Hard Work and Determination

Brandon Manning paved his
own way to the NHL

Hard Work and Determination - they are cliche terms in the game of hockey, everybody uses them but few will realize what they will actually do for a player. One player that has reaped his own rewards through hard work, determination and add in perseverance is Brandon Manning.

A local hockey product that learned the game while skating his way through the Prince George Minor Hockey system. His level of play earned him a spot on the Cariboo Cougars BC Major Midget squad in 2006-07 playing alongside a few other future Spruce Kings alumni.

That major midget squad in 2006-07 went to the finals with the likes of Damien Ketlo (G), Alex Wright (G), Joe Morgan (F), Ryan Howse (F), RJay Berra (F), Sam Muchalla (F), Nic DeSousa (F), Tyson Hall (F), Stewart Lambert (F), Geoff Morgan (D), Justin Fillion (D) and of course Brandon Manning (D). In the following season six of those players suited for the Spruce Kings including Brandon Manning who finished his rookie season in the BCHL with 7 goals and 19 assists.

As the Spruce Kings season wound down a year after hosting the RBC Royal Bank Cup Tournament, Manning was called upon by the Chilliwack Bruins to play out the remainder of their regular season and post season. He was able to get into ten games total and impressed enough to have the Bruins keep him in the lineup for the next three seasons including two as team captain.

Despite his presence on the ice, Manning went undrafted to the WHL and undrafted to the NHL. That didn't stop him and in fact drove him to compete harder and show up at the Toronto Maple Leafs training camp in 2009. Manning returned to the Bruins for his 19 year old season and a year later was back at a NHL training camp this time with the New York Rangers.

After playing for a couple of weeks with the Rangers, Manning again headed back to the WHL Bruins to start his 20 year old season. Two months into the season the Philadelphia Flyers decided they had seen enough of Manning and signed him to an NHL entry level contract opting to leave him play out his last year of junior in Chilliwack.

With a spot secured in the AHL, Manning headed to Adirondack for the 2011-12 season where he played in 46 games putting up similar numbers that he did when he played for the Spruce Kings as a 17 year old. As the season wore on, injuries on the Philadelphia Flyers blue line started adding up and Manning was given his shot with a callup on March 8, 2012 for a home game against the Florida Panthers.

Manning finished a plus 2 with three shots on goal while logging 15 minutes of ice time in his NHL debut. He would play in three more games over the next two weeks logging close to 14 minutes in ice time in each game and a plus 1 in his four NHL games.

An example of hard work and determination, Manning continues to exemplify those qualities and the current situation in the NHL hasn't stopped him either. On Saturday night Brandon Manning was recognized at the Spruce Kings game against the Penticton Vees dropping the puck during the ceremonial faceoff. The Spruce Kings went on to win that game 4-2 and during the second intermission, Manning joined Todd Doherty on the team's broadcast.

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Spruce Kings Double Up Vees

Kirk Thompson making one of his 32 saves on the night

The Prince George Spruce Kings knocked off the defending RBC Cup champions Saturday night, defeating the Penticton Vees 4-2 at the Coliseum.

The Spruce Kings, who have secured points in each of their first four games, now sit a top the Mainland Division standings with a 3-0-0-1 record.

Prince George came out like gangbusters early on and had the Vees on their heels for most of the first period, but Penticton battled back as the game went on. Kirk Thompson had a great night between the pipes, making 32 saves — including 16 in the third period alone — to secure his third straight win.

The Spruce Kings opened the scoring in the first as Liam Board's centering attempt when off a skate and past Vees starter Nic Renyard at 14:02. The goal came at the tail end of a four-minute high sticking penalty to Vees forward Wade Murphy.

Chad Staley doubled the advantage with a goal late in the first period set up by Jeremiah Luedtke and just like in Friday's game against Trail the Spruce Kings led 2-0 after 20 minutes.

The Vees started to find their legs in the second period, which is when Thompson also began to steal the show. The Prince George goalie only faced five shots in the first period but saw a lot more rubber as the game went on. He was called upon to make a number of big saves to keep the Spruce Kings ahead and managed to hold the Vees off the scoreboard until the third period.

Penticton did finally solve Thompson at 10:48 of the final stanza. The Vees executed a three-on-two break to perfection as Brad McClure buried the rebound off a Cody DePourcq shot to cut the lead to one.

The Spruce Kings re-gained the two-goal lead with another power-play marker. Brad Ryan ripped a shot from the point past Renyard as Prince George finished the night two-for-six with the man advantage. Renyard made 21 saves in his first start of the season.

Penticton wouldn't go away easily as Murphy picked up the puck in the high slot off a broken play with just over four minutes to play and wired a shot off the cross bar and in past Thompson.

The Vees had a chance to tie the game when Coltyn Hansen was whistled for roughing with under two minutes to play. Not only did the Spruce Kings kill off their fifth penalty of the game, Tyson Witala iced the game with an empty-net goal. He lofted the puck from around the face-off dot in his own end and got nothing but net.

With seven points the Spruce Kings jumped over idle Coquitlam (3-0-0-0) for first in the Mainland division. Chilliwack is third (2-1-0-1) followed by Surrey (2-2-0-0) and Langley (1-1-0-1).

The Spruce Kings are back on home ice on Saturday night when the Merritt Centennials visit the Castle. Puck drop is 7:30 p.m.

A Familiar Foe

Spruce Kings looking to rebound against the Vees
like they did the last time

Over the years there have been many rivalries developed especially with teams that play out of the Interior Division. Tonight`s opposition is one of those teams in the Penticton Vees who come in as the defending national champions after winning the 2012 RBC Royal Bank Cup Championship in May.

Prior to that run to the national crown, the Vees had established themselves as one of the elite teams of the 2011-12 season in all of Canada if not North America. That status was build up with an improbable run of the table through the regular season that saw the Vees carry out a winning streak to 42 games.

It may have been one game longer if not for the Prince George Spruce Kings on March 10, 2012. In the final regular season game of the year the Spruce Kings found themselves on the back end of a double header with the Vees. The night before the Spruce Kings had leads of 3-2, 4-3 and even 5-4 but could not hold on through the third period.

On Saturday night the Prince George hockey faithful filled the Coliseum to capacity for a third consecutive night and came prepared to cheer on a home team victory. After scoring first at the two minute mark, the Spruce Kings found themselves trailing the Vees 2-1 early in the second period but weren’t prepared to let this one slip through the fingers.

After tying the game just past the mid-way mark of the second period, the Spruce Kings were able to take over in the third period. An even strength goal, a power play tally and finally an empty netter sealed the deal and gave the Spruce Kings arguably their biggest BCHL regular season victory.

To start the season the two teams have strung together points in each of their first three games with the Vees doing one better with three wins while the Spruce Kings suffered an overtime loss last night. The Vees went into double overtime against the West Kelowna Warriors last night finally winning the game at the 68:30 mark.

The Spruce Kings meanwhile picked up a single point in an overtime loss to the Trail Smoke Eaters. Prince George started out on the right note in their home opener scoring twice in the opening period including a buzzer beater that stopped the clock with a fraction of a second remaining. The second period saw the two teams trade goals and in the third period two screened shots led to the extra time and the unfortunate loss.

The Spruce Kings will look to rebound tonight against a strong opponent in the Vees.

Smoke Eaters hand Spruce Kings first loss

Spruce Kings came that close a number of times,
but close didn't count on this night

The Prince George Spruce Kings were unable to make a two-goal lead after 40 minutes stick on Friday night at the Coliseum, dropping a 4-3 overtime decision to the Trail Smoke Eaters.

Trail captain Garrett McMullen scored the winner 3:56 into the first overtime period, his bouncing shot from the high slot beating Prince George rookie goaltender Liam McLeod. McMullen, who also opened the scoring for Trail, knocked down a clearing attempt by Bryant Christian at the blue-line and bounced one through traffic and into the back of the next as the Smoke Eaters snapped a two-game season-opening losing streak.

The Spruce Kings led 3-1 after two periods and had a great chance to put Trail away with a series of power plays late in the second and early in the third. Despite having a two-man advantage for over two minutes, the Spruce Kings were unable to solve Trail goalie Lyndon Stanwood and the Smoke Eaters made them pay.

Tanner Clarkson was johnny on the spot when a puck took an odd bounce in the Spruce Kings' end and fired the puck into an open net at 2:35 of the third to make it a one-goal game. Shane Poulson's seeing-eye shot from the blue-line evened the score at 12:03.

The Spruce Kings had a glorious chance to take the lead back late in the third when Trail was whistled for too many men with less than three minutes to play, but the Prince George power play came up empty for the eighth time in as many attempts.

Prince George did strike first as Christian opened the scoring at 15:25 of the first period, banging a wrap-around past Stanwood. The Spruce Kings extended their lead with a buzzer-beater at the very end of the first period. Cam Lawson converted a pass from Coltyn Hansen at 19:59 of the first, beating the horn by a fraction of a second.

The Spruce Kings were unable to carry that momentum into the second as Trail came out strong and McMullen cut into the lead with his first of the game at 6:49. Exactly one minute later rookie Justin Rai, who was called up due to some injuries the Spruce Kings were suffering, scored his first BCHL goal to restore the two-goal advantage.

Rai was one of the better players for the Spruce Kings and didn't look out of place in his debut.

Stanwood made 25 saves to notch his first win of the year, while McLeod made 20 stops.

McLeod left the game briefly with an injury in the third period — Kirk Thompson relieved him for all of 39 seconds, but did not face a shot.

Prince George got a point for the overtime loss and sit in second place in the BCHL's Mainland Division with five points (2-0-0-1), one behind division-leading Coquitlam. Surrey has four points and Langley and Chilliwack have three apiece. All the teams have played three games.

The Spruce Kings are back on home ice again on Saturday night when they host Penticton (3-0-0-0) at the Castle.

Home Opener

Tonight marks the start of the 41st season for the Spruce Kings in Prince George and the 17th season in the British Columbia Hockey League. The season itself has already started with a pair of wins in the two games played at the BCHL Showcase in Chilliwack.

