Spruce Kings Finish Preseason

Kirk Thompson making a stop on the game's first star

Braden Crone scored twice as the Grande Prairie Storm completed a sweep of a home-and-home pre-season series against the Prince George Spruce Kings with a 5-2 win Saturday night at the Coliseum.

The loss evens the Spruce Kings' pre-season record at 2-2 as they now turn their attention to the opening of the regular season next weekend in Chilliwack.

Kody Disher and Liam Board had the goals for the Spruce Kings while Kirk Thompson took the loss in net.

In addition to the pair from Crone, Grande Prairie also got tallies from Jordan McTaggert, Ryan Matthews and Marc Drapeau. David Readman and Curtis Skip split the goaltending duties for the Storm.

The visitors got on the board first as McTaggert converted a turnover at the Spruce Kings' blue-line and wired a shot past Thompson just under five minutes into the game. Grande Prairie had the territorial edge early and looked poised to open an even bigger lead, similar to the 3-0 advantage they had in the first period in Friday night's contest. The Storm won that game 4-2.

The Spruce Kings found their legs in the middle part of the period and got back on even terms as Disher poked home a lose puck at the side of the net. Disher didn't have much of an angle to work with but he found a way to get the puck pass Readman.

The score was tied 1-1 after one period but the Storm took over in the decisive middle stanza, scoring three times. Matthews got things started with a power-play tally early in the period after Drapeau and Crone scored just over two minutes apart in the middle part of the frame, the Spruce Kings found themselves in a deep whole. Although Prince George generated some chances in the second half of the second, they weren't able to close the gap.

It could have been even worse as Thompson came up big to stop Crone on the breakaway, but the Storm still took a 4-1 lead into the second intermission. Board got Prince George back within two with a power-play goal with just over five minutes to go in the third, but that was as close as the Spruce Kings could get. Crone iced it for Grande Prairie with his second of the night with just over a minute to go in the game.

Among the bright spots for the Spruce Kings was the play of defenceman Mitch Eden, who was solid in his own zone and not afraid to join the rush.

The line of Chad Staley, Jeremiah Luedtke and Jake LeBrun had the most sustained offensive pressure for Prince George, but weren't able to connect at even strength. Both Tanner Fjellstrom and David London left the game with injuries.

The Spruce Kings open the regular season in Chilliwack next Saturday afternoon against Merritt as part of the BCHL showcase.

This article was submitted by Peter James

Preseason Game #1

Liam McLeod gets a little breather in his first
BCHL preseason game and first BCHL preseason win

The Prince George Spruce Kings opened up their preseason schedule with a 2-1 win over the Trail Smoke Eaters on Tuesday night in Chase, BC. The two teams started their preseason schedule by driving some eight hours each to meet in a central location for a pair of games. The first one on Tuesday night and a second one Wednesday night at the Art Holding Memorial Arena in Chase, BC ... home to the Chase Heat of the KIJHL.

Following the team's training camp, the Spruce Kings preseason roster was cut down to 28 players with twenty getting the nod for Tuesday night's game. All of the young prospects were a given their first taste of hockey in the BCHL and didn't disappoint with the chance to leave an impression. (preseason roster at the end of this post)

Early in the contest the Spruce Kings were generating offensive zone chances and getting the puck to the net but it would be the Trail Smoke Eaters that opened the scoring at 5:47 when Brent Baltus converted on an odd man rush that was started by his teammate Scott Davidson. After getting the pass from Davidson, Baltus found the sweet spot above the right arm of Liam McLeod.

As the game played out that would be the only blemish on the 16 year old's debut in his BCHL preseason debut. In fact as the game went on, Liam McLeod looked to be gaining confidence, playing with poise and focus. In the early goings of the game, McLeod wasn't tested much as the team kept the puck on the opposite side of center much of the time and were finally rewarded for their work.

At 14:26 of the first period the Trail Smoke Eaters found themselves down a man when Dan Holland was called for holding in the offensive zone. Less than a minute later Kody Disher's hard work at the side of the net looking for a loose puck resulted in another Smokie penalty when Wayland Williams was called for roughing for a tackle on Disher.

That penalty gave the Spruce Kings a 1:13 to work with on the two man advantage. Early on in the power play Jeremiah Luedtke and Chad Staley tried to convert on a cross crease pass only to have Lyndon Stanwood come across and rob Staley of a sure goal with a kick safe. On the next shift it was Bryant Christian that got the play started from the left corner carrying the puck behind the net before getting it to Spencer Schoech. Once Schoech had the puck he made no mistake getting it to Kody Disher in front who was able to tap home the tying goal at 15:51.

Not for a lack of trying but that would be it for the goal scoring in the first period and also in the second period despite the number of shots and chances being created. After the first period of play the Spruce Kings led on the shot clock 21-10 and at the mid way mark of the second period when Trail opted to change out netminders, the shots were still well in favour of Prince George 27-14. The total shots after two periods were 31-17 Prince George but the score remained tied at a goal a-piece.

For much of the third period not much changed until the late stages of the game. While on a power play with about 5 minutes remaining, the Smoke Eaters were that close to taking back the lead with Bryce Knapp standing on the top of the crease with a wide open net. Liam McLeod was able to swing around and coral the puck with his left hand and keep the score tied ... easily the Studio Cuts Crowning Moment of the Game.

The save of the game by the sixteen year old sparked the Spruce Kings and just as the broadcast crew was contemplating what would happen if the game remained tied through sixty minutes, the Spruce Kings turned something out of nothing. With the top line on the ice, Chad Staley and Alec Butcher both had a couple of chances at a loose puck in skates that was too far away for Boeckman to grab and was also too much of a hot potatoe for the Trail Smoke Eaters defenders to get a stick on and clear.

Jeremiah Luedtke was finally the person to find the puck and got two chances at stuffing it in the net which is where it finally ended up giving the Spruce Kings their first lead of the game with 1:22 remaining in the third period. On the next rush up the ice by the Smoke Eaters they pulled their goaltender for an extra attacker but just couldn't find the equalizer although their best chance came after a Spruce Kings miss on the empty net.

One thing players learn and learn quickly about the BCHL is that everything happens a little faster. Just when you think you have lots of time and space, someone from the opposition is on you and taking the puck away. That is basically what happened to Liam Board when he found himself staring down an empty net while cruising through the neutral zone with the puck. Opting to go in for the sure insurance marker, Board was caught from the side and had the puck checked off his stick into the corner, allowing the Smokies to head up the ice the other direction.

Unfortunately for Trail, time would run out on their night allowing the Spruce Kings to lay claim to their first win of the preseason. At the end of the game Trevor Esau was seen collecting the puck presumably to give to Liam McLeod to commemorate his first win in the BCHL. The rookie goaltender ended up making 23 of 24 saves for the win while the team in front of him scored twice on the 39 shots they had on goal.

The Spruce Kings will practice tomorrow morning at the arena before playing the Trail Smoke Eaters in a preseason rematch at the Art Holding Memorial Arena in Chase. Game time is scheduled for 7:00pm and is expected to be broadcasted on the Spruce Kings Ustream channel.

It should be noted that there were some technical issues with the broadcast on Tuesday, the biggest being the lack of internet to allow for two broadcasts of the game. Instead Ron Gallo and Chris Wahl of the Trail Smoke Eaters shared the duties on a tandem broadcast. It is not known at this time if the internet issue or any of the other technical issues can be resolved prior to the drop of the puck but here's hoping as the broadcasters need the preseason tuneup as well as the players.

Preseason Roster

G - Liam McLeod (96)
G - Kirk Thompson (92)
D - Keith Bendall (94)
D - Latrell Charleson (95)
D - Robson Cramer (94)
D - Mitch Eden (94)
D - Trevor Esau (92)
D - David London (93)
D - Skylar Pacehco (94)
D - Brad Ryan (92)
D - Spencer Schoech (93)
D - Karan Toor (94)
F - Liam Board (93)
F - Alec Butcher (94)
F - Bryant Christian (93)
F - Kody Disher (95)
F - Tanner Fjellstrom (94)
F - Coltyn Hansen (92)
F - Kirk Hards (95)
F - Ryan Keis (94)
F - Sean Landrey (93)
F - Cam Lawson (93)
F - Jake LeBrun (95)
F - Jeremiah Luedtke (94)
F - Lyndon Martell (93)
F - Rourke O'Briain (95)
F - Chad Staley (94)
F - Tyson Witala (93)

Preseason Look at the Returners

Trevor Esau enters his third year with the Spruce Kings

As the roster sits now for the preseason, the Prince George Spruce Kings are carrying 28 players with them into the preseason, only six of those finished last season with the team. There are four players that have experience in the British Columbia Hockey League. Fifteen players are considered rookies in the BCHL this year and another three players that have yet to compete in the premiere Junior A league in Canada will be make up the balance.

