Everything But a Winner

Karan Toor (10) lays out a heavy hit,
but it wasn't the heaviest hit of the game

In a game that featured literally everything, except a winner, the Prince George Spruce Kings extended their points in a game streak to eight games after settling for a 4-4 double overtime tie versus the Vernon Vipers. Chad Staley had a four point night picking up his second BCHL career hattrick and adding an assist, but that doesn't even compare to the exploding glass and fireworks late in the third period.

After a slow start to the game, everybody in the rink was commenting about how they had never seen a game with so much excitement and would have like to see this one go longer than it did. The first ten minutes of the game featured a single shot on goal by each team and no chances. To say this game was looking like a dud was an understatement as most of the play happened between the blue lines. During the BCHL timeout, somebody flicked a switch and the game immediately turned to one the fans and players won't soon forget.

A one-time member of the Prince George Spruce Kings, as a fifteen year old draft choice, provided the first real spark to the game. Tyler Povelofskie fired a shot into the Spruce Kings zone that bounced off the wall and came back at Alex Murray, bouncing through the goaltender that left the crease to play it. The puck landed in the crease and looked like an easy goal just waiting for Povelofskie to find, but Murray was able to dive back to the net and get a glove on it before that could happen. The Vernon Vipers forward fell on Murray and in the melee that followed, Skylar Pacheco received a two minute minor for high sticking.

The Vernon Vipers powerplay looked dangerous with cross crease passes and hard point shots, but Murray saw them all and stopped them all. The Vipers tallied five shots on goal during the powerplay and were looking for a sixth from the right point when Mark Hamilton (yes the player that hit Jake LeBrun) lost an edge and fell down unable to reach the puck. Chad Staley jumped on the loose puck and headed up the ice with only the linesman between him and the goaltender at the other end.

The official got caught in no-man's land and fortunately just froze in place about five feet from the boards. Staley took the outside lane to get around the official in front of the Vernon Vipers player's bench and then made his cut to net. The speed of Staley was too much for Austin Smith to handle and he couldn't get in good position as Staley found the top corner with a back hand flip. Staley's tenth goal of the season came with five seconds still remaining in Pacheco's penalty on just the second Prince George shot on goal at 14:27 of the opening period.

With the game now getting exciting to watch, the place was about to erupt. The Spruce Kings used that goal as a momentum shift and started on the attack again. On a play in the Vernon end, Braiden Epp lined up a defenceman against the back wall for a hit and did he hit him. The glass behind the net exploded leaving fragments of glass all over the ice behind the net and extending up four rows in the seats behind. The players were left with bits of glass in their equipment that had to be taken out.

This happened with 5:10 remaining in the opening period and at 7:30pm local time. It was thought that the delay would take about ten to fifteen minutes, leaving the players on the ice waiting to resume the play. Unfortunately it started to take a little longer than that to clean up the broken glass and then the wrong piece of glass came out. It was then decided that the players should go to the dressing room for an early first intermission break. In all the delay took just over an hour as the team's were brought back to resume play at 8:32pm.

The Spruce Kings would add two more shots in the last five minutes and the Vipers one in a period that took 90 minutes in all to play. In the second period, the Spruce Kings started to find their stride again and were getting some scoring chances that led to their first powerplay. Prince George controlled much of the man advantage and as they worked the puck around the perimeter and back to Karan Toor, it was the defenceman that took the big point shot only to have it blocked by his own guy. Chad Staley picked up the puck, looked at the net, saw the goaltender had gone down looking to make the save and fired into the top half of the net for his second goal of the game and eleventh of the game giving Prince George a 2-0 lead.

The Vernon Vipers would get that one back a few minutes later off a nice solo effort from Liam Coughlin who followed cut to the net from the left wall and outwaited Murray before lifting a back hander into the far top side corner. The goal gave the Vipers life and they started to come on leading to fluky goal from Povelofskie. Playing in his twentieth game of the season and in front of parents on parent's weekend in Vernon, Povelofskie drove hard to the net and had to retrieve the puck from below the goal line.

Looking to make a centring pass, he shot the puck out just as Spruce Kings defender Danny Kiraly dove feet first to block the pass. Unfortunately the puck would catch Kiraly's skate and was kicked towards the far side post where it just squeezed in over the line. There was a short conversation as to whether or not the puck actually crossed the line but it was counted, tieing the game at two goals a-piece. That's how the second period would end with Prince George credited with ten shots on goal for a two period total of 14 and Vernon getting eight more for a two period total of 16.

As all the other games in the BCHL were coming to a close, this one was just heading into the third period. Prince George would again put the pressure on the Vernon Vipers, hemming them in their own end. In a play that saw the puck roll along the dasher board from the corner to just before the glass ends at the Vipers bench, Jeremiah Luedtke grabbed it off the wall to keep the play alive. Luedtke was able to play the puck enough to get it to Chad Staley who came in and picked up the puck out of feet and then fed it across the ice to Christian Weidauer who came in off the right point untouched and fired in his fifth of the season giving the Spruce Kings back their lead.

The play would go back and forth with the Vernon Vipers getting the better of the chances, but again Alex Murray stood tall in net and would not give up that tying goal. The Spruce Kings would find themselves on their third powerplay of the game just past the midway mark of the third period. The Prince George powerplay looked impressive on this night and for 54 seconds Mitch Eden quarterbacked the man advantage from the top slot before finally getting the shot he wanted from the right point. The shot got through traffic and was laying in the paint between the feet of Staley who tapped it backwards between his feet and through the five hole of Smith to restore Prince George's two goal lead.

The Vernon Vipers would not go away and less than a minute later they had clawed their way back into this game with a shot that found its way through Murray at 13:07 to make it a 4-3 game. In everything that had gone on to this point in the game, the Studio Cuts Crowning Moment of the Game was just about to be played out.

Hit last night with a high elbow but able to play in tonight's game, Braiden Epp became the centre of attention again when he was reaching for the puck against the wall in his own zone and was hit from behind while in an awkward position. Matty Saharchuk leveled Epp leaving the Prince George forward on the ice. The players came together in a scrum and were pushing and shoving and jawing at each other. Christian Weidauer and TJ Dumonceaux came together and looked like they may go when Dumonceaux dropped his gloves and started trying to land a shot.

Ryan Dawson, one of the linesman came in to seperate the two players and as he did he was hit a first time by Dumonceaux. It looked like that was where it was going to end but the Vipers forward continued to try and get loose from the clutches of Dawson and then with another right, Dumonceaux connected but it was the face of Dawson that he hit sending the linesman crashing to the ice where he laid for over thirty seconds. Cam Smith, the Spruce Kings trainer who was already on the ice attending to Epp, went to the official to offer help. The official had been cut and there was blood on the ice as he got up holding a cloth to his face.

Thinking that Vipers would get a five minute major for the Saharchuk boarding call and a two minute instigator penalty to Dumonceaux for dropping the gloves and looking to start a fight, the referee surprised everybody and called just a single minor for the boarding, gave both Weidauer and Dumonceaux ten minute misconducts and a game misconduct to Dumonceaux for tagging the official. The strange interpretation of what happened left the Spruce Kings in disbelieve and provided a source of inspiration for the Vipers.

