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.

Staley's First Trick

Jesse Jenks and the Spruce Kings were undersiege in the
2nd and 3rd periods but came away with a 7-4 win

Although it is going to take a BCHL review of a goal, Chad Staley's hat trick proves to be too much for the Merritt Centennials to overcome as the Spruce Kings post a 7-4 win Thursday night in Prince George.

There is no video review during a game but afterwards the League can review all goals and make any necessary scoring changes. Staley will have to wait for this process to happen before he will be able to see his first official BCHL hat trick on the score sheet. In the meantime the entire team will get to enjoy a night off before getting back to it on Saturday night when they take on the Cowichan Valley Capitals.

On Thursday night, the Spruce Kings opened the scoring early in the first period on their first powerplay chance. Although they had some issues getting the 5-on-4 to work, it would be the top line of Staley, Jeremiah Luedtke and Brent Lashuk that figured it out before the man advantage ended. Staley carried the puck into the zone before passing it off to Luedtke who took the initial shot. The rebound came out to Lashuk who also had an attempt at the shot with the puck coming out to the slot for Staley to put behind Russell Sanderson.

The Spruce Kings would make a 2-0 game shortly afterwards on a broken play that was started by Donovan Law, the affiliate player called up earlier in the day. After it was determined following the morning skate that Riley Hawes would not be able to go for the evening, the call was made for Law to join the Spruce Kings for that night. Law is currently playing for the 100 Mile House Wranglers of the KIJHL and made the four hour drive to Prince George.

Playing on a line with Sean Landrey and Matt Painchaud, Law picked up the puck on the left wing and fired a pass to Landrey through centre ice. As Landrey went in to the offensive zone, his original shot was blocked and bounced towards the slot with Landrey following behind. With a quick slap at the puck it became a knuckler that flew past the glove side of Sanderson at 10:39 of the first period.

For the 3-0 goal, the Spruce Kings can thank Jesse Jenks for turning aside three big Merritt chances. With the Centennials battling for the puck in the Prince George end, Christian Weidauer was able to dig the puck out to Bryant Christian who took off down the ice with Brent Lashuk and Justin Rai on the rush. Christian chipped the puck off the wall to Lashuk who carried it in to the right side faceoff circle before centering the puck for Rai to bury his third of the season.

At 17:12 of the first period, the Spruce Kings stretched their lead over the visitors to four on a powerplay goal scored on their second man advantage of the game. The powerplay started with a shorthanded chance for the Merritt Centennials that was broken up by Skylar Pacheco. The three year veteran on the blue line was able to get the powerplay headed in the right direction and setup in the offensive zone. Brogan O'Brien found the puck on the right wall and skated around the perimeter before coming down the slot. The sixteen year old rookie's shot was stopped with the rebound going out to the left side to Pacheco who come down the wing and fired home his sixth of the season.

The first period was highlighted by some long stretches of play with few whistles and when the whistles did come they were either the result of goals or penalties; the BCHL time out never came until the 19 minute mark. The final minute saw the Spruce Kings with one more scoring chance when Brent Lashuk was sprung on the right side. After twenty minutes, the Spruce Kings had a 4-0 lead and led on the shot clock 11-9.

To start the second period, Devin Kero replaced Russell Sanderson between the pipes and the rest of the team took everything they could to the Prince George end of the ice firing shot after shot on Jesse Jenks. The pressure applied led to a couple of penalties that the Centennials were able to capitalize on to make the game close. The Spruce Kings seemed to be on their heels for a majority of that second period and were holding onto a 4-2 lead until the line of Staley, Luedtke and Lashuk fired up their engines again.

Late in that second period Staley would find the goal post on a hard shot from the right side. On their very next shift, on a play that Mitch Eden setup to spring the trio, Luedtke was able to get a weak shot on goal that fooled Kero. The shot was stopped by not covered and as Staley came around from behind the net he found the loose puck and lifted it over the glove of Kero. The goal was originally credited to another player but the video clearly shows it was Staley's sixth of the season.

