Friday, December 20, 2013

Game Day at Chilliwack Chiefs

Braiden Epp (26) skates through the top of the crease with a
scoring chance against the Chilliwack Chiefs last Monday

The Prince George Spruce Kings will wrap up their pre-Christmas schedule and play their final game of 2013 tonight in Chilliwack when they face the Chiefs for the third time in four games. The Spruce Kings and the Chiefs have met five times already this season with Prince George leading the head-to-head series with four wins and an overtime loss. But don't think this game is going to be an easy one for the visitors.

The Chilliwack Chiefs have shown that they are a capable team and had the Spruce Kings in a good old fashioned shoot-out in their last meeting. Getting Prince George off their defensive game is no easy task, but on Monday the Chiefs found a way to build up a pair of two goal leads and finished the game with five goals total. Last night the Spruce Kings allowed five goals again but the difference was they weren't able to score the eight against Surrey that they did against Chilliwack.

In Thursday's game, the Spruce Kings had some great chances in the first half of the first period and were outshooting the Surrey Eagles 7-2 after 12 minutes of play. After the BCHL timeout, it was the Eagles that came up with some chances of their own and closed down the lanes to the net that were open earlier, holding the Spruce Kings to without a shot on goal. The drought continued into the second period allowing the Eagles to find the bounce they needed to open the scoring.

The game's first goal came two minutes into the second period when Colton Mackie centered a pass from the left corner to a crowd skating down the slot in front of the net. The puck was directed into the net off the foot of Brett Mulcahy and, after a brief discussion by the officials, was ruled a good goal. The Eagles would continue to get chances and were rewarded with their first powerplay of the game mid-way through the middle frame. They made short order of the man-advantage scoring thirty seconds in to give them their first two goal lead of the game.

Jake LeBrun was able to get that one back after he pounced on a loose puck at the side of the net and pushed it in. The Eagles restored their two goal lead moments later but before the second was over, Jeremiah Luedtke lifted his ninth of the season over the reach of the Surrey netminder. The third period started with another early goal for the Surrey Eagles giving them their third two goal lead of the game. Again the Spruce Kings would come back with a lucky bounce of their own after Mitch Eden's dump in shot deflected off the stantion and got in behind the netminder.

An empty net goal late in the third period sealed the fate of the Spruce Kings in a 5-3 loss. With no points in game number 35 of the season, the Spruce Kings can no longer catch the Langley Rivermen before Christmas. The Rivermen sit idle until December 28th with 48 points through 37 games played, the Spruce Kings can close the gap with a win tonight. Prince George has 44 points heading into tonight's game and will still have a game in hand afterwards.

The Chilliwack Chiefs have tonight and one more game to get through before their Christmas break and it will be a short break. The Chiefs play on December 21st and again on December 28th whereas the Spruce Kings will head home after tonight's game and will reconvene in time for their next game on January 3rd in Powell River. The shorter break for the Chiefs along with their current situation in the Mainland Division makes them a dangerous team at this time of the year.

When you look closely at the Chiefs record, what's missing is how close some of those games were and how a bounce here or there could have completely turned the outcome of games completely around. The Spruce Kings have been there and have seen that scenario play out themselves firsthand. The team has also experienced the thrill of a second half season turn-around and know that the Chilliwack Chiefs will be looking to start their own surge tonight.

The game will be broadcast live online with the pay-per-view feed available through Fasthockey.com and a free audio only webcast on the Spruce Kings Mixlr Channel beginning with a pregame show at 6:40pm.

Thursday, December 19, 2013

Game Day at Surrey Eagles

Chad Staley (22) continues to lead the Spruce Kings and
will be looking to do so again tonight vs the Surrey Eagles

The Spruce Kings are on the road for a pair of Mainland Divisional matchups to play out the 2013 portion of their season with stops in Surrey tonight and Chilliwack Friday night. Prince George, as they have for many seasons in a row, will play their final games before the Christmas break on the road before sending players home to be with family and friends over the holidays.

Before they can go their separate ways, the players will first have to come up with a pair of focuses efforts if they would like to give themselves their own best Christmas present. A pair of wins will put them in top spot in the Mainland Division with the same amount of points as the current front runners and a game in hand on the Langley Rivermen. Not mentally leaving on holidays before playing the games and not getting too far ahead of themselves will be the keys to the games, especially tonight.

Tonight marks the sixth meeting of the season between the Surrey Eagles and the Prince George Spruce Kings with these two teams having played to some interesting finishes in their first five encounters. Both teams have a lopsided win against the other on home ice and both have skated away with a narrow one goal finish in the other's arena. They have also had to settle for a single point in a 4-4 overtime tie.

In their very first meeting, the Surrey Eagles racked up a 6-1 win on home ice and it was the following night that the two ended 70 minutes of play in a deadlock. A couple of weeks later Prince George had to come from behind after giving up a short handed goal against to post a 3-2 win in regulation time. Two weeks after that Surrey made their first trip North and came home with a split after being blown out 7-1 in the first night, they never trailed the next night and won the game 2-1.

Since that win in Prince George, the Surrey Eagles have been playing nearly perfect .500 hockey and have been flip flopping wins and losses to the tune of a record of 5 wins and 4 losses with the last win being a 5-4 overtime win at home to the Coquitlam Express last Sunday night. The Surrey Eagles are on a current home ice win streak of four wins and will be looking to improve their overall home ice record this season to 9-9-1-0. Meanwhile the Spruce Kings are winners of their last two games - games they weren't even sure they would get to play at this time last week.

In a pair of rescheduled games played on Sunday and Monday night in Prince George, the Spruce Kings came away with four points after posting 4-1 and 8-5 wins over the Chilliwack Chiefs. The Spruce Kings will be looking to add to their current two game win streak and will be looking to improve their first half road record strong as well. Currently sitting with a road record of 10-5-2-1, the Spruce Kings have the same number of points on the road and in as many games as the Langley Rivermen.

Players to be on the watch for tonight include Brent Lashuk who has had three multiple point games against Surrey including a hat trick in the 7-1 win on November 15th. Brogan O'Brien has also registered a hat trick against the Eagles. Justin Rai is coming off two big games and will be looking to have another one again tonight playing in front of family and friends. Bryant Christian and Jake LeBrun look to be on track after being put back on a line together. The two combined for nine points in their last two games together with Justin Rai and Brent Lashuk alternating as the other winger.

Chad Staley continues to impress and has heard from a number of schools of their interest in him for their programs. Staley will want to show that he can play a big game on any size sheet of ice and making an impact on the Olympic ice tonight will be his opportunity to get one step closer to solidifying a long term deal with a NCAA Division I school. Staley and Luedtke have been the team's dynamic duo creating multiple chances and frustrating the opposition every time they have been on the ice.

Jesse Jenks is expected to get the start in goal tonight. Feeling more comfortable in his new pads, Jenks would like to have a big game against the Eagles to keep his numbers at the top of the Leagues' Leaderboard. Jenks comes into the game with a 2.56 Goals Against Average and .915 Save Percentage and a record of 7 wins, 4 losses and 1 tie. Against the Eagles, Jenks has a record of 1 win and 1 tie having only played in two of the five previous meetings.

The coaching staff will want the players to be conscious of their defensive assignments, especially on the big ice as it will be difficult to play catchup hockey against the fast moving Surrey Eagles tonight. The game will be broadcast live online with the pay-per-view feed available through Fasthockey.com and a free audio only webcast on the Spruce Kings Mixlr Channel beginning with a pregame show at 6:40pm.

Monday, December 16, 2013

Game Day vs Chilliwack Chiefs

This was the scene at the end of the first period
with Braiden Epp and Shay Laurent mixing it up.
Brogan O'Brien and Kurt Black were also involved in a
heavy collision that left both players slow to get up.

Tonight marks the final home game before the Christmas break for the Prince George Spruce Kings as the team concludes their double header with the Chilliwack Chiefs. The Spruce Kings and the Chiefs will meet one more time in Chilliwack before players head home on Friday night.

Both teams will be looking to collect two points for their stocking and improve their positioning in the standings. For the Chilliwack Chiefs, those points are becoming exceedingly important as they fight for playoff positioning in the Mainland Division. The Chiefs are sitting seven games out of a playoff spot with time becoming a factor.

The Prince George Spruce Kings are sitting second in the Mainland Division with 42 points after last night’s win. The Langley Rivermen are sitting in top spot with 48 points but have also played four more games than the Spruce Kings. A win tonight sets up an interesting finish before the Christmas break with Langley already into their break.

In last night’s game, the Spruce Kings opened up an early lead and held onto it for the duration of the game but shouldn’t expect it to be as easy tonight. The Chiefs left in the early morning hours for Sunday’s game and the Spruce Kings were able to take advantage building up a 3-0 lead in the first period.

The first goal, scored by Justin Rai at 6:01, led to the showering of donations in the Annual “Drop the Gloves and Sock it to ‘Em” game with new socks, gloves and togues being donated to the less fortunate and homeless in our downtown through the St. Vincent de Paul Society.

The Spruce Kings made it 2-0 on a short-handed goal when Brent Lashuk tapped in a nice cross crease pass from Karan Toor who had carried the puck up the ice after a defensive zone faceoff won by Jeremiah Luedtke. Jake LeBrun made it 3-0 after he tipped in a point shot from Skylar Pacheco.

There was no scoring in the second period and teams traded goals late in the third period with Austin Plevy scoring while the Chilliwack Chiefs were on a five minute powerplay. Justin Rai completed the Spruce Kings scoring finding the empty net after Karan Toor and Christian Weidauer came up with the puck in the neutral zone.

The Spruce Kings will want to be wary of the abilities of Chilliwack wanting to play hard and get the split against their Mainland Divisional rival tonight and be able to head home with at least two points and an end to their current losing streak.

Tonight's game will be broadcast live online with the pay-per-view feed available through Fasthockey.com and a free audio only webcast on the Spruce Kings Mixlr Channel beginning with a pregame show at 6:40pm.

Sunday, December 15, 2013

Game Day vs Chilliwack Chiefs

Thankfully it is game on tonight after this weekend’s double header was originally cancelled due to the current labour disruption between the City and its unionized workers that includes staff at the Coliseum. Prior to Saturday’s one-day work stoppage, the Spruce Kings, the Chilliwack Chiefs and the BCHL agreed that the games would have to be cancelled and rescheduled.

The double header is now on for Sunday and Monday nights in the Prince George Coliseum. The game tonight is also the “Drop the Gloves and Sock it to ‘Em” game with fans being able to throw new socks, gloves and toques in a plastic bag onto the ice after the Spruce Kings score their first goal.

Clothing items along with non-perishable food items will be donated to the less fortunate and homeless in our downtown through the St. Vincent de Paul Society. This particular fundraiser is one that is greatly appreciated by St. Vincent de Paul and the team continues to support the Society by also having players and coaching staff help serve meals at the shelter.

The Spruce Kings have been idle with an eight day break between games while the Chilliwack Chiefs welcomed the extra day off before having to venture North. The Chiefs played on Friday night and were originally scheduled to drive to Prince George Saturday morning for a game that night. With the change in dates, the Chiefs players were given an extra day to prepare for their game in Prince George.

The Spruce Kings last played in Coquitlam on Friday December 6th where they suffered a 6-3 loss to the Express. Prince George (18-10-2-2) still sits in second place in the Mainland Division with five games in hand on the front running Langley Rivermen (22-11-1-3) who have an eight point cushion on the Spruce Kings prior to start of the game in Prince George. The Coquitlam Express (16-15-0-2) are in third place with 34 points followed by the Surrey Eagles (14-19-1-0) and the Chilliwack Chiefs (7-23-1-2).

The Chiefs come in to the game on an eight game losing skid and will be looking to use the favour of an extra day to their advantage. Chilliwack has made some minor changes to their roster since the last time they played the Spruce Kings but they also have been forced to fill a few holes with affiliate players tonight.

The Spruce Kings are a healthier bunch with all players available to play tonight. Bryant Christian will be making his return to home ice for the first time since October 26th when he suffered a broken jaw. A newcomer to the team making his debut on home ice is Marco Ballarin. Acquired on December 1st, Ballarin has looked good in his first two games with his new team picking up a goal and two assists in two games versus the Coquitlam Express.

Other players to watch tonight from Prince George include the usuals this season. Chad Staley continues to lead the team with 35 points (16G, 19A) followed by his long time linemate going back to their playing days in Wenatchee, Jeremiah Luedtke has 30 points (8G, 22A). Brent Lashuk (8G, 15A) will take up the side on that line as these three get reunited for the first time in a few weeks. Justin Rai (4G, 11A), Bryant Christian (5G, 10A) and Jake LeBrun (11G, 9A) will also be looking to recreate some of their magic from earlier this season tonight.