Prince George didn't get much of anything on the man advantage and as the penalty came to an end, it was the Vipers that went on the offensive and found the equalizer with three minutes still to play in regulation time. Neither team could score in the remaining time leading to overtime where both teams would again trade chances in end to end rushes combining for 17 shots on goal in total in the extra time. The Vernon Vipers finished with 9 shots through overtime for a game total of 41 and the Spruce Kings were credited with 8 shots for a game total of 28.

The single point extended the Spruce Kings points per game streak to eight games with five wins, and three overtime decisions including two 4-4 ties dating back to October 21st versus the Surrey Eagles. Prince George remains one point back of the Langley Rivermen for top spot in the Mainland Division and will now go looking to claim top spot with a win in Salmon Arm. It is the first meeting of the season with the Silverbacks who are coming off of a 3-2 come from behind win over the Trail Smoke Eaters Saturday night.

Spruce Kings Snuff Out the Smoke Eaters

Already down six players, there was a lot of concern after
Braiden Epp was hit against the boards late in the game

The Prince George Spruce Kings started off their three game Interior Division road trip with a 5-2 win over the Trail Smoke Eaters Friday night. An otherwise close game was blown open when the Spruce Kings scored on back-to-back powerplays to pull away from the Smoke Eaters. The win, coupled with a Langley Rivermen's loss, leaves the Spruce Kings just one point back of top spot in the Mainland Division and tied for third overall in the BCHL.

The game featured some unbelievable saves by both goaltenders who robbed the other teams of goals that would have otherwise seen this game get completely out of hand. In the end, a small blunder that saw the puck left sitting in the crease resulted in the eventual game winning goal. Other than that, goals were hard to come by especially in the first fifty minutes with both teams having chances to turn a close game into a blowout.

The game's first goal was the result of another strong play by the team's youngest player - Brogran O'Brien. With injuries changing the complexion of the Spruce Kings roster and line combinations, the sixteen year old found himself centering a line with Mike Iovanna and Justin Rai on the wings. Five minutes into the first period, Skylar Pacheco spotted the youngster along the right side wall and let O'Brien do most of the work from there.

O'Brien drove hard down the wall and then cut to the net as he entered the zone. He fired the first shot on goal hard enough to have the rebound bounce out to the left side of the net where Iovanna was waiting to send his second of the season and second in as many games into the back of the net. The goal would hold up for just over seven minutes before a former Spruce King would get his second of the season.

At 10:04 of the first period, O'Brien was called for tripping put the Smoke Eaters on the first man advantage of the game. Although they were unable to score on their first powerplay, they were able to gain some momentum off a wild flurry in the final twenty seconds with the extra attacker. Alex Murray turned aside all three glorious scoring opportunities that Trail came up with.

A few seconds after the penalty expired, a stoppage in play resulted in the BCHL which has become known for its trademark ability to create exciting scoring chances. This one would turn into a goal for the Trail Smoke Eaters as Cody Bardock found the puck at the top of the left side faceoff circle and waited for the Spruce Kings defenceman to become his own screen. Bardock shot the puck high to the blocker side through the screen finding the top corner behind Murray who had no chance to make the save.

After that goal, it was the Spruce Kings that went on the attack for the final seven minutes. Prince George fired a number of shots in on Riley Corbin who stood tall in net for the Trail Smoke Eaters and came up with some saves that could have easily seen the game get out of hand in the first period. Instead the first period would end with the teams tied 1-1 and the Spruce Kings leading 14-9 on the shot clock.

Five minutes into the second period and Karan Toor would start a play that he would be able to finish as well. After being hemmed inside their own zone for the better part of shift, it was Toor that found the puck and was able to get out. Chad Staley and Jeremiah Luedtke took over from there and carried the puck into the Smoke Eaters end. Unable to get a clear shot on goal, the puck came back to Toor who was waiting for it in the high slot. He too would wait for the seam to open up and fired another high shot, this time to the glove side, that found the top corner for the defenceman's fourth goal of the season.

A few minutes later it would be another defenceman that would spot Prince George a two goal lead. Skylar Pacheco carried the puck down the wall and fired a hard shot to near side post that the goaltender stopped. Most of all the other shots that Corbin took off the body were bouncing out to the other side so the goaltender slid to his right only to leave the puck behind sitting loose in the crease not six inches from his big pads. Pacheco spotted that puck and was able to tap home the eventual game winner and his seventh of the season to make the score 3-1.

The Trail Smoke Eaters were not about to go away just yet and would get a bounce of their own when the Spruce Kings were guilty of a soft D-to-D pass. Travis Stephens, the Smoke Eaters leading scorer, blocked the pass and sprung himself loose on a break-away with Jake Kauppila in on the rush. Stephens drove hard to the net and then slid the cross-crease pass over to Kauppila who banged in his fifth of the season. Although that gave the home side a spark, it would never be ignited as it was the last goal that Trail would score on the night.

It was beginning to look like neither team was going to score another goal as both sides continued to have chances although most of them were going to the Spruce Kings. The Studio Cuts Crowning Moment of the Game would come just past the midway mark of the third period when Cody Bardock was called for a high stick. It was only the second powerplay of the game for Prince George who had already given up four powerplay chances to the Trail Smoke Eaters.

A minute into that second man advantage and Mitch Eden would work his way from the left point to the faceoff circle where he snapped a hard shot. The shot was a little over waist high catching the goaltender on the outside of the arm. The puck bounced up and over the goaltender and broke the plane of the goal with the referee standing right there. Although the puck never hit the ice as it was batted out of mid air by the defender and the goal light never came on, the referee indicated goal giving Prince George a 4-2 lead in the game.

The goal seemed to deflate the Smoke Eaters who never really got another good chance to cut into that lead. A couple of minutes later in a goal mouth exchange, Scott Davidson two handed Justin Rai across the mouth resulting in a double minor. Rai would also be assessed a penalty for roughing, but that still left Prince George with their third man advantage. Again about a minute in, the Spruce Kings would cash in off a signature move by Chad Staley.

The second year vet, and now the team's leading goal scorer, swooped in under the goal line behind the net and fed the puck back out to Jeremiah Luedtke who was following on the play. Luedtke's shot was stopped in another rob job by the goaltender but the rebound came out to Staley who came around the net found the puck and waited to take his shot before firing it high to the blocker side of Corbin.

Staley's ninth of the season gave Prince George the 5-2 lead and all but put the game out of reach for the Smoke Eaters, who then seemed to become frustrated and started taking a few runs at Prince George players. Certainly the Spruce Kings do not need to lose anymore players to injury already down six players, five to injury. Brogan O'Brien was caught from behind and hit against the back wall with no call. Luedtke and Staley were also tagged with questionable hits that came after the play with no call.

With less than three minutes to go in the third period, Braiden Epp had the puck along the wall and was able to get rid of it just as Valik Chickkin came in with a flying elbow to the head. Again there was no indication that the referee was going to make the call as Epp lay on the ice. A few Spruce King players had enough and there was some pushing and shoving and few words exchanged. The linesman who saw the hit informed the referee of the dangerous hit and a five minute major for a blow to the head was called resulting in a game misconduct to Chichkin.

The Spruce Kings used the powerplay to kill off the remaining time in the period and leave the Comico Arena with two points and their twelfth win of the season. The three stars on the night included Mitch Eden, Jeremiah Luedtke and Chad Staley; although a number of other players could have been seriously considered for the honour including both goaltenders. Prince George peppered Corbin with a total of 43 shots while Murray picked up his eighth win of the season stopping 26 of 28 shots he faced.