The Spruce Kings went to the dressing room leading by three despite being outshot in the second period by a margin of 14-8 and 23-19 through forty minutes of play. Into the third period, the Centennials would pick up where they left off and be rewarded five minutes later with their third goal of the game and first one scored at even strength. The game would remain a 5-3 game for another nine minutes.

With the Spruce Kings trying to kill off another penalty, Chad Staley was sprung on a breakaway down the middle. Staley was caught by the Centennials defenceman who tried to take the shot away only to be called for interference leading to Staley being awarded a penalty shot. Staley took his time getting ready for his first ever penalty shot but as he picked up the puck at centre ice, the anticipation in the building grew. Staley came straight down the lane as he closed in the Centennials netminder, faked to his backhand before pulling it back to his forehand and sliding it past Kero.

Before the end of the game, the visitors would get a lucky bounce as a dump in shot from the point would literally bounce past Jesse Jenks giving Merritt a renewed source of optimism. Shortly after the ensuing puck drop, the Centennials opted for an extra attacker and pulled the goaltender. After stopping the initial attack, Karan Toor carried the puck to the centre ice line and fired at the open net only to hit the base of the right side post.

In the final minute the Spruce Kings would again find themselves hemmed in their own zone. Again it was Toor that found a way to get the puck out of the zone and continued to chase it down the right side wall winning the battle for the puck. Toor got that shot away and watched as the puck slid over the goal line giving the defenceman his third goal of the season and the Spruce Kings a 7-4 win over the visiting Centennials.

It was the second time this season that the Spruce Kings scored seven goals against an opponent on home ice, it was also the first win this season against the Merritt Centennials. More importantly the win with seven goals provides the team in the dressing room a great deal of relief knowing that they can score goals despite the absence of Jake LeBrun who still remains sidelined with his concussion. Since Brent Lashuk has returned to the lineup, the Spruce Kings have scored 15 goals after being held to just four in the four games when both Lashuk and LeBrun were out of the lineup.

The Spruce Kings will be looking for that trend to continue as they take on the Cowichan Valley Capitals on Saturday night in the Coliseum.

The Luedtke Lob for the Win

Jesse Jenks (1) was on his game turning aside 26 of 27 shots
photo courtesy Garrett James Photography

The Prince George Spruce Kings finished their three game road trip with a 3-1 win over the Langley Rivermen and moved up a notch in the Mainland Division Sunday afternoon. Jeremiah Luedtke scored first on the power play, then he setup Chad Staley for the eventual game winner in the first period and capped off a first star bid scoring on a break away late in the third.

The line of Luedtke, Staley and Brent Lashuk carried much of the play for the Spruce Kings creating chance after chance all game long. Justin Rai, Bryant Christian, Brogan O'Brien and Cole Todd all created offensive chances as well. When the Spruce Kings weren't in control of the puck, the defense did a great job of minimizing chances for the Rivermen. Jesse Jenks did the rest turning aside all but one shot on goal.

The Spruce Kings started early with pressure in the offensive zone. In the opening minutes, Luedtke fed a back door pass through the crease to Rai, who came down from the face off circle only to be stopped by the big pad of Steve Myland. The Spruce Kings kept pressing for th first goal and would draw the first power play of the game.

With Lashuk working the left faceoff circle and Staley and Luedtke causing grief for the penalty killers with the cycling. Lashuk fired a shot on net that settled in the blue paint just out of the reach of the netminder. When Myland made the decision to go for the puck, in an effort to cover it with his glove, Luedtke reached in and poked the puck under Myland. The goal was the second on the season for the returning forward and the first power play goal for the Spruce Kings on the weekend.

A few minutes later the Langley Rivermen would have their best chance of the period when Jakob Reichert would bust in through the middle and fire a bullet off the glove side goal post on Jesse Jenks. The Spruce Kings went the other way shortly after that on an odd man rush with Lashuk carrying the puck. Lashuk fired a shot on goal with Chad Staley going hard to the net, the defender on the play tried to hold up Staley and everybody crashed in on the goalie knocking Myland into the back of his net.

