Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Preseason Game Preview: Spruce Kings vs Smoke Eaters

The Spruce Kings go into tonight's preseason game with one win under the belt and looking to double that up on the Trail Smoke Eaters with the back half of the neutral site double header tonight at 7pm. Last night it was the Smokies that opened the scoring with the Spruce Kings tying up the game in the first period on a two man power play advantage. The game remained tied until the late stages of the third when Jeremiah Luedtke was able to knock in a loose puck for the 2-1 victory.

There will be some player changes tonight on both sides of the ice as the teams will opt to go with a little more of an experienced lineup. For the Spruce Kings the notable insertions will be Latrell Charleson who is back from the Moose Jaw Warriors training camp and Lyndon Martell who has opted to leave the Regina Pats for the Prince George Spruce Kings.

Also coming into the lineup for Prince George tonight are Karan Toor who played a handful of games last season as an AP with the Spruce Kings, Coltyn Hansen the twenty year old acquired from the Victoria Grizzlies, Brad Ryan the big tall twenty year old defenceman and local hockey product Sean Landrey. Kirk Thompson will get the start tonight giving the sixteen year old Liam McLeod a much deserved break after a big win for the youngster last night.

The Trail Smoke Eaters will also go with a few new bodies in their lineup with expectations being that Anthony Conti will be in after finishing up at the Calgary Hitmen training camp and Braden Krogfoss from the Kamloops Blazers camp. The Smokies are expected to dress a few more twenty year olds led by Tyler Berkholtz, Djordje Leposavic, Brent Baltus, Garrett McMullen and Alex Holland.

Last night's win by the Spruce Kings didn't come easy as they fought through a 1-1 tie for much of the game. I would suspect that the coaching staff was happy with the overall performance both defensively and offensively but would like to see the Spruce Kings bury more of the chances they created. Tonight however the Trail Smoke Eaters will be looking at tightening up defensively and eliminated that many chances from happening.

If all goes well in the broadcast booth, there will be a solo Spruce Kings broadcast available as Chris Wahl (voice of the Trail Smoke Eaters) will have his own internet connection and broadcast feed. Look for the video to start approximately an hour before the game on the Spruce Kings Ustream Channel or follow the link from the Spruce Kings twitter feed (@SpruceKings) or my twitter (@ron_gallo).

BCHL Preseason Game
Prince George Spruce Kings vs Trail Smoke Eaters
7:00pm from the Art Holden Memorial Arena in Chase, BC
Broadcast Link: Spruce Kings Ustream Channel

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