The LA Kings rookies finished off the 2025 Golden State Rookie Faceoff with a 4-1 victory over the Anaheim Ducks.
The Kings were propelled by 37 saves from goaltender Carter George and a hat trick from forward Kenny Connors, the game's top two stars on the Kings side. Forward Koehn Ziemmer also scored, his second goal in as many days, as the Kings finished off their tournament with a 1-1 record, evening things out after falling to San Jose yesterday afternoon.
The first period came and went without a goal for either team. Anaheim led in the shots on goal department 11-7 and had the two most dangerous chances of the opening frame, both of which were denied by George. After he made a right-shoulder save midway through the period on a partial breakaway, George made a tidy glove save with just under three minutes to play in the first, preserving the 0-0 scoreline after 20 minutes.
The Kings opened the scoring early in the second period as forward Koehn Ziemmer found the back of the net for the second straight game. Forward Liam Greentree showed good patience on the right-wing boards and fed Ziemmer cutting through the neutral zone in stride, allowing him to gain a step between the Anaheim defensemen. Ziemmer snapped his shot low on the blocker side and in for his second of the tournament and a 1-0 lead.
The Kings got two goals from Kenny Connors in the second period, opening up a 3-0 advantage after 40 minutes.
First, the Kings scored a power-play goal, with Connors finishing off a nice sequence that started with passes from Greentree and forward Aatu Jamsen. Connors received the final pass in the slot and beat Anaheim goaltender Tomas Suchanek clean for the 2-0 lead. Connors - technically - made it 3-0 with a shorthanded goal later in the period. His clearance from his own zone was played by Suchanek, who shot the puck into his own net, with Connors the last King to touch it.
Anaheim got on the board early in the third period, cashing in with a power-play goal to make it 3-1. It took something pretty well executed to beat George and the Ducks put three passes together, resulting in a one-timer from the slot by forward Tim Washe, which he converted from close range to snap George’s shutout bid and put the hosts on the board.
Inside the final minute of the game, Connors finished off his hat trick with an empty-net goal, bringing us to the final score of 4-1.
Hear from Connors, George, forward Kaleb Lawrence and Head Coach Andrew Lord following today’s victory.