During the off-season the Spruce Kings worked hard at finding players that could step in and fill the roles of those players that were lost to college commitments, overagers and trades. There is a nice mix of returning players, players with Junior A experience and players that have shown they can step in and make an impact in the game at this level. There are also a few players that are being given an opportunity to gain some valuable experience at a higher level.

They will all head to Chase where some will have to sit and wait for their turn to play on Wednesday while the first wave of twenty players will be up against the Trail Smoke Eaters on Tuesday night. The two games are being played at the Art Holding Memorial Arena in Chase at 7pm both nights. I should mention that plans are to provide a video broadcast of the game on the Spruce Kings Ustream Channel.

Based on the recent Training Camp and the three Intra-Squad Games, the players to watch wearing the Crown to start the preseason include the returning players led by, or rather backed by Kirk Thompson. A 20 year old in his final year of junior eligibility, Thompson will have something to prove between the pipes and will want to improve on his previous season record of 15 wins, 2.83 goals against average and 90.60 save percentage.

On defence Trevor Esau will be the leader; an assistant captain last season, I wouldn't be surprised to see him wear a different letter this year while logging a ton of time on the blue line. Skylar Pacheco is also returning for his second season with the Spruce Kings after winning Rookie of the Year last year. In the training camp, Pacheco showed that he has the ability to be an offensive player and picked up a pair of goals in the Intra-Squad game because of his ability to jump up in the play and finish what he started.

The third returning defenceman is the seventeen year old Latrell Charleson who will be joining the team in Chase after skating at the Moose Jaw Warriors camp this past weekend. In Moose Jaw, Latrell showed his strength during the fitness testing getting the best distance in the medicine ball toss. Fans in Prince George liked what they saw in this youngster in the second half of last season and the expectation is that he will be coming in bigger and stronger making him a punishing force for opposition forwards to deal with.

Up front the Spruce Kings will have Sean Landrey and Tyson Witala back as 19 year olds this season. During the summer Landrey was working up in Fort St. John and the work in the oil patch paid off with a noticeably stronger presence from Landrey. Witala also put on some size and showed what we hope was only a small part of what he will be able to do after being instrumental in erasing a three goal deficit in the third Intra-Squad game with two goals and an assist in less than two minutes.

Returning to the BCHL after playing elsewhere last season are Cameron Lawson, Coltyn Hansen and David London. Lawson, Hansen and London were all acquired from the Victoria Grizzlies in the trade that granted the Fitzgerald triplets their wish of playing closer to home. All three had good showings at the Training Camp led by Coltyn Hansen who scored three goals in the third Intra-Squad game. Cameron Lawson had a very consistent camp scoring once in all three games and adding a pair of assists. London played a solid game on the blue line and picked up a pair of helpers over the weekend. The 19 year old defenceman also had a good showing in the fitness testing and is just another one of those pieces on the blue line that will make it tough on opposing forwards.

I'm going to the let the "rookies" play a couple of games before taking a closer look at them, but really quick I just want to say that the future looks bright for the Spruce Kings as seen this past weekend during the Intra-Squad Games. From players that could light the lamp to defenceman that made it tough for many others to move freely through the zone, this team looks like it is ready for any preseason test thrown its way starting with the Trail Smoke Eaters Tuesday night from Chase, BC. Catch the game broadcast on the Spruce Kings Ustream Channel.

Training Camp Day 2

Chad Staley prepares to launch the medicine ball
during fitness testing

Day two of the Spruce Kings Training Camp was highlighted by the fitness testing at the Factory Hockey Training facility. The testing was based around what players went through at the NHL Draft Combine in Toronto featuring the beep test, medicine ball toss, lateral jump, pull ups and a mixture of other physical tests designed to measure the players overall strength and conditioning.