From the blue line, Christian Weidauer (9G, 18A) continues to be a contributor offensively and is among the League's top three offensive defencemen. Carter Cochrane (12G, 17A) of the Chilliwack Chiefs is also up in the list with the second best offensive numbers for those players that patrol the blue line. The only other player on the Chilliwack squad with better numbers than Cochrane is Austin Plevy. The Chilliwack Chiefs captain leads the teams with both goals and assists at 14 and 20 respectfully.

Alex Murray is expected to get the start in goal for the Spruce Kings, making this his fourth consecutive start. Murray is ranked among the League's best netminders with a goals against average of 2.50 and a save percentage of .912. Josh Halpenny will get the start for the Chilliwack Chiefs, his numbers aren't nearly as good but he has shown an ability to post similar numbers to those of Murray's.

The mitigating factor in tonight's game might very well be the one day off and how that affects each team. For Chilliwack it is seen as an advantage and an extra day to make their way to Prince George. For the Spruce Kings, they will have to show that they to used the day off wisely. The key for both teams will be to start early. An early start for the visitors will take the fans out of the game, while an early start for the Spruce Kings will lead to the showering of clothing items for the St. Vincent de Paul Society and an additional time out for both teams.

Tonight's game is a 7pm start with the game broadcast live online. The pay-per-view feed is available through Fasthockey.com and the free audio only webcast can be found on the Spruce Kings Mixlr Channel beginning with a pregame show at 6:40pm.

Friday, December 6, 2013

Game Day at Coquitlam Express

A scene from Wednesday's 6-0 win in Coquitlam

After a day off taking in the sights and sounds of Vancouver, the Prince George Spruce Kings will make their way back to Cooquitlam for a second meeting this week against the Express. It will be the fourth meeting of the season so far and the second in three days. On Wednesday night, the Spruce Kings skated away with a 6-0 win to improve their record to 18-9-2-2 and just one point back of top spot in the Mainland Division.

Despite the seemingly lopsided affair, the game was anything but titled in favour of the visitors who were outshot 38-26. If not for the stellar play of goaltender Alex Murray - especially in the first period - this game could have turned out much different for Prince George.

"We were fortunate to get that win and in the way that we did," said Spruce Kings assistant coach, Colton Buffie. "We had maybe ten good scoring chances and scored on six of them."

The Coquitlam Express had that many and more chances including an empty net that somehow eluded Joey Santucci in the first period and at least three goal posts throughout the game.

"We are a good team defensively," added Buffie. "But we really can't be giving away that many chances to the opposition. We want to be better tonight and the players know they have to be better as well.

The Coquitlam Express have shown that they can light the lamp and with the exception of their last two games, have been doing exactly that outscoring their opposition on home ice 29-23 in the month of November. Unfortunately they may be a little more concerned about their December record and being outscored 14-1 in two games.

The Express were working on defensive systems during practice and Prince George should expect to see a different team tonight than what they saw on Wednesday night. Offensively, the Express are still potent as was seen two nights ago with all their scoring chances and ability to create odd-man rushes.

The Spruce Kings got goal scoring from six different players: Chad Staley (16), Jake Lebrun (11), Christian Weidauer (9), Jeremiah Luedtke (8), Matt Painchaud (2) and Caleb Thompson (2). A total of twelve players picked up at least a single point in the game including Alex Murray who helped set up two goals and newcomer Marco Ballarin who was also picked up his first BCHL points with two assists.

Making the most of their situations has been a constant for Prince George this season and they will have to find a way of doing it again after the return of Bryant Christian to the lineup was short lived. The Spruce Kings captain took a blind side hit where the principal point of contact was his jaw and was unable to return to the game.

Due to swelling and the recent injury to his jaw, there still hasn't been a determination as to the extent of the injury that Christian suffered. Doctors are still assessing x-rays taken following the hit and are waiting for Christian to return to Prince George before releasing their findings. Christian will obviously be out of the lineup tonight with hope being that he can return in time for next Saturday's game in Prince George.

The Spruce Kings will be looking to play the game they've been playing since losing their captain and restake their claim on top spot in the Mainland Division. Sitting one point back of the Langley Rivermen, a win tonight will put them back on top with a game in hand. The Rivermen are also playing tonight in Trail and will be looking to maintain at least their one point lead on the upstart Spruce Kings.

The Spruce Kings and Coquitlam Express game is scheduled for a 7pm start tonight from the Poirier Sports and Leisure Complex. The game will be broadcast live online with the pay-per-view feed available through Fasthockey.com and a free audio only webcast on the Spruce Kings Mixlr Channel beginning with a pregame show at 6:40pm.

