to lead the Kings’ scoring. Victoria finished with 57 shots on net against Phoenix’s 25.

It was also a night of special teams as both the Salmon Kings’ power play and penalty-kill came to life. They scored five of the nine goals with the man advantage while the Roadrunners could not crack the Kings’ defense or solve Boutin.

Victoria finished the night at 100 per cent on the penalty-kill which included a short-handed goal.

The Roadrunners’ embarrassment resulted in three fights and countless scrums with 86 penalty minutes between both teams.

With Saturday’s win, the Salmon Kings move past the Roadrunners into second place in the West division and have won four of their last five. They now trail the Alaska Aces by only four points.

The Kings will host the Aces for a three-game series this week at the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre.