Right- Tony Decicco takes liberties on Kings right winger Donny Dymond. Dymond was given a double minor on the play, while Deciccco was thrown out. Photo by: Luis Chavez

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July 27, 2011- In the middle of the dog days of summer, hardly any one things about the winter game of ice hockey. Most people are out at the big A, washing down a foot long dog with an overpriced beer, or sinking their feet in the cozy sand of Newport Beach. However the Kings have found their way to stay focus on the 85 x 200 feet frozen sheet of ice, under the arching wood rooftop at Anaheim Ice, to qualify for the 2011 Spring Championship Game. Ironically the spring championship game, being played in the middle of the summer, normally seeks summer travels. For the Kings this would hit a familiar tone, as their players would be represented around the globe-- from Florida to Europe to Asia Pacific; which meant that they would not be at the championship game.

The Kings would not use the roster as an excuse but more of a reality and new they faced a very difficult challenge, especially when facing a very difficult team in the number 1 seeded Falcons. The Falcons came into the championship game as the powerhouse of the Silver East division-- winners of 9 of the 10 games, and having the best goals scored / against differential with +39. Proving how dominant the Falcons have been, the next team behind them in differential was the Kings with a +7. Even though the 1 loss the Falcons received did come from the hands of the Kings, the Kings knew they had to play a perfectly executed game, with little to no errors, flawless goaltending, and a bit of luck on their side if they were going to take the Spring 11 title.

What the Kings needed was to set the tone early and get off to a great start to give them some breathing room. It was the complete opposite as the game was essentially over in the first half of the opening period. The Falcons opened up the scoring 2:42 into the game, and netted 5 goals in a span of 5 minutes to take total control of the game at 5-0.

Bert Weinheimer's first goal for the Kings at 9:05 broke the ice for the Kings, as they were finally on the board at 5-1. But the Falcons continued to fly, as they responded less than a minute later with their 6th goal of the period. With three minutes left in the period, things got a bit chippy when Donny Dymond collided with one of the Falcons players. When it was all said and done, Tony Decicco was ejected for Fighting, Dymond a double minor for roughing Justin Goodey was tossed from the game with a third man in. However the incident caused major complaints from the Falcons of concerns that "Dymond would take runs at their players." In addition, the Falcons barking prompted the officials to consult Dymond and warned him of any actions of "runs" towards their players. However during the duration of the game, 3 incidents were called where the Falcon players made runs at Dymond. Although 2 minute penalties were called, no ejections for the deliberate "runs" towards the Kings player were made.

As bad as the first period was for the Kings, it only got worse as when the period was a second from expiring, the Falcons scored their 7th goal of the period--the worst period the Kings have expired in any post season game. The Kings faced a 6 goal deficit with a huge mountain to climb, with already a less than full bench, an ejected defenseman and a forward coming back from injury still playing less than 100%.

The one thing about the heart of the Kings team--they continue to compete no matter the circumstances, no matter the score. The Falcons would pile on another 3 goals in the third to make the game unreachable. Mike Goodey would tack on a goal in the second, but the reality of a 10-2 score with 1 period left was that the fat lady was singing, packed her bags and was already at the airport and on the plane.

Dave Young would net two goals in the third period to statistically make the game not as much of a rout. However by the time the final second tick'd, the Falcons finished off the Kings with 11 goals in dominating fashion. The final score, the Falcons take care of the Kings 11-4.

Unfortunately the Kings were missing some key components in their line-up in the championship game. Without those quarterbacks, the Kings were completely outmatched against a talented team like the Falcons. However the Kings should not look down on the season they had--they needed some big wins down the stretch in which they got, to get them the opportunity to get this far.

The Kings were unsuccessful to defend their title after coming off a major championship from regular season for the third time. The Kings have never won back to back consecutive seasons in their history, and are now 1-2 in spring championship games. Their all-time records in the off-season playoff are now a dismal 3-10.