Wednesday March 24, 2010 – Bavis Arena, Rockland

The Kings locked up second place in the division with a strong 4-0 win against the Hackers. Ed was locked in from the start, topping his strong game last week, and for the first period the Hackers goalie matched him shot for shot. The Kings had a couple of good flurries but the Hackers goalie made some ridiculous saves, including somehow robbing Josh’s backhander on the left post, and the first period ended scoreless. In the second the Kings finally broke through, after Bermy rushed the puck John buried a rebound; Greg added a nifty shot from the low circle to extend the lead. The Hackers got some momentum and a couple of power plays the Kings managed to kill off but as usual Ed was up to the task, making some big stops to keep the game scoreless. Paul notched another goal when he was left alone in the slot and Jeff fired a pass to him from the half wall, and Wally netted a shortie on a rebound, after the Hackers goalie made a stop on a loose puck high in the slot and tried to feed it to a teammate. The Hackers continued to press in the last minute, getting some good chances that Ed turned away, including a point blank save to preserve the shutout.

With the win the Kings finish the season 15-7-1, an identical record with the Maple Leafs, and win the tiebreaker with a 2-0 head to head record against the Leafs. We earn a first round bye, and play Monday April 5th against the winner of the Brown Club/Young Guns tilt. Here’s how the first round of the playoffs will shake out:

Don’t see a lot of actual shutouts in this league. Hopefully we can carry that momentum into the playoffs.

Posted on March 25th, 2010 at 7:38 pm.