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Game Day at Coquitlam Express

The Prince George Spruce Kings and the Coquitlam Express will faceoff tonight for the third time this season. The game tonight is scheduled for a 7:30pm puck drop at the Poirier Sports Complex in Coquitlam. In the previous two meetings, Prince George came away with four points posting a 3-2 regulation time win and a 4-3 double overtime win.

Interestingly enough, Bryant Christian scored in both of those games including the overtime winner and, at the time of writing this blog, Christian is listed as a game time decision to play tonight. After missing the entire month of November after taking a puck in the jaw, Christian is well on his way to returning to the game and is itching to get back in the lineup.

Christian had returned home to Moorhead Minnesota to have surgery and recover there; although he worked hard in the gym and on the ice over the past couple of weeks, having his jaw wired shut did leave the Spruce Kings captain ten pounds lighter. Prior to his injury, Christian was listed as 160 pounds but played a much meaner game going to the net hard and getting in the dirty areas. Even if Christian gets into the lineup tonight, that style of play may be missing for a few games.

The Spruce Kings will also have one new player on the roster tonight. Marco Ballarin was playing with the Ridge Meadow Flames prior to receiving a phone call on December 1st from the Spruce Kings General Manager. Ballarin was into his third season with the Flames and was on an over a point a game average with 16 goals and 16 assists in 23 games. At 5.10, 190 pounds, the eighteen year old is expected to add a physical presence up front with offensive upside.

The Spruce Kings roll into Coquitlam tonight coming off a double overtime win over the BCHL's top team, the Powell River Kings. The game was free wheeling at times with both teams getting a number of tremendous opportunities. When the dust settled, it was the Prince George Spruce Kings, off a highlight reel tip in from Chad Staley, that skated away with the two points.

Staley continues to roll along with Jeremiah Luedtke on his side creating chances all game long. Currently ranked 12th among the League's leading point getters, Staley is one point away from a top ten spot and one multi-point game away from jumping up to the top five. Staley and Luedtke as a pairing are almost unstoppable and when that third player is added to the line, the combination becomes one of the toughest lines to defend against in the BCHL.

Perhaps if there is a concern to be had with the play of late, it is that the team has been in a number of one goal games and at times have allowed the opposition to stay in striking distance for far too long. In the past twelve games, only two have been decided by more than a goal and the last five have all been one goal decisions. Defensively, the team is sound holding the opposition to an average of two goals a game in the past ten outings.

Meanwhile the opposition tonight, the Coquitlam Express, have been treating their fans to a light show averaging five goals a game in their last five at home. The Express have a 4-1 record over those five games with the scoresheet showing a total of 42 goals between the home team and their opposition. In their last home game, the Express scored nine times, but did give up six goals. In their last game, played in Nanaimo, the Express offense dried up and they are coming off an 8-1 loss to the Clippers.

What that means for tonight's game, only time will tell. The team has been getting its scoring from six forwards in Adam Rockwood (7G, 31A), Ryan Rosenthal (19G, 17A), Canon Pieper (15G, 15A), Corey Mackin (16G, 13A) Bo Pieper (13G, 16A) and Joey Santucci (15G, 12A). Although Rockwood and Rosenthal are among the League's Top Ten scoring leaders, the team's goaltenders are nowhere to be found in the top twenty list.

The Spruce Kings are considered one of the better defensive teams in the League, proving that tonight will be the test while trying to exploit the other team's defense a key for success. The Spruce Kings will play the Coquitlam Express again on Friday night with an opportunity to put some distance between themselves and the third place Express who are eight points back. Prince George is currently three points behind Langley for top spot in the Mainland Division with two games in hand on the Rivermen.

Tonight's game is the fourth Prince George Motors Feature Game of the Month on 99.3 the Drive with Ron St. Clair and Ron Gallo providing all of the action beginning with a pregame show at 7:15pm. Listen live on 99.3 the Drive or online [click here]. The usual online options will also be available with the pay-per-view feed through Fasthockey.com or the audio only online feed with chat options from the Spruce Kings Mixlr channel.

Ready to Return

After missing the entire month of November, Bryant Christian
is ready to return to action in the BCHL

After missing a dozen games due to a broken jaw and returning to his home in Moorhead Minnesota for surgery and recovery, Bryant Christian has returned to the team.

