By Joshua Boyd / NCDCHockey.com
For the first time in their three-year history, the Idaho Falls Spud Kings are Mountain Division Champions and they are bound for the first four-team Dineen Cup Championship Series to be held since 2021. The Spud Kings enjoy a massive fan following in their eastern Idaho city – and many are making the nearly 3,000-mile trip to support the team, which will certainly energize the Spud Kings as they take the ice for a minimum of two games and maximum of five at the Ice Vault in Wayne, N.J., April 25-29.
The Spud Kings defeated the previous year’s Mountain Champion Ogden Mustangs in a 3-1 series, winning Game 4 in overtime on Ogden’s home ice on April 12. This was the culmination of a year that also saw them win the regular season division title with a 38-10-4-1 record.
“Since finishing up the Mountain Division championships, our preparation and routine have stayed pretty similar to what we have been doing throughout the playoffs and all season,” said Head Coach Anthony Bohn.
The Spud Kings, being the division playoff champions with the best regular season record, secured the No. 1 seed in the playoffs. Ironically, they draw the regular season champion and Founders Cup winners the South Shore Kings (44-7-3-0). South Shore fell in the New England Championships, but as they held the best record of any New England or Atlantic team in the division finals, they were assured of nothing less than a Wild Card berth in the championships. That is what they came through with, and the Wild Card is the automatic No. 4 seed in the championship series.
Bohn knows that South Shore will look and play nothing like a No. 4 seed in a four-team field. The teams will drop the puck at 3:30 p.m. on Friday for the opening game of the event.
“South Shore is very impressive, very well coached and the defending Dineen Cup Champions, so we are going to prepare like we have been through playoffs. They are obviously a very tough challenge to open the tournament against, and we look forward to it,” added Bohn.
All year long, the Spud Kings have benefited from lineup depth at each position. While two players hit the 60-point mark in Easton Edwards and Andrew Schmidt, they had nine forwards with at least 20 points.
Defensively, the Spud Kings finished with the second lowest team goals against average in the league at 2.21, just .02 off of the leaders the P.A.L. Jr. Islanders (2.19). In goal, Charlie Durkin was the man in net, leading the NCDC with 28 wins and his 1.96 GAA was second in the league.
“I believe, like every team that’s here, everyone on your team has to be impactful at some point,” said Bohn. “We have had guys across the board step up at different times through the playoffs so far, but those who have been leading the charge are Easton Edwards, Andrew Schmidt and Charlie Durkin.”
The Spud Kings are certainly amped up to get a chance to show what the Mountain Division can do, especially as hosts of the 2026 Dineen Cup Championship Series in Idaho Falls next spring.
“Well, we are excited to be here and be part of the Dineen Cup finals. The entire Mountain Division is a very competitive, heavy, talented, well-coached division and it says a lot about the commitment of our players, staff and organization to be the representatives of the Mountain Division this year,” said Bohn. “To be in this position in just our second year as part of the NCDC is exciting for our fans and City of Idaho Falls, and our goal is to continue progressing every year.”