After the game, the Spruce Kings got back on the bus and headed for Vernon where they will meet up with the Vipers on Saturday night in Kal Tire Place at 7pm. The game is the first meeting between the two teams since the infamous hit on Jake LeBrun that has resulted in the Prince George hockey product missing out on twelve games and counting. With the extent of injuries to the Spruce Kings lineup, the expectations is that there will be some emotion on the ice but the only kind of retribution Prince George will be looking for will be on the scoreboard.

Single Point in Double Overtime

Alex Murray (35) making one of his best saves of the night
while the teams were playing 3-on-3 in double overtime

Despite being down six players, the Prince George Spruce Kings found a way to get a single point in their game Saturday night against the Langley Rivermen. The Spruce Kings came up one play short of taking both points but had to head home with only the single point after a 3-2 double overtime loss. The point extended the Spruce Kings consecutive point streak to six games with four wins and two overtime decisions in that span.

The Spruce Kings went into the contest with a short bench as the injuries continue to mount up. Heading into the weekend, Bryant Christian was added to the long term injured list after suffering a facial injury that required Christian to return home for surgery. Jake LeBrun is still on the long term injury list, but is expected to start skating with the team next week and is expected to make a return to the game in mid-November. Mitch Barker was also unable to make the trip suffering from a lower body injury that shouldn't have an impact on his return for next weekend.

The only healthy scratch from this weekend is that of Jesse Jenks who is away at the World Junior A Challenge in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia playing for Team Canada West. In Friday night's game, both Justin Rai and Cole Todd were hit with high dangerous hits in two different plays that saw the same result - both forwards left for the dressing room and did not return. Both players have returned home and are expected to miss out on the three games next weekend.

On Thursday, the Prince George Spruce Kings completed a trade with the Vernon Vipers to add Mike Iovanna to their lineup. The team also called up a pair of affiliate players, Jackson Waniek a right handed forward and Tate Sproxton a goaltender. The two forward additions to the roster would both contribute on Saturday night with their first BCHL career goals in the second period to spot the Spruce Kings a 2-1 lead.

The game's first goal came in the first period of play on the Rivermen's fifth shot on goal. Off a faceoff in the Spruce Kings zone, the puck would make its way back to the left point, Chris Forney took the original shot that Skylar Pacheco was able to block. Alex Murray found himself out of position as the puck bounced off of his defenceman back to the left faceoff circle where Matt Ustaski was waiting to fire in his eight of the season.

Early in the second period, from almost the same spot on the ice, Mitch Eden would lob a shot in on net that Jackson Waniek was able to tip in past Steve Myland to tie the game at a goal apiece. The harmless looking shot became a shot of adrenaline for the Prince George bench who were looking for anything positive to build on. A few minutes later, the newest member of the Spruce Kings would shake off a 15 game drought with a hard working play. Mike Iovanna stripped the puck off the Langley forward just outside the Spruce Kings zone. Iovanna went in on an angle to the Rivermen net with a defenceman draped all over him. Iovanna faked with the forehand, pulled the puck to his backhand and lifted a shot past the blocker of Myland.

The Spruce Kings go-ahead goal forced Bobby Henderson, the Langley Rivermen's head coach and general manager, to call his team's timeout with just over five minutes played in the second period. The Spruce Kings would hold onto their slim one goal lead for the next twelve minutes but unfortunately for Prince George, a penalty would lead to the tying goal. With Mitch Eden in the box for tripping, the Rivermen worked the puck around the right side until they could sneak a back door pass through the seam for Ustaski to tap in his second of the night with less than two minutes remaining in the second period.

In the third period, both teams would trade chance for chance looking for the lead in regulation time that wouldn't come. In overtime the Langley Rivermen were credited with six shots on goal while the Spruce Kings were credited with only one. The best chance for Prince George came about a minute and half into the second overtime period when Sean Landrey jumped up on the rush, split a pair of defenders and went in hard on Myland. Landrey had his feet taken out from under him and fell heavily and awkwardly into the end boards.

The Rivermen headed up the other end of the ice on an odd-man rush with a chance to end it. Alex Murray stared down the Rivermen and came up with a highlight reel save. On the ensuing faceoff, the Rivermen found themselves in deep with two player wide on either side of the net. Kevin Kilistoff spotted James Robinson on the far side and fed the puck over for the one-timer. Murray dove over and was able to get a good piece of the puck, but it wasn't enough as it fluttered over the goaltender and fell into the back of the net.

The Rivermen ended up outshooting Prince George 35-20 but through it all the Spruce Kings remained just one shot away from winning it and that made for an entertaining game for all those that watched on. Following the game, the Spruce Kings returned home with only 18 players on the bus. The team will look at some options, hope for a player or two to return from the injured list and prepare for another big weekend road trip. Next weekend the Spruce Kings will complete their Interior Division road games with stops in Trail on Friday, Vernon on Saturday and Salmon Arm on Sunday afternoon.

Spruce Kings Find a Way to Win

Mitch Eden (27) celebrates his game winning goal
Photo courtesy Garrett James Photography

The Spruce Kings found a way to win and extend their current winning streak to four games after downing the Surrey Eagles 3-2 on Friday night. Jeremiah Luedtke (5), Chad Staley (8) and Mitch Eden (2) scoring for Prince George as the team led on shots and scoring chances but needed a break to put this one away.

Prince George found themselves down 1-0 after giving up a shorthanded goal while having pressure and controlling the play in the Surrey end. Off an offensive faceoff win, the puck came back to the d-man, got caught in skates and from there Nic Pierog poked it out to centre, got a step on his pursuers and was able to snap one past Alex Murray low to the glove side.

The Spruce Kings outshot the Eagles in the first period and had plenty of chances but couldn't find one to go behind Devon Fordyce. Knowing they only trailed by one and had the majority of the play leading 17-6 on the shot clock was all they were able to take to the dressing room.

Already missing three forwards (Bryant Christian, Jake LeBrun and Mitch Barker), the last thing the Spruce Kings need is to go down another forward. Two minutes into the second period, Colton Mackie tracked Justin Rai across the ice and when Rai was up against the boards with the puck in his feet, Mackie hit Rai with high hit that sent him to the ice in a heap. After a few tense moments, Rai was able to get up and get off the ice on his own power. Mackie was assessed a five minute major for charging and also given a game misconduct for the dangerous hit.

The Spruce Kings looked good early on in their third man advantage. On a nice play that saw Chad Staley pass the puck across the top of the zone to Skylar Pacheco who then set up Brent Lashuk in the high slot for the one-timer, it was Jeremiah Luedtke standing in the dirty area that tipped the blast past Fordyce to pull Prince George even tied 1-1. For Luedtke it was his fifth goal of the season and fourth in four games.

Prince George couldn't do much with the remaining time on the five minute major and ended up taking an even up penalty setting up a four-on-four situation that became a four-on-three for Surrey when the Spruce Kings took another penalty. The Spruce Kings, who have been frustrating opponents on their powerplay, did so again killing off the short two man and one man disadvantages. The period would end in a 1-1 tie with the Spruce Kings still leading on the shot clock 26-13.