Meeting his team mates on Tuesday night when they arrived in the Lower Mainland for a pair of games against the Coquitlam Express, Christian is excited to get back on the ice and into the action.

"Nobody wants to get back more than I do," said an excited Christian. "This has been a long time to be away from the game."

Christian's last game was back on October 26 against the Cowichan Valley Captials. In that Spruce Kings 3-2 win, Christian took a puck up high to the face and knew he had taken a hard shot. At the time he didn't know just how hard that shot was and played out the rest of the game. It wasn't until the following day that the full diagnosis could be made.

"There was a lot of bruising," explained Christian. "I was hopeful that was all it was, but the doctor determined it was more. After consultation, we decided that it would be best for me to return home for the surgery."

For the entire month of November, Bryant Christian had his jaw wired shut making eating nearly impossible. After losing ten pounds, the twenty year old forward has already started getting some of that weight back and is appearing leaner and fitter.

"I was working out almost every day and as soon as I could get back out on the ice, I was," added Christian. "I believe I'm ready to go but have been told it will be a game time decision at least for this game."

The coaching staff wants to get a good look at the team's captain before making any commitment to whether or not he will be in the lineup.

"We all want to see Bryant Christian suit up and get back out there," said Spruce Kings assistant coach, Colton Buffie. "We don't want to put a player out there too soon and risk a further set back to his return."

"(Bryant) is a very important part of this team and its success this season," added Buffie. "This is also an important season for him personally as a twenty year old trying to secure a NCAA scholarship."

Prior to his injury, Christian had been talking to a couple of schools and is hoping to pick up where things were left off at the end of October.

The Spruce Kings (17-9-2-2) play tonight in Coquitlam against the Express (14-13-0-2) in a matchup of Mainland Divisional teams. The game is the next PG Motors Feature Game of the Month on 99.3 the Drive and will be broadcast live on the Prince George radio station and online [click here].

Sunday, December 1, 2013

Game Day vs Powell River Kings

After having the two prime nights for hockey off, the Prince George Spruce Kings get back at it with a matinee matchup against the Powell River Kings. The home team today last played a game on Wednesday night, dropping a narrow 2-1 decision to the Langley Rivermen. The Island Division Kings, on the other hand, are wrapping up a long weekend of travel that saw them in Chilliwack Friday night and Merritt last night.

The Powell River Kings have been holding down top spot in the BCHL overall and come into the game with 43 points (20-4-2-1) after settling for a single point in a 1-1 tie last night. With just a one point edge on the Victoria Grizzlies and top spot in both the Island Division and the BCHL overall, the Powell River Kings will be wanting to add some padding at the expense of the Spruce Kings.

The Spruce Kings come into the game looking to assert themselves against the League’s best team and get back in the race to the top. It wasn’t that long ago that the Spruce Kings were challenging the Powell River Kings for top spot in the League overall. That loss to Langley on Wednesday also saw Prince George drop to second place in the Mainland Division, three points back of the Rivermen.

The game itself was a tight affair with the visitors frustrating the Spruce Kings getting everything in the lanes. The lone goal came from an all Prince George line with Braiden Epp finishing up a play set up by Brogan O’Brien and Jake LeBrun. Certainly one game doesn’t make for a great deal of concern, but expect a minor shakeup with the lines has worked magic in the past and can be expected again today.

Mitch Barker (listed as day-to-day) will sit this one out as will Bryant Christian. The Spruce Kings captain has been away at his home in Moorhead Minnesota recovering from a facial injury but is expected to rejoin the team next week while the team is on the road. The Spruce Kings want to start that journey and the month of December off on the right foot and that means coming up with a big game against a gifted team.

Powell River has been averaging 4 goals a game while the Spruce Kings are a little more conservative with an average of 2.97 goals per game. Ryan Scarfo leads the way with 34 points (14G, 20A), Drew Dorantes (17G, 12A) has the team’s lead in goals scored while Jarid Lukosevicius (9G, 18A) rounds out the top three.

The Spruce Kings are getting the bulk of their scoring from Chad Staley (14G, 18A) and Jeremiah Luedtke (6G, 20A) with Christian Weidauer (7G, 18A) adding some big numbers from the blue line.

Game time is 3pm with the game available online with a pay-per-view broadcast through Fasthockey.com and a free audio only feed through the Spruce Kings Mixlr Channel beginning with a pre-game show at 2:40pm.