By Joshua Boyd / NCDCHockey.com
The Idaho Falls Spud Kings defeated the South Shore Kings by a 2-1 score on Monday, April 28, to win their first Dineen Cup and the first Cup championship for the two-year-old Mountain Division of the NCDC.
The Spud Kings wasted little time in getting on the board early, as Owen Beyer sent home a pass from Bravery Esplin just 2:09 into the game.
From there, the Spud Kings built on their lead as they outshot the Kings 10-5 in the first, with the second goal coming off the stick of Easton Edwards, assisted by Andrew Schmidt and Sammy Grimaldi; at 11:00 of the first.
The Kings outshot the Spud Kings the rest of the way, starting with a 13-12 advantage in the second period, followed by 13-3 in the third period. Charlie Durkin was equal to the task, stopping 30 of 31 shots. Only one beat Durkin, which came at 16:31 of the second. Jake Kavanagh scored for the Kings at 16:31 of the second period. Gregor Jennersjo earned the assist.
The game not only became closer, but much less physical and heated after that point, as there were three penalties in the third period as compared to the second.
The two teams played a possession game, and the Kings had a good chance towards the end when William Strickland went into the box for interference at 17:28. The Spud Kings killed off the penalty, but were unable to sink the puck in the empty net. In the end, it wasn’t necessary, as the Spud Kings