The standouts in the fitness testing included Jeremiah Luedtke who made it to level 13-4 in the very tough beep test. In this test the player has a measured length of time to go 20 meters. The time between beeps, when players have to reach the end of each length, is shorter as the test continues. The other big test was the 12 pound medicine ball test that saw Trevor Esau complete a toss of 42 feet, 7 inches.

In all the physical testing took over an hour to complete right in the middle of the day after the morning practice and the evening intra-squad game. An interesting comment I overheard from one of the scouts in attendance spoke to how the fitness testing is becoming an important part of the whole process because of the importance put on off-season training. Kinda makes hockey a year round sport.

Day two finished off with the second intra-squad game with Team White knowing they had to do something after dropping a 4-2 decision the night before. A good sized crowd for an unadvertised game was on hand and were treated to highly entertaining contest with lots of shots, scoring chances, hits and hard work on display.

The game started with Team White setting the tone and tempo for the rest of the night getting three early scoring chances off some hard work. Team Blue was able to weather the early storm and come up with a few chances of their own. Really the story of the first half of the game was the goaltenders who both posted scoreless opening periods. Jeremy Matte turned aside 10 shots for Team White while Adam Griffith stood tall stopping an even dozen for Team Blue.

Jeremy Matte making one of his 18 saves on the night

The scoreless tie was broken 1:34 into the second period when Cameron Lawson tapped in his second of the training camp off a nice setup from Lyndon Martell and Sean Landrey. Team White kept up their pressure and were rewarded shortly after with the first of two on the night from Jeremiah Luedtke. In the right place at the right time, Luedtke was able to tap a loose puck into the open side of the net before being checked. Spencer Schoech (pronounced shook) took the original shot that deflected off a defenceman's skate.

That would be it for the goal scoring on the starting goaltenders with Matte stopping 18 of 19 shots during his time in net for Team White and Griffith making 21 saves for Team Blue. Shortly after the goaltending change, Team White was given their third power play chance and used up only 15 seconds to setup the eventual game winning goal - Ryan Keis from Alec Butcher and David London.

Less than two minutes later, Team White doubled their lead with Riley Hawes scoring the goal with helpers going to Chad Staley and Jeremiah Luedtke. Hawes was a last minute addition to the game after another player was unable to go. One player's misfortune becomes another's opportunity! The teams went to the dressing rooms with Team White leading on the scoreboard 3-1 and the shot clock 27-22.

For the longest time it looked like that would be it for scoring as neither team seemed to be able to create good enough chances. That led to some spirited play and few more odd-man situations. With less than three minutes to play a couple of returning players got caught up together and Landrey ended up with the worst of it after flipping Kirk Thompson's stick out to the blue line.

Jeremiah Luedtke had a great game
finishing with two goals and an assist

Landrey was assessed a double minor giving Team White an opportunity to finish the game with the man advantage. Less than 20 seconds into the powerplay Luedtke was again found to be in the right spot at the right time and able to snap home his second of the game with helpers going to Skylar Pacheco and Brad Ryan. The final shots were extremely close with Team Blue getting to within one (33-32) but unable to get anything past Thompson.

With the intra-squad series now tied at a win a-piece and Team White with a slight edge in the goals for and against category (6-5), this sets up for an interesting tiebreaker Sunday afternoon at 1:30pm in the Coliseum. Prior to the game both teams will have one more practice, Team Blue at 9:00am and Team White at 10:30am.

Following the game will come the difficult decision of deciding who and really how many players will stay on for the exhibition season that gets underway on Tuesday. The Spruce Kings are playing four preseason tuneups starting with a double header against the Trail Smoke Eaters in Chase on Tuesday and Wednesday night. Following a day off, the Spruce Kings will play the first half of a home-and-home series in Grand Prairie against the Storm of the Alberta Junior Hockey League. The lone home game in the preseason will go Saturday night in the Coliseum against the Storm.

Training Camp Day 1

Skylar Pacheo scores on this shot for Team White

The Prince George Spruce Kings opened their training camp today at the Coliseum with a total of 38 players (4 goaltenders, 12 defenceman and 22 forwards) in attendance. The numbers this year are a little lower than in past years but that has allowed for the camp to be broke into two teams immediately and pit the teams against each other in three intra-squad game.