In the third period, just when it looked like Prince George couldn't find a break, they would get the first of two when Chad Staley intercepted a pass and was able to beat the defender into the Eagles zone. Despite being hauled down on the play in the deep slot, Staley was able to direct the puck through Fordyce and into the back of the net while sliding through the crease on his knees. With the goal, Staley took over top spot on team scoring with 8 goals and 8 assists.

Minutes later the game would be tied again on a play that started with a big hit on Cole Todd right in front of the Surrey bench. Todd was hit up high to the head, but no call was coming. As the puck made it's way back inside the Spruce Kings zone, the Prince George players seemed to be confused leaving a large section of the zone undefended. Jonah Renouf was able to spot his twin brother wide open on the far side faceoff circle and fed the puck through. Murray was well out of his crease leaving the net wide open for Nathan Renouf to score his first in the BCHL in his first game of the season after being injured for the first 18 games for Surrey.

The hockey gods have been watching the Spruce Kings and decided to reward them for their hard work, perseverance and sheer determination. With less than three minutes to go in regulation and the game tied 2-2, the Spruce Kings would dump the puck down the ice and go in hard on the forecheck. Devon Fordyce lost the handle on the puck and put it right on the stick of Brent Lashuk who directed the puck over to Chad Staley. Looking for his second of the night, Fordyce would get back into position to make the save but knocked the rebound out to Mitch Eden who had followed the play down the right side of the wall. Eden was able to slip the puck into the net before Fordyce could do anything about it.

The goal was like a pin popping an overinflated balloon as all energy and excitement was extinguished in the South Surrey Arena. The Spruce Kings would hold on for the final two and half minutes to post their eleventh win of the season and first of the year against the Surrey Eagles. The win gives the Spruce Kings 24 points which is two back of the Mainland Division leading Langley Rivermen. The two teams will meet Saturday night in the Langley Events Centre in what could be a physically demanding game on the Prince George Spruce Kings given how the game ended two weekends ago.

The Spruce Kings certainly don't want to get into that kind of scenario already down four players and possibly six after tonight. Bryant Christian isn't expected back until mid-December at the earliest, Jake LeBrun is still two weeks away from getting back in the game, Mitch Barker is expected back next weekend and Jesse Jenks is away at the World Junior A Challenge until November 11th. After tonight's hits on Justin Rai and Cole Todd, those two forwards are now question marks heading into Saturday's game.

A Gift Goal Wins It

The Spruce Kings celebrate after Sean Landrey scores
the game's first goal en route to a 3-2 win

The Prince George Spruce Kings took the gift they were given and traded it in for two points in a 3-2 win over the visiting Cowichan Valley Capitals on Saturday night. Three highlight reel goals from Sean Landrey, Brogan O'Brien and Jeremiah Luedtke provided the Spruce Kings with their tenth win of the season and third in a row.

Although the game finished with fans holding on to the edge of their seats, the game certainly didn't start that way and was more of a yawner with no energy on the ice and no atmosphere in the stands. It took over five minutes for the first shot on goal to be registered by either team. Perhaps it was that first shot that turned the tide when Matt Painchaud worked his way underneath the Cowichan Valley Capitals defence and drove hard to the net looking to poke the puck in five-hole.

On the next shift, the Spruce Kings would get two more shots and that then seemed to ignite the road weary Capitals. The visitors applied the pressure and had good puck possession in the Spruce Kings end but were having difficulties finding the net firing pucks high and wide. Hemmed inside their own zone, things would change quickly for Prince George when Riley Hawes jumped on a loose puck at the top of the faceoff circle and spotted Sean Landrey breaking out of the zone.

Hawes fed a perfect pass through the middle that Landrey picked up on the fly. With a step on the defender, Landrey let go a snap shot that beat the Capitals goalie high to the blocker side. For Landrey it was his second goal of the season and second in as many games coming at 14:07 of the first period on the Spruce Kings fifth shot on goal. The goal would hold up as the only tally in the opening period and, for a while, looked like it was going to be the only goal of the second period too. Prince George headed to the dressing room leading 12-6 on the shot clock.

On Thursday night the Spruce Kings were put on their heels in the second period but they weren't about to let that happen to them on this night. Even with Karan Toor sitting in the penalty box with over three minutes remaining in a double minor, the Spruce Kings created chances. The best came off the stick of Chad Staley who stole the puck and was looking for the far side of the net before he was hauled down. Some fans in the building were wondering if a penalty shot would be awarded with a penalty shot again, but it was only called a two minute minor. The four on four situation only lasted for a short while before Justin Rai was called for an interference penalty giving the Capitals a 4-on-3 to work with and 12 seconds of 5-on-3.

Even with the extra ice and short two man advantage, the Cowichan Valley Capitals couldn't get anything on Alex Murray. The next three powerplays all went to the Spruce Kings, but they too struggled to get quality shots on goal with the man advantage despite controlling much of the play in the offensive zone. Before the end of the second period, the Cowichan Valley Capitals would get their third powerplay of the game and would make the most of it, scoring the tying goal at 19:10. Despite outshooting the visitors 14-8 in the middle frame, the Spruce Kings could not capitalize on any of their chances.

With the start of the third period it looked like the Capitals were on the verge of taking over the game's momentum and very well might have had it not been for a stunning play by the Spruce Kings youngest player. Coming around from behind his own net, Danny Kiraly spotted Brogan O'Brien the puck just inside the Prince George blue line. The sixteen year old took off with speed through the middle, shook off a couple of checks and stepped around two more defenders. As O'Brien made his way around the last guy, he lost his footing and fell to his knees but never gave up on the puck. From his knees, O'Brien was able to pull the puck from his backhand to his forehand and bury on Robin Gusse (pronounced goose) before sliding into the net himself.

The goal left the entire building in a buzz with people asking the same question all around the Coliseum - "did you see that?" Before the reality of the goal could sink in for the fans in the stands, the Cowichan Valley Capitals answered right back to again put the game into a tie. The tie would hold up for sixteen minutes as both teams traded chances. The Capitals had the best chance to score the go-ahead goal when Mitch Ball had the game on his stick and was robbed by a reach back glove hand save by Alex Murray.

Not a minute later a tense crowd would explode in a goal celebration that was tempered with more disbelief. In the Spruce Kings zone, the Capitals had complete control of the puck and were working it along the left side wall back to the point. The pass back got away from the defenceman and went the length of the ice. Gusse left the net and went into the corner to play it. Jeremiah Luedtke followed the puck into the Capitals end and then curled in towards the slot. Just as Luedtke was passing between the faceoff circles the unbelievable happened. In a bold maverick move to find the far side defenceman, Gusse passed the puck right to Luedtke who grabbed it and fired in to the empty net with 44 seconds remaining in the third period.

After the horror of the situation sunk in for Gusse and the Capitals, they would control the final seconds of play inside the Spruce Kings zone but couldn't find the equalizer before the final buzzer sounded. The Spruce Kings posted the 3-2 regulation time victory sending the hometown fans home happy and the visitors on the bus still shaking their heads on the one that got away on them. After the game, Alex Murray was given the hard hat after making 24 saves on the night including two huge saves in the third period.