Staley was quick to get out of the crease and found the puck, his first attempt bounced back to him off the bodies on the ice. Staley grabbed the loose puck and stepped back giving himself room to lift it up and over the still down and out Rivermen defender and goaltender. There was some thought that the whistle should have blown the play dead, but the puck remained loose the entire time and it was only a Rivermen defender that made it impossible for the goalie to get back into position.

The Spruce Kings would hold onto their 2-0 lead out shooting the Langley Rivermen 11-7 through the first period of play. The Spruce Kings out shot the Rivermen again 10-8 in the second period with both teams trading chances and a pair of power play opportunities including a two man advantage for over a minute for Langley.

Mitch Eden took the first penalty,  a tripping mior at 7:33. While killing off that one, Skylar Pacheco lost his stick and tried using his glove to clear the zone. Instead the glove cupped the puck and Pacheco ended up clearing it up and over the glass with 1:07 still remaining in Eden's minor. The Rivermen were unable to muster much of anything getting only one shot on goal from the outside.

As Eden got back into the play he setup the first of two shorthanded chances and the Spruce Kings would continue to apply pressure as they got back to full strength.  The defensive game and the offensive chances led to some frustration on the part of the home team who took back-to-back penalties late in the period including a boarding call that saw Chad Staley hit from behind face first into the dasher and corner glass. Fortunately for Staley and the Spruce Kings, the dynamo vet was okay and stayed on the ice to take his turn on the power play.

Neither team was able to score in the second period and the game remained a 2-0 lead for Prince George after forty minutes of play. To start the third period, the Rivermen came out hungry for their first goal and a chance to get back in the game. Their aggressive start led to a couple more power play chances. The first was when Matt Painchaud slashed the stick out of the hands of Mitch McLain as the Rivermen's leading scorer was cruising through the slot and about to pick up the puck.

The Spruce Kings killed off that penalty but couldn't kill off the next one as Bryant Christian sat in the sin bin on a holding call at 5:55. Sixteen seconds on a broken play, the Rivermen were on the board. James Robinson lost the puck trying to set up in the right corner only to have it kicked back over to him. With players scrambling to get back in to position, Robinson spotted Jakob Reichert coming down the slot and passed him the puck. Reichert took one look and blasted a shot past Jenks to get the Rivermen to within one of the vistors.

For the next twelve minutes,  much of the play would be on the Spruce Kings half of the ice with puck going back and forth over the blue line. With time becoming a factor and the Langley bench looking to get the right players on the ice and the goalie to the bench, Christian Weidauer lobbed a high dump out pass that was intended to clear the zone while avoiding the icing call.

The Spruce Kings, who had at least one bounce go their way in the first,  would get another. The Langley Rivermen defencemen got caught changing as the puck landed at centre ice.  Luedtke skated up on it and broke in on a two-on-none with Lashuk joining in on the left side. Luedtke kept the puck the whole way and then lifted it over Myland's glove into the top corner giving Prince George a 3-1 lead with 1:25 remaining in the third.

The frustration that had been brewing all game finally came out on the next play when a dump-in got caught up in Eden's jersey.  No less than three Langley players started swinging their sticks trying to dislodge the puck. Weidauer quickly got in there to break it up, pulling Reichert out. The two would end up with roughing after the whistle penalties and ten minute misconducts. Austin Azurdia, who was talking with Eden after the whistle,  ended up with a game misconduct after he went after Alex Murray on the Spruce Kings bench.

On the following faceoff Charlie Pelnik slashed Staley and was given a minor and a misconduct for the infraction. That would be the extent of the extracurricular activities as the Spruce Kings registered their eighth win of the season and join the Coquitlam Express in second place in the Mainland Division,  both teams have 18 points. The win also sets up an interesting return to the Langley Events Centre on November 2nd.