After a first look at the players in team specific practices, the two teams reconvened at the Prince George Coliseum for the first of those intra-squad games. Early on Team Blue imposed their way keeping Team White pinned in their own end. Shots on goal prior to the first goal were 7-1 for Team Blue. Kirk Thompson got the start for Team White showing good positioning with the opposition getting some good shots.

Alex Bartel was the first to solve Thompson getting Team Blue on the board at 11:12 of the first period after he found the rebound off a Mitch Eden point shot. Team Blue would go up 2-0 five minutes later when Bryant Christian (yes the younger brother of Spruce Kings alumni Jordy Christian) converted on a play set up by Lydon Martell and Jake LeBrun. That's how the first period would end with Team Blue leading 2-0 on the scoreboard and 17-6 on the shot clock.

Already with three penalties in the first period including one that spilled over into the second, Team White found themselves down in that stat category as well but did a perfect job on the penalty kill. That perfect job went one step farther when Team White found themselves short handed again. Skylar Pacheco was given a gift tip into the neutral zone and wasted no time turning it into a break away. Looking once into the middle for some help and finding none, Pacheco took the shot beating Liam McLeod with the unassisted short handed goal at 5:24.

Before the midway mark of the second period Cameron Lawson made his presence noticed in the game turning on the jets a couple of times. At 9:50 Lawson broke in untouched and snapped a quick wrister that fooled Thompson sneaking in under the goaltenders arm. It was a sour note to end on, but that goal marked the goalie change bringing in Jeremy Matte for Team White and Adam Griffith for Team Blue.

As if the dirty little wrister wasn't enough, Lawson danced around a couple of defenders deep inside the zone and dangled out in front of the net. A quick pull of the puck slid just into the toe of Matte and no further. Matte looked good for his time behind the pipes and was beaten only once by arguably the best line on the ice especially for Team Blue.

Karan Toor got the play started with a point shot from the left side that ended up on the stick of Bryant Christian. Christian was stopped but a juicy rebound in the slot with Lyndon Martell cruising through quickly found the back of the net making it a 4-1 lead for Team Blue.

The third period seemed to be a little more intense with a few big hits and some extended gatherings around the net, but not much on the scoreclock. Chad Staley was the only one to register a goal in the final frame but perhaps it was too little too late as Team White just couldn't seem to fully recover offensively. Staley's goal (assists to David London and Liam Board) would come with 1:38 remaining in the third period and that's how the game would end with Team Blue winning 4-2.

Final shots on goal were 39-30 for Team Blue. Kirk Thompson made 20 saves and Jeremy Matte stopped 15 shots in the loss, Liam McLeod had 11 and Adam Griffith turned aside 17 of 18 shots. Team White was penalized four times while Team Blue received two minor infractions. Neither team was able to capitalize on the man advantage but Team White did have that short handed marker.

The officials went with the four man system, Brendon Creyke and Bill Hudyma wore the red stripes while Nick Albinati and Ritchie Rodgers worked the lines. The officials introduced the full set of BCHL rules into the intra-squad game including the no change icing and no change for clearing the puck out of play from the defensive zone.

Tomorrow morning the players will report back to the Coliseum for team practices where they will go over some of the things the coaching and scouting staff picked up in the first game. After the practices, the teams will head over to the Factory Hockey Training facility for some off-ice fitness testing. After the dinner break, the teams will drop the puck for their second intra-squad game beginning at 8pm in the Prince George Coliseum.

Three Player's Thoughts

I have now had an opportunity to speak to all three players that were acquired in the six player trade with the Victoria Grizzlies and can tell you that all three share the same enthusiasm about getting up to Prince George and making an immediate impact.

The players are Coltyn Hansen, Cameron Lawson and David London; although all three come via the Grizzlies in exchange for the Fitzgerald triplets only Hansen and Lawson played last season in Victoria. London was with the Cowichan Valley Capitals for the season and an off-season deal saw London moved to Victoria in time for the this trade.

All three players were very accommodating with the interview and expressed how excited they were to be coming to Prince George. In the interviews you will hear a little bit about who they are as players and get a feeling for how excited they are to come to Prince George.

David London
Defense
6' 01" 205lbs
March 7, 1993

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Coltyn Hansen
Forward
5' 11" 170lbs
November 11, 1992

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Cameron Lawson
Forward
5' 07" 170lbs
January 16, 1993

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