Sean Landrey who played a strong game all night long was awarded the game's first star while Brogan O'Brien picked up the second star for his highlight reel goal and smart play all night long. With the three stars being selected a few minutes before the end of the game, the third star came as a bit of a surprise after it was awarded to the player that gave the puck away in the dying seconds of the game - Robin Gusse. Chad Staley and Jeremiah Luedtke were on the short list for Fortis BC Energy Player of the Game, but it would be Staley that picked up the honour after putting together another solid sixty minute effort.

On a side note, both Caleb Thompson and Jake LeBrun who have been out of the lineup for the most of the month of October, were both at the game. At this point it is unclear if either player will be able to travel with the team next weekend for their next set of games. The Spruce Kings will be in Surrey on November 1st and Langley November 2nd.

The Langley Rivermen maintained their two point cushion over the Spruce Kings in top spot in the Mainland Division with a 3-2 overtime win over the West Kelowna Warriors. The Spruce Kings are now four points up on the Coquitlam Express who were idle tonight. After losing 3-2 to the Chilliwack Chiefs, the Surrey Eagles sit seven points back of Prince George in fourth place and the Chiefs are stuck in the basement with nine points.

Eagles Soar in the Third

Alex Murray made a nice save on this break-away chance
photo courtesy Garrett James Photograpy

The Surrey Eagles took flight in the third period changing a close game through forty minutes into a 6-1 blowout on Friday night over the Prince George Spruce Kings. After two periods it was a 2-1 game with the Spruce Kings enjoying a BCHL career first goal for Brogan O'Brien and wondering what could have been if not for a goal post.

On the very first play of the game the Spruce Kings found themselves down 1-0 when Ryan Fraser-Lee broke up a play in the neutral zone and sent Nic Pierog in on a three-on-two chance. As Pierog stepped over the blue line he let a deceptive wrister go that handcuffed Alex Murray and opened the scoring just ten seconds into the game on the first shot on goal.

The Spruce Kings would settle down and keep the Eagles of the shot clock for some time including the full two minutes of a penalty kill. That penalty kill also turned out to be a momentum changer as the Spruce Kings carried much of the play especially on the very first shift registering four shots on goal. Unfortunately all of those shots would be turned away by the one time netminder for the Prince George Cougars.

Devon Fordyce went from the Cougars to the Brooks Bandits of the Alberta Junior Hockey League and was recently acquired by the Surrey Eagles getting his first BCHL start on Wednesday night. That turned into a 5-4 and the end of a five game losing streak for the Surrey Eagles. Fordyce earned second star in his second game with the Eagles after posting the 6-1 win. For as little as Fordyce was tested in the first period, the Spruce Kings made the opposition netminder earn his star in the second period.

In the middle frame the Spruce Kings would end up with eight shots on goal and created no less than four glorious scoring chances. The only goal that Prince George would get would come off the stick of the sixteen year old rookie, Brogan O'Brien playing in his seventh BCHL game.

Off an offensive zone faceoff by Chad Staley that led to a shot on goal by Jeremiah Luedtke, O'Brien found the puck in the slot and was able to slip it from his forehand to his backhand and flip his first in behind a down and out Fordyce. The goal tied the game at one a-piece and provided the Spruce Kings with another chance to grab onto some momentum.

A few minutes later it would be the Surrey Eagles that would get the go-ahead goal that the Spruce Kings could never answer back. Under pressure in their own zone, the Spruce Kings would ice the puck forcing a defensive zone faceoff with no opportunity to change the players on the ice. With the puck pinned up against the wall, Johan Renouf would dig it out and find Danton Heinen at the top of the faceoff circle who would snap home his third of the season.

On the very next shift the Spruce Kings would have their best chance to tie up the game when Bryant Christian spotted Brent Lashuk with the puck through the middle. Lashuk went into the Eagles zone with speed and fired a hot shot of his own that beat Fordyce but not the goal post. The second period would end 2-1 in favour of the home team with the Spruce Kings leading 17-15 on the shot clock.

In the third period the Spruce Kings would get one more chance to tie up the game but again they would come up empty only to have the Eagles go the other way. Pierog got the puck and headed up the ice starting a give and go with Brent Mulchay, as he got the puck back he let another quick wrister go from the top of the slot that found the back of the net to make it a 3-1 game.

Not finished there, Pierog would come back for more scoring his hat trick goal at 12:16 of the third period. The Eagles would still add two more from Mulchay and Renouf on the powerplay to finish with four goals in the third on 13 shots total.

The 6-1 loss is the first time the Spruce Kings have allowed more than five goals against and the first time they have lost by more than a three goal spread. The Spruce Kings will have to put all of that behind them, learn from the experience and get ready to respond as they will be right back in the South Surrey Arena on Saturday night for a return matchup. The game has a 7pm scheduled opening puck drop and will be broadcast live on the Spruce Kings Mixlr channel and Fasthockey.com.

Deja Vu All Over Again

Alex Murray and the Spruce Kings were under siege in the
third period but held on for the 3-2 win Saturday

The Prince George Spruce Kings did the unthinkable tonight in defeating the West Kelowna Warriors 3-2 in their own rink. Basically limping in to Royal LePage Place,  the Spruce Kings came in four players short including two of the top scorers.

Jake LeBrun (8G, 5A) missed his fourth consecutive game and linemate Brent Lashuk (2G, 8A) missed his fifth. Defenceman Caleb Thompson missed all three games and Mitch Barker played Thursday in Merritt but was a scratch for the other two games this weekend.

After losing the first two games to the third place team (4-1 Merritt Centennials) and the second place team (2-0 Penticton Vees), the odds did not favour the Spruce Kings as they faced off against the West Kelowna Warriors,  the number one team in the Interior Division and the BCHL. The Warriors were riding a 9-0-0-1 record in their last ten games and were undefeated on home ice to start the season.

A similar scenario had played out a year ago when the Spruce Kings came in missing seven players, but were able to sneak out with a 4-3 win. In that game, Justin Rai was one of the scratches leaving Chad Staley and Jeremiah Luedtke with a stranger on the wing. Staley and Luedtke used that game as their breakout game annoucing their arrival in the BCHL with a highlight reel goal that stood up as the game winner.

With the team struggling to find offence, coach Dave Dupas used the memory of that game to change up his forward lines moving Rai up to play with Bryant Christian and Colin Chmelka. Brogan O'Brien was moved onto the wing with Staley and Luedtke to try and add a spark for those two,

As it played out, it was Justin Rai that provided the spark for the Prince George Spruce Kings, setting up the game's first goal and then scoring his second of the season less than twenty seconds later. As the game approached the midway mark of the first period, Mitch Eden started a play inside his own zone spotting Bryant Christian at centre ice. Christian took a hit to make a play getting the puck up to Rai who continued into the Warriors end. As the defender approached, Rai got the puck back to Skylar Pacheco who quickly fired a shot from the top of the faceoff circle that beat the West Kelowna netminder.

Off the ensuing faceoff,  the trio went right back to work in the offensive zone creating an odd man rush. Once again it was Christian finding Rai with a pass to the left side and the highly motivated second year forward took it from there. Rai moved in and wired the perfect shot short side above the blocker, giving the Spruce Kings their 2-0 lead and stunning the home crowd into an eerie silence.

The West Kelowna Warriors used the BCHL timeout to settle down their players and it seemed to work. They would get the next scoring chance when Jason Cotton came down the left wing, threw the brakes on and in one movement looked off the defender and goaltender while whipping a wrister that rang off the crossbar. A few shifts later, the Warriors were back on the attack led by Liam Blackburn and Seb Lloyd. In a broken play that saw two PG defenders get crossed up and fall to the ice, the puck deflected back against the flow of play to a wide open Lloyd who made no mistake, firing a shot into a wide open net to close the gap to one goal.