The Spruce Kings return home for a pair of games beginning with the Merritt Centennials on Thursday and the Cowichan Valley Capitals on Saturday night. Thursday's game is the second Prince George Motors Feature Game of the Month on 99.3 the Drive. Ron St.Clair will hace the call of the game on the Drive. Prior to that the Spruce Kings will participate in the Inside Ride to raise funds for Camp Goodtimes in support of children suffering from cancer.

Nothing Gained, Nothing Lost

Chad Staley (22) about to take the shot that leads to his
third of the season against the Surrey Eagles
photo courtesy Garrett James Photography

The Prince George Spruce Kings picked up a single point as did the Surrey Eagles in a game that went the distance and then some only to end in a 4-4 double overtime tie. In the BCHL, there is no such thing as a clear cut winner if neither team can score the winning goal through ten extra minutes of four-on-four and three-on-three play.

The Spruce Kings played a very good game and were full marks with four goals on 45 shots through 70 minutes of play but had to settle for a single point giving them a record of 7-7-1-1 and 16 points in 16 games. The goals on the night came from Bryant Christian, Chad Staley and pair from Brent Lashuk. The two scored by Lashuk came sixteen seconds apart on the same shift just moments after the Eagles had a disallowed goal that would have put Prince George down 4-2 in the third period.

The Surrey Eagles started the scoring at 14:51 of the first period on an offensive zone faceoff. Brett Mulcahy won the draw back to Danton Heinen who fired a shot that was blocked. Jesse Jenks went for the save and couldn't get back in position before Heinen would get his own rebound and fire the shot through the Spruce Kings goaltender.

The Spruce Kings would get that one back 38 seconds later when Justin Rai started the play inside his own zone winning a puck battle to Christian Weidauer. The Spruce Kings leading offensive defenceman started a three-on-two rush up the right side wall. As he gained the Eagles zone he fed the puck over to Cole Todd who let go a shot that was tipped in front by Bryant Christian for his fifth of the season. In the arena, the goal was credited to Cole Todd as the rookie's first BCHL career goal but Todd showed that he is a team first player and that he wants his first to be legitimate after letting team officials know that it was indeed Christian's goal.

Less than two minutes later the Spruce Kings would take their first lead of the game off a strong play in the corner by Mitch Barker. Fighting for the puck in the corner, Barker was able to dislodge the puck for Riley Hawes who fed the puck to Chad Staley waiting in the faceoff circle. Staley walked the puck towards the slot and when he thought he had enough room, fired a shot to the topside corner on the far side over the glove of Devon Fordyce. That goal would stand up until the 8:37 mark of the second period.

After giving up an early shot on goal in the second period, the Spruce Kings reeled off a series of chances and tallied seven shots on Fordyce through the first eight minutes of the middle frame. Under pressure in their own zone, Matt Dawson elected to go with a designed breakout play off the glass to the waiting winger on the centre ice line. Danton Heinen was able to tip the puck sending it up into the air landing just inside the Spruce Kings blue line. Brett Mulcahy picked up there and went to the net hard with Mitch Eden all over him. As Mulcahy was falling he slapped at the puck and knuckler got through Jenks to tie the game 2-2.

The Surrey Eagles would get life from that goal and applied some pressure on the Spruce Kings getting five more shots before the Spruce Kings would finish the period strong. Shots on goal in the second period favoured Prince George 15-7 and 28-15 through forty minutes. To start the third the Eagles would score first in the period just over two minutes in. Nic Pierog added a fourth goal on the weekend after a hat trick on Friday night, his wrister found twine as it worked its way through a screen set up in front of the net.

Just past the midway mark of the third period, the Eagles fired the puck on net where it sat in the blue paint among skates. With the players pushing and fighting to get a stick on the puck, the puck would go off a skate blade just as the net came off its moorings. The goal light would go on but the referee immediately indicated no-goal. After an extended conversation with his linesman, Nick Swaine stuck to his call on the ice and waved off the goal with the explanation that the net had come off before the puck crossed the goal line.

