The enigma that is the

Victoria Salmon Kings

continues to baffle.

The ECHL club battled hard after a disastrously hesitant start last night at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre. The thing is, this team is well beyond moral victories at this point. It was another loss that could have gone the other way, if not for Ontario Reign goaltender Curtis Darling accounting for his club’s 4-2 victory. But those sorts of losses, all too common this season for Victoria, are still losses and they are adding up at 2-10.

Darling, 2003-04 BCHL goalie of the year in junior with the Chilliwack Chiefs, has been money this season for Ontario. Named ECHL goaltender of the week for frustrating Victoria twice and Alaska once last weekend, Darling was stubborn again last night in making 33 saves as the Salmon Kings threw themselves into attack in trying to overcome a 3-0 deficit.

One would think a 2-9 team would fly out of the gate with a sense of desperation. But it was Ontario which won nearly every puck battle in a decisive first period in which the Reign scored twice through Jon Landry and Tim Kraus, the latter off an inexcusable turnover by Victoria defenceman Brandon Roach.

With Ontario going into the game sporting a league second-best goals-against average of 2.62, the Reign couldn’t have asked for a more ideal opening frame. The Los Angeles Kings affiliate is not the kind of team you want to fall behind against.

“It’s a 60-minute game, not a 40-minute game,” lamented Salmon Kings GM and head coach Mark

Morrison.

“We outplayed them in the final two periods, but we can’t come out flat like we did in the first period. Ontario is coached to be a defensive team which pounces on mistakes.”

And the Salmon Kings just handed the Reign its model scenario — a 3-0 lead by midpoint after Tony Voce was left alone in the slot at 9:55 of the second period. The Reign aren’t exciting. But in a leading situation like that, these guys are practically a lock.

Wes Goldie scored an opportunistic goal at 13:40 to bring the Salmon Kings two within two at 3-1. Randall Gelech, on an assertive doorstep crease-cross from Mike Hamilton, made it 3-2 on the type of goal these two physical forwards need to be combining on more often.

“We were at home in front of our crowd and we need to come out better than that in the first period,” admitted Gelech, a Memorial Cup first-team all-star in junior.

“He [Darling] is a good goalie but he’s seeing a lot of our shots and we need to get more traffic in front of him so he doesn’t see what’s coming.”

The Salmon Kings learned their lesson from the awful first period, but too late. They had an apparent tying goal waved off by a quick whistle and then rattled a shot off the post, both in the third period.

“We came back with emotion. But it would be nice to get a bounce every once in a while, too,” sighed Morrison.

But glaring indecisiveness from the point position was again evident as rearguard Gary Gladue, instead of putting the puck on net with Victoria goaltender Matt Keetley pulled for an extra attacker, instead tried an ill-advised pass across to the other point. It was intercepted with Dwight King of Ontario off to the races and scoring into the empty net with eight second remaining.

“That’s been us in a nutshell,” said Morrison.

“We finally had traffic in front and needed to get the puck on net right then, but we pass it off. ...”

ICE CHIPS: Attendance was 3,829 . . . Heading into last night, the ECHL (4,305) was in a virtual tie with the American Hockey League (4,396) in terms of per-game attendance this season. ECHL commissioner Brian McKenna, in an interview with Lindsay Kramer of NHL.com,

commended the innovative marketing approaches being adapted by ECHL teams in this tough economy . . . Guess who’s turning four? The Salmon Kings celebrate the ‘birthday’ of Marty by giving away free goodie bags to the first 500 kids into tonight’s game as the Salmon Kings and Reign complete their three game set at 7 p.m. at the Memorial Centre. There will be a relay race between various local mascots between periods, including the Golden Baseball League Victoria Seals’ Seamore from the other pro sports team in the capital. There will also be cake served prior to the start of the game.