Instead of gaining momentum, the wheels came off the bus for the West Kelowna Warriors with a parade a players making a trip to the penalty box. Earlier in the period, Ambrose Frickus blocked a Pacheco point shot and spent a long time on the ice unable to move. He ended up being helped off the ice and was taken immediately to the dressing room for observation and repairs. Firkus did return, but appeared to be tenative and ended up taking a lazy penalty as he turned his back to a rushing Justin Rai and stuck his leg out tripping him up.

Thrty seconds later the Warriors were called for another violation, this time it was Matt Anholt for a slash putting the Spruce Kings on a two man advantage for 1:22. This whole series became the Studio Cuts Crowning Moment of the Game as the Spruce Kings would find the back of the net 40 seconds later. From the right side wall Luedtke fed the puck back to the right point where Pacheco set up a one-timer for Christian Weidauer.  The Spruce Kings leading offensive defenceman let go a blast from the left point that got through everyone restoring Prince George's two goal lead at 3-1.

Thats how the first period would end with the Spruce Kings out shooting the home team 14-5. The teams would trade chances in the second but again the Spruce Kings would limit the Warriors to just five shots on goal. The highlight of the second period would be the continued parade to the penalty box, five of the seven penalties going to the Warriors. While the Spruce Kings weren't completely innocent, it did appear that the officials were less inclined to make the calls against the visiting team.

In the third period it certainly looked like the blown chances in the middle frame were going to come back and bite the Spruce Kings. Not content with their limited shots in the first two periods, the Warriors pulled out everything they could looking to get back in the game. At one point both teams would trade breakaway chances on back-to-back plays. Brogan O'Brien would get the first one as he was fed a stretch pass and sprung from centre ice. On the very next play Carl Hesler slipped between a pair of Spruce Kings on the blue line to bust in on Alex Murray who came up with the save of the game.

Unfortunately for Prince George, the rebound would make its way back to Hesler who snapped home the puck pulling the Warriors to within one at 6:12. The Warriors kept up the pressure forcing turnovers in the offensive zone and keeping Prince George hemmed up in their own end. With eleven minutes still to play in regulation time, Dave Dupas called his timeout to calm his players down and remind them not to panic and stay aggressive instead of sitting back.

The Spruce Kings did just that and although they never really got anymore chances, they certainly minimized chances for the Warriors by clogging up the nuetral zone, keeping them to the outside, blocking shots and winning battles along the walls. That continued for almost the entire final ten minutes of the third period with the intensity rising as the clock ticked down. The Warriors pulled their goalie with 90 seconds remaining but still couldn't manage anything of consequence on net.

As the final seconds ticked down, Chad Staley made the last big defensive play diving in front of a point shot and then slapping the loose puck out over the blue line to kill off the clock. It truly did turn into deja vu all over again as the Spruce Kings came in against all odds to pull off an improbable victory. The win puts Prince George back above .500 with a record of 7-6-0-1, good for third place in the Mainland Division, one point back of the Coquitlam Express and four back of the front running Langley Rivermen.

Justin Rai was by far the best player, for either team in the first period and his play through the remaining forty minutes earned the second year player first star honours. Skylar Pacheco also factored in the three star selection as could a host of players including Chad Staley, Christian Weidauer, Mitch Eden, Karan Toor and Alex Murray. For the twenty year old goalie, who made a number of key saves especially in the third period, he was considered the FortisBC Energy Player of the Game and given the "hat" in the dressing room by his team mates.

The Spruce Kings return home for the remainder of the Canadian Thanksgiving long weekend,  they will get two days of practice time before heading back out on the road for another three game weekend. Prince George will play twice in Surrey and will be looking to use those games to put even more distance between themselves and the Eagles. The other game in the three game set will be against the Langley Rivermen.

No Luck Tonight in Merritt

The Spruce Kings were buzzing all around the net in the second
but came up short Thursday night

The Prince George Spruce Kings came up the wrong end of a few bounces, starting their three game Interior Division road swing off with a 4-1 loss to the Merritt Centennials on Thursday night. The Spruce Kings worked hard for any chances they got, but seemingly got bitten by a series of home-town bounces as their record dropped to 6-5-0-1.

The game started out with as expected with the Merritt Centennials using their smaller rink to take away time and space from the Spruce Kings defenders forcing turnovers. Stretch passes through the middle also caused their fair share of troubles for the boys from Prince George. Game plans aside, it was some unfortunate bounces that really hurt the Spruce Kings.

With the game still scoreless, the Centennials were first on the board on a play that started out innocently enough and should never have been more than a simple scoring chance. Adam Tracey of the Centennials skated through the top of the crease with a defender in close pursuit. As Tracey's stick was lifted, he was able to reach back and just touch the puck enough to direct it on net and watch it slide untouched through the legs of Alex Murray.

The Centennials would add to their lead four minutes later on another play that seemed to blossom out of nothing. A simple clearing attempt got knocked down inside the Spruce Kings zone leading to a scramble to get back into position. From the outside of the faceoff circle, Jeff Wight fired a puck wide threw the slot that ricocheted off Sebastian Pare's stick and then the far side goal post to get behind Murray.

The second period saw the Spruce Kings loss a player to a five minute major for kneeing. Colin Chmelka, who was called up from the Osoyoos Coyotes to help fill the vacancies up front with both Brent Lashuk and Jake LeBrun out, was originally given a two minute minor for the infraction. After Dylan Bowen spent a long while on the ice and then had to be helped to the bench before ultimately leaving the game, led the referee to change the call from a minor to a major resulting in a game misconduct for the AP on just his fifth BCHL shift.

The Centennials would score early on in the five minute major on another unfortunate bounce. Dane Birks, the Pittsburgh Penguins draft pick from this past summer, took a point shot that was deflected by a Spruce Kings defender. Instead of having the puck land in the corner, it became a pop up that went up and over the shoulder of Murray and landed in the back of the net. Despite still having over 3 minutes remaining in the man advantage, the Centennials did not get anymore chances to pad their lead and instead the Spruce Kings were able to muster up some of their own.

Showing again why he was put on the Spruce Kings roster, Brogan O'Brien had three consecutive shifts that resulted in three of the team's best scoring chances, each better than the one before. On the first chance O'Brien sped down the right side and once inside the Centennials zone, made his way towards the net. Just as the 16 year old was about to take his shot, a Centennials stick got in the way deflecting the shot wide.

The chances kept coming for the youngster and on his next shift came in through the middle driving had for the slot. O'Brien was able to get a good shot away on goal but couldn't squeeze that one past Connor LaCouvee. On his third chance, O'Brien did beat the Merritt goaltender but not the cross bar as he walked in and let a hard shot go that was labelled for the top corner. Despite not being rewarded for his efforts with goals, the play of O'Brien brought life back to the Spruce Kings bench and put the Centennials on their heels leading to a Prince George powerplay.

The best chance on the man advantage would come off the stick of Danny Kiraly as he snuck in all the way from the right point to find himself right along the goal line. Bryant Christian spotted Kiraly and fed him the pass through the lane in front. Kiraly was just a little too low as he too found iron and the puck harmlessly went into the corner.