The Spruce Kings and specifically the line of Chad Staley, Jeremiah Luedtke and Brent Lashuk used that as fuel and led the charge for the visiting team. On a rush up the ice, Danny Kiraly found Staley who then slid the puck over to Lashuk who buried his third of the season to tie the game 3-3. Before the goal could be announced in the South Surrey Arena, the trio were back at it again off the faceoff win by Staley, Luedtke carried the puck over the blue line and spotted Lashuk with it who then scored his fourth of the season giving the Spruce Kings a 4-3 lead just 16 seconds after his first of the night.

Lashuk would have a chance at the hat trick as he came down the middle trailing a play that saw Staley's hard shot kicked into the slot by Fordyce. Lashuk may have waited a split second too long as he looked up before taking the shot that the Eagles goaltender was able to find.

Two and a half minutes later it would be a pair of defenceman for the Surrey Eagles combining on the 4-4 tying goal. On a play that started from behind their own net Kale Bennett spotted Matt Dawson on the right side with a nice pass that left Dawson only one option. Racing down the wall, Dawson elected to shoot as he got to the top of the faceoff circle. The puck caught Jenks on his right side and rolled through his equipment to fall behind the netminder onto the blue paint. As Jenks reached behind him to find the loose puck, it kept rolling out of his reach as it crossed the goal line.

That is how the third period would end with both teams having chances before the end of regulation time to stake a claim on both points. As the game headed to overtime, both teams were given the automatic single point and through ten additional minutes of play, neither team could find a quality shot on goal.

After the game, the Spruce Kings learned that the Coquitlam Express had lost in regulation time meaning that Prince George retains third in the Mainland Division two points back of the Express. The Langley Rivermen and the Penticton Vees also went the full distance with nothing being settled after seventy minutes in a 1-1 final. The single point for the Rivermen gives them 20 on the season and a four point cushion against their next opponent - the Prince George Spruce Kings.

It will be a quick turn-around for both teams with a 2pm scheduled puck drop from the Langley Events Centre. Sunday's matchup with be the first of the season between these two Mainland Divisional opponents. The game will be available online beginning with the pregame show at 1:40pm on Fasthockey.com and the Spruce Kings Mixlr channel.

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.

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.

David vs Goliath

Jesse Jenks posted his first BCHL winning after making
36 saves in the Spruce Kings 4-3 win over Penticton

For the third time in as many games played in the Castle, the Spruce Kings did the improbable and posted a regulation time win over the Penticton Vees. Coming into the game with a perfect record of 4 and 0, the Vees boosted an enviable roster that has NCAA schools chomping at the bit to get players from Penticton into their own stables. But on this night it was the Clydesdales of Prince George that showed their ability to play the game.

Despite some stellar saves from the rookie goaltender, Jesse Jenks and the Spruce Kings found themselves down 1-0 early to the visiting Penticton Vees. After a bit of bad luck bounce that came on the same play that saw Jenks make two great saves, the puck was poked in behind the 18 year old netminder at 6:16 of the first period.

The Spruce Kings mounted their own offensive push after this and with the aid of the BCHL timeout, were able to get their first goal when Jake LeBrun scored his first of three on the night. Following up on a play started by Bryant Christian, LeBrun went hard to the net with his stick on the ice and feathered the puck through a tangle of legs.

With the game tied 1-1, the Spruce Kings went on the powerplay and made short order of their man advantage. With a D-to-D pass, Caleb Thompson fed Christian Weidauer the pass who fired a shot in. Chad Staley was right there to find the big rebound and bury his first of the season to give the Spruce Kings a 2-1 lead late in the first period.

Before the first was over, the Spruce Kings went up two goals with LeBrun’s second off another loose puck in the blue paint that squeaked over the goal line. Weidauer and Christian were given the assists on the play. The goal itself, scored in the last minute of play, was the direct result of the Spruce Kings feeding off the energy created by the fans in attendance.

In the second period, the Penticton Vees made some adjustments that minimized the Spruce Kings shots and chances. A powerplay goal by the visitors made this a one-goal game with the Vees building momentum. A late penalty in the second period, that carried over into the third, saw the Penticton Vees build even more momentum.