While at full strength the Spruce Kings would finally get on the board after Karan Toor started the play from inside the Spruce Kings end with a nice feed up the ice to Justin Rai. Rai gained the offensive zone with Chad Staley jumping up to create a two-on-one. Rai saucered the puck to Staley who let go with a shot that turned into his second of the season and gave the Spruce Kings something to work off.

To start the third period, the Spruce Kings went right to work and early on thought they had pulled to within one on a goal mouth scramble. Again it was Toor starting the play as he found Cole Todd cruising through the middle. The initial shot fooled LaCouvee who could not recover and left the puck in the blue paint. Todd was quick to jump on it, but with the defenders coming to aid of their goalie were able to keep the puck out. The bodies continued to flow towards the net with the puck remaining loose the whole time until finally Todd was able to slide it through the maze.

The initial call on the ice was for a goal sending the Spruce Kings back towards their bench in full goal celebration mode. After a few seconds the three officials met in the referee's circle and had a discussion that ended with the referee making the signal of no goal waving it off. The official announcement in the arena was that the net had come off its moorings prior to the puck crossing the line.

That seemed to deflate the Spruce Kings who continued to struggle the rest of the way. The Centennials stuck to their usual game plan and at times would send a forward early. On one particular play, Rhett Wilcox coasted in the neutral zone in behind everybody waiting for the pass that eventually came springing the forward on a clear cut breakaway. Alex Murray was able to stare down the streaking Centennials robbing from in tight with a spectacular save.

The Centennials would add the finishing touches to this game on a perfectly executed three-on-one play started and finished by Pare. The give and go with Payton Schaefer also included the game's agitator Deigo Cuglietta. The Centennials improved to a record of 7-5-0-0 and a share of second place in the Interior Division with the Penticton Vees.

The Spruce Kings will have to face those Vees on Friday night in the South Okanagan Events Centre. In September the Penticton Vees came north where they suffered their first loss of the regular season. In that game Jesse Jenks was a standout between the pipes and Jake LeBrun registered his first BCHL hat trick. Unfortunately for the Spruce Kings, LeBrun will not have the opportunity to be a standout this time around, Jenks very might get a chance to duplicate what he did on September 20th.

Three in the Third

The Prince George Spruce Kings were up against the 2014 RBC Royal Bank Cup host team on Friday night in the Coliseum and came away with a 3-0 shutout win over the Vernon Vipers. After remaining a scoreless affair through forty minutes, the Spruce Kings found the back of the net three times in the third with Mitch Eden and Jeremiah Luedtke getting their firsts of the season and Christian Weidauer his third.

The Spruce Kings seemed to be carrying the play in the first period and jumped out to a 9-2 shot lead in the opening twenty minutes. The best chance came midway through the period when Mitch Eden walked in and fired a hard shot that got past the Vipers netminder but rang off the goal post.

Although there were chances in the first and a few in the early goings of the second period, the game lacked intensity and emotion as the teams went through their paces looking to find the opening to the net. Things turned quickly three minutes into the middle frame when rookie forward, Riley Hawes dropped the gloves with the four year vet and twenty year old Brendan Persley of the Vernon Vipers. Both got a few punches with no real winner in the battle.

The fight seemed to spark the Spruce Kings bench who picked up the pace and started creating even more chances as they went back to the style of play that has proven to be successful for them. The increased intensity also led to a blow to the head penalty and 10 minute misconduct for Mark Hamilton. Unfortunately for Prince George, their powerplay would come up empty on this night despite having five chances including a five minute major later in the game.

The Spruce Kings have found success in tight quarters around the net in almost all of their wins so far this season. In a second period goal mouth scramble, the puck crossed the goal line starting a goal celebration for Prince George that was called off after it was ruled that the puck crossed the line after the net came off its moorings. The Spruce Kings would not be deterred and kept up the pressure getting another 11 shots in the second while Alex Murray made 9 at the other end of the ice.

In the third period the Spruce Kings would get a beautiful goal from Mitch Eden who found himself in the slot just off to the left hand side. As the puck made its way to Eden, he took an off balance shot at the net firing it back across the seam to the far side top corner above the glove of Danny Todosychuk. The goal was a welcome relief for the defenceman who came into the game with five assists and no goals.

In another play that didn't look like it could have been drawn up the way it played out, Christian Weidauer was able to pick up the puck in almost the same spot as Braiden Epp was being checked coming through the faceoff circle. Weidauer stepped into his shot and blew the puck past a surprised Todosychuk who was being screened on the play by his own guy.

Two plays later the puck found its way to the back of the net a third time for Prince George when Jeremiah Luedtke found a puck that squirted loose for him as he waited for the play to develop at the bottom of the faceoff circle. The line of Luedtke, Chad Staley and Justin Rai had looked dangerous all night, but was still struggling to find its chemistry that it had last season.

Things would turn ugly after the 3-0 goal, with Jake LeBrun trying to shake a back check that went from behind the net to the side boards, Mark Hamilton would through a heavy cross check on LeBrun that send him hard into the boards. After a few seconds LeBrun was able to come out from underneath the crowd and get shakily to his feet before being helped off the ice by Mitch Eden. LeBrun left the ice with blood showing on his forehead and cheek, the 19 year old did not return to the game and was taken to the hospital for observation.

The Vernon Vipers tried to rally to erase the goose egg on their side of the scoreboard, but the strong play of Alex Murray on this night was no match for the potent Vipers squad. Murray turned aside all 20 shots he faced on this night to post his first BCHL shutout including a couple of toe stops and one on a clear cut breakaway. Murray picked up the game's first star honours while Christian Weidauer got the nod for second and Cole Todd rounded out the Spruce Kings sweep of the top three players on the night.

The Spruce Kings won't have long to enjoy their fourth consecutive win as the Victoria Grizzlies make their way to the Castle after dropping a 4-3 back and forth game to the Merritt Centennials on Friday night. The Spruce Kings may have to look at bringing in an AP with Brent Lashuk listed as day-to-day and Lebrun not expected to be in the lineup on Saturday night. That's two thirds of what is considered to be the Spruce Kings top line out, leaving Bryant Christian to shoulder a heavier work load.

Game time Saturday is 7pm with the game being broadcast online with a pay-per-view feed from Fasthockey.com and a free audio only broadcast on the Spruce Kings Mixlr channel.

Save of the Season Leads to a Saturday Night Win

Alex Murray dives across the open net
making the save of the season

The Spruce Kings rolled into Chilliwack for the Chiefs home opener on Saturday night and rolled out with their fourth win of the season and sole possession of second place in the Mainland Division. It was a narrow 2-1 victory that could have easily gone the other way had it not been for the save of the season.

Early in the third period, with the game tied 1-1 and the Spruce Kings killing off a penalty taken late in the second period, the Chilliwack Chiefs intercepted a clearing attempt inside the Spruce Kings zone. Austin Plevy found the puck and then spotted Jared Babych standing all alone at the far side of the net.

Plevy feathered the puck through the top of the crease to his waiting team mate. Babych fired the one timer on net only to find a diving Alex Murray in mid flight reaching out his glove hand. The puck bounced off the inside of the glove and took flight towards the open net where Murray knocked the puck out of the air with his goal stick. With Murray sailing away from the crease and the puck bouncing loose in the blue paint, Mitch Eden came sliding through in a stacked pad fashion to kick the puck out of harm's way.

The save happened early in the third period, but provided a monumental shift in the game as the Spruce Kings rallied around that save and eventually scored the game winner mid-way through the final period. In two consecutive games, the team built on saves made by the goaltenders to complete come-back victories.

Going back to the beginning of the game, the Spruce Kings found themselves without their captain after Bryant Christian was given an automatic one game suspension for picking up a second goaltender interference call the night before. The absence of Christian was very apparent as the Spruce Kings struggled with chemistry after having to shake up most of their lines. Chad Staley came up to play centre with Jake LeBrun and Brent Lashuk.

Meanwhile Jeremiah Luedtke was left without his usual linemates and instead was on a made up line with Braiden Epp and Danny Kiraly who was moved up from the blueline to fill the vacancy. That lack of chemistry was quite evident in the second period when players seemed to be just out of reach of the loose pucks around the net.

In the first period, the well rested Chiefs tried to jump on the Spruce Kings early getting a number of key shots on goal, but it wouldn't be until the final minute of the opening period before they would get a shot that counted. The Chiefs were on a two man advantage with Mitch Eden and Skylar Pacheco in the penalty box for infractions made a minute apart. Shay Laurent, who was returned to the Chilliwack Chiefs just days earlier, kept the play alive and found Austin Plevy along the goal line. Plevy fed the puck through the crease to a wide open Joey Diamantoni on the back door. All Diamantoni had to do was direct the puck into the wide open net for the game's first goal.

In the second period the Spruce Kings were the better team and controlled much of the play in the offensive zone. While on a powerplay of their own, the Spruce Kings worked the puck down low and got a shot in on Lyndon Stanwood. Although the rebound was given up and came out into the slot for Jake LeBrun, the back official lost sight of the puck and blew the play dead as LeBrun fired the puck into the net. The goal would not stand up as the play had been blown down.

The Spruce Kings didn't give up and kept the pressure on the home team. Not long after the Spruce Kings were given another powerplay chance and Skylar Pacheco would make amends for his earlier infraction that put his team down the two players. With the puck on his stick, Pacheco came off the right point, stepped around one defender and then just hesitated before wristing a shot over the blocker hand of Stanwood.

The Spruce Kings continued to control much of the middle frame finishing with 19 shots on Stanwood, but only one goal to show for their efforts. Late in the second period Derek Bulmer was called for a trip when he was trying to play the puck behind his own net. The penalty carried over into the third period leading to the Chiefs starting that period looking for the go-ahead goal only to be denied by Murray and Eden with the save of the season.

As the game progressed the Spruce Kings would pick up the pace and would get a break. With some pressure down low the puck came to rest in the blue paint, Stanwood stretched out over the goal line and kept the initial try out of the net. As the bodies piled up around the goal, LeBrun found the puck and lifted it up over the bodies into the back of the net. The puck was loose the whole time and the whistle didn't sound until after the puck came back out of the net and was finally seen sitting in the blue paint again.

The Spruce Kings celebrated a goal, the Chiefs claimed no goal and the officials didn't make a signal either way so the BCHL timeout was called which ended up benefiting the Spruce Kings. The officials took a little over 30 seconds to discuss the play as they saw it and then pointed at centre ice indicating a good goal. As the BCHL timeout ended, the Spruce Kings were once again celebrating the goal, LeBrun's eighth of the season, and the video evidence was allowed to play for all to see on the big screen where the puck was clearly seen going into the back of the net.

The Chilliwack Chiefs would get one more chance late in the game when the Spruce Kings were called for another penalty with just over 2 minutes remaining. The Chiefs played the first half of the man advantage five on four before pulling the goaltender for the six on four situation. Neither team would get a shot on goal in those final two minutes as the Spruce Kings defenders stepped up and kept turning back the Chiefs to secure the 2-1 win.

The win gives the Spruce Kings nine points and sole possession of second place in the Mainland Division, one point back of the Surrey Eagles who defeated the Vernon Vipers. Prince George is now two points ahead of the Langley Rivermen who lost to the Alberni Valley Bulldogs in a game that was delayed by over two hours due to inclimate weather delaying BC Ferry crossings. The Spruce Kings next opponents, the Coquitlam Express sat idle on Saturday night and are also two points back of the Spruce Kings.

This sets the stage for the Spruce Kings to turn a good weekend into a great one as they prepare to head back to Coquitlam for the third game in two and half days on the weekend. A win will put the Spruce Kings in top spot in the Mainland Division while a loss to the Express will see Coquitlam pull even with Prince George for second place in the Mainland Division. Sunday's game is 2pm start and will be broadcast on Fasthockey.com and also on the Spruce Kings Mixlr channel.

Shots, Shots, Shots

The Prince George Spruce Kings couldn't convert shots into goals on Saturday night, dropping a 2-1 decision to the Chilliwack Chiefs in overtime at the Coliseum.

Veteran defenceman Kiefer McNaughton got the game winner just 55 seconds into the four-on-four extra session blasting a point shot into the top corner and past Spruce Kings goaltender Alex Murray. McNaugton, who began his BCHL career with Quesnel Millionaires, was in on both Chiefs goals as Chillwack earned its first win of the young season.

The Spruce Kings still came out of the weekend with three points after defeating the Chiefs 7-1 on Friday night.

Despite outshooting the Chiefs 43-22, the Spruce Kings weren't able to light lamp often enough to get the win on Saturday.

The Chiefs limited the number of second-chance opportunities the Spruce Kings had and Prince George didn't generate the same amount of traffic in front of Chiefs goalie Lyndon Stanwood as they did on Friday night.

The Spruce Kings got into penalty trouble in the second half of the game but the penalty killing unit did its job and then some, negating eight Chilliwack power-play opportunities.

With the game knotted at one goal apiece, the Chiefs did generate some good chances in the third, but Murray was up to the task. His biggest stop came midway through the period when he kicked out his pad to deny Jacob Hand from point-blank range. Chiefs defenceman Carter Cochrane opened the scoring at 16:55 of the first when he banged home a rebound of a McNaughton shot while the Chiefs had an extra attacker on due to a pair of delayed penalties against the Spruce Kings. The goal came on just the Chiefs third shot of the opening period.

The Spruce Kings drew even at 17:58 of the second on Bryant Christian's first goal of the year. Christian drove hard to the net and re-directed a beautiful feed from Brent Lashuk into the back of the net.

Austin Plevy had a bevy of chances for the Chiefs. The team's leading scorer from last season appeared poised to take a feed in the slot in the first, but a great backchecking effort by Mitch Eden spoiled that opportunity.

Plevy broke in a breakaway in the second, but Alex Murray waited him out and made a nice save to keep the Spruce Kings within on at the time.

His best chances came in the final minute of the third when Karan Toor and Skylar Pacheco both cleared the puck off the goal line after it got past Murray.

Stanwood had a busy weekend, the Spruce Kings directed 53 shots his way in Friday night's 7-1 win and his effort Saturday earned him first star honours.

Toor was named the game's second star and Christian garnered the third star award. Spruce Kings forward Sean Landrey was named the FortisBC Energy player of the game.

The Spruce Kings are back on home ice next weekend with Penticton visiting the castle on Friday night and Trail making the trip north on Saturday.