Immediately after killing off that penalty, the Spruce Kings found themselves penalized again, but this time it was a five minute major to Cole Todd. To compound the issue, Skylar Pacheco was given a two minute minor giving the Penticton Vees a full two minutes to work with the two man advantage. When it looked like the Spruce Kings were going to kill it off, a long range shot found its way through everybody to tie the game 3-3.

Jake LeBrun would become the hero on the night scoring his third of the game, a powerplay goal at 12:25 of the third that would stand up to be the eventual game winner. LeBrun earned first star honours for his effort and shot up in to the top twenty among League scoring and second in the League for the most goals scored with 6. Jesse Jenks was given second star honours for his stellar play between the pipes and certainly can't be faulted for any of the three goals that did get behind him.

Bryant Christian earned the FortisBC Energy Player of the Game for his consistent play. Missing in the accolades was Christian Weidauer despite setting three of the goals on the night and playing a solid game on the blue line.

The Spruce Kings will now get set to take on the Trail Smoke Eaters Saturday night at 7pm in the Castle.

Spruce Kings Tally Seven on the Chiefs

Danny Kiraly (5) finishes the two-on-one

The Prince George Spruce Kings first crowded the net, then filled it on Friday night as they defeated the visiting Chilliwack Chiefs 7-1 at the Coliseum.

Making the most of offensive chances was key to the Spruce Kings' game plan coming into Friday night's home opener and the trick seemed to be getting as many bodies as possible in front of Chiefs starter Lyndon Stanwood.

That was certainly the case in the decisive second period as all three of the Spruce Kings goals in the middle stanza came with Stanwood's crease crowded.

Jake LeBrun gave Prince George a lead it would never relinquish at 3:11 of the second when his shot from the high slot beat Stanwood. Brent Lashuk and Mitch Eden picked up the assists, but it was Bryant Christian in front who provided the screen. Christian even waved his stick at the puck as if to tip it and that may have distracted Stanwood enough to allow LeBrun's shot through.

There was even more chaos in front of the Chiefs net when Lashuk made it 3-1 at 14:32 of the second. Stanwood was laying on his back after getting knocked down by a pile of players battling for position in front of the blue paint. Lashuk found the loose puck and lifted it over Stanwood while the Chiefs' bench protested for a goaltender inference penalty. None was forthcoming and instead the head coach, Harvey Smyle was given a game misconduct. Mitch Eden and Bryant Christian were awarded the helpers on the Lashuk goal.

Caleb Thompson put a dagger through the Chiefs' chances at 16:39 of the second when his seeing-eye point shot found its way through the traffic out front and past Stanwood. The power-play tally was assisted by Riley Hawes and Christian Weidauer.

Into the third, LeBrun added another insurance marker at 7:55 when he was left alone in the slot and fired one past Stanwood. Lashuk had the lone assist, his third point of the night.

LeBrun could have had even more if the pesky posts would have gotten out of the way. He clanked shots off the iron in the first and second periods.

Defenceman Danny Kiraly added to the onslaught at 14:14 of the third, converting a feed from Justin Rai on a two-on-one break. Thompson set up the rush and picked up another assist.

And to prove things were just really going the Spruce Kings way, a Skylar Pacheco dump-in attempt found its way in for the Spruce Kings seventh goal of the night at 17:53 unassisted.

Wideauer also had a multiple-point night, picking up an assist in the first to go along with his second period helper. He maintained the early season team scoring lead with six - one goal, five assists - in three games. His first helper came just 1:21 into the game when he helped set up Justin Rai's game-opening goal. Chad Staley picked up the other assist.

Jaret Babych tied the score before the first period was out, taking a feed from Austin Plevy and beating Spruce Kings goalie Alex Murray.

Traffic in the crease wasn't the only key to the Spruce Kings offensive success Friday, they also directed plenty of rubber Stanwood's way even when the goalie had clear sight lines.

The home side held the edge on the shot counter every period and finished the night with 53 shots to Chilliwack's 19. The two teams meet again on Saturday night at the Coliseum, game time is 7 p.m.

Blog written by Peter James