In their first game, played against the Merritt Centennials, the Spruce Kings got goals from Coltyn Hansen, Cam Lawson, Lyndon Martell and Tyson Witala while getting timely stops from Kirk Thompson to post a 4-1 win. The second game was a little more tense but showed off the Spruce Kings will to win as they erased a 3-0 deficit and a 5-3 deficit to force overtime before Martell scored his second of the season in the extra frame.

Tonight playing on their home ice, the Spruce Kings will be looking to go 3-0 to start the season against a familiar rival in the Trail Smoke Eaters. The Smokies have had a tough start to their season and have already made some player moves to try and bolster their offense.

The Spruce Kings have had to bring a player in for tonight's game too but due to a different reason. Injuries have thinned out the Spruce Kings roster sidelining a total of four players including two local players in Tanner Fjellstrom and Sean Landrey. Also out of the lineup tonight will be Latrell Charleson and David London both blueliners.

The absence of Charleson and London will have the biggest effect on the Spruce Kings remaining defencemen as only five will suit up for the game tonight. Trevor Esau, Brad Ryan, Skylar Pacheco, Mitch Eden and Karan Toor will have to be on their game tasked with the assignment of making it difficult on the Smokies offense to allow Liam McLeod to do his job as he makes his BCHL debut in goal tonight.

Up front the Spruce Kings were able to bring in Justin Rai from the Richmond Sockeyes to keep all four lines topped up. Rai is expected to play with the young dynamos from Washington state in Jeremiah Luedtke and Chad Staley.

With eleven points to their credit in two games, the top line of Lyndon Martell, Cam Lawson and Coltyn Hansen will stay together with Liam Board, Tyson Witala and Alec Butcher making up the second line leaving Ryan Keis, Bryant Christian and Jake LeBrun to round out the forwards for the game tonight.

The evening will get underway with a tailgate party dubbed a Shaker and put on by the four Save On Foods stores in Prince George. There will be a hot dog bar-b-que with chips and drinks available for $3.00 with 100% of the proceeds going to the Big Brothers Big Sisters in Prince George.

As well as the bar-b-que, fans are being encouraged to purchase a box of Western Family Mac & Cheese to use as noisemakers at the game. Following the game the boxes will be collected for the Salvation Army to be distributed here in Prince George. It doesn't stop there either with a $10,000 Shoot-Out happening in the first intermission.

The Save On Foods group in Prince George will be awarding two eligible fans a chance to shoot for $10,000 in Save On Foods Gift Cards with each shooter guaranteed a prize. There are a few rules to be eligible to be a shooter with the biggest being in attendance early as the names will be drawn before the five minute mark of the first period. Eligible shooters can't be registered or recent hockey players also one other thing to note is that you have to take the shot without any aids.

In the second intermission there will be a $200 prize of Save On Foods Gift Cards for the first night of the Frisbee Fling and somebody will also win a pair of tickets to go see the Stone Temple Pilots in concert Saturday night in Prince George. All that and the game as well!

It is sure to be an exciting and entertaining game with the Spruce Kings debuting their 41st edition of the team and the young men that have come from near and far to wear the Crown and play hockey in the great city of Prince George.

Hawes Keeps Spruce Kings Worthy

The following article was written by Jason Peters and appeared in the Prince George Citizen on Friday September 14, 2012. Please note that anything appearing in brackets has been added by Ron Gallo and does not appear in the Citizen article.

It's time to throw a little praise at Mike Hawes, general manager of the Prince George Spruce Kings. The (Spruce) Kings are off to a 2-0 start in the B.C. Hockey League and will look to go 3-0 when they play their home-opening game tonight at the Coliseum against the Trail Smoke Eaters. Hawes appears to have assembled a club that will score a pile of goals and win a lot of games this season, impressive considering that the team's top 10 point-getters from last season are gone.

That's right, the top ten from 2011-12 are no longer with the club.

Paul De Jersey, Jujhar Khaira and Michael Colantone - No. 1, 2 and 3 in team scoring last season - are all playing NCAA Division I hockey this year. Jarryd Ten Vaanholt, fourth on the points list in 2011-12, is skating in Division III of the NCAA and, like Colantone, would have been too old for the junior game this year. Defenceman Ben Woodley, fifth in (Spruce) Kings point production last season, has also aged out of junior hockey. Another blueliner, Chase Golightly, had one more year of junior eligibility left but has also moved on to the NCAA Division I level.

Then there are the triplets - Myles, Gerry and Leo Fitzgerald. They could have been in Spruce Kings colours as 20-year-olds this season but asked for a trade so they could be closer to their hometown of Port Alberni. The Fitzgeralds, who formed a dynamic second line for the (Spruce) Kings last year, are now doing their damage for the Victoria Grizzlies.

The 10th man on last season's scoring list, defenceman and captain Ben Matthews, is now a 21-year-old playing for the University of Alaska Anchorage Seawolves. With the mass exodus, Hawes had to do a complete rebuild on the (Spruce) Kings.

Specifically with the Fitzgeralds - knowing how many players he was already going to lose - Hawes must have had a minor panic attack when they approached him with their trade request. But the GM managed to engineer a deal that benefited the triplets and the team.

In the transaction with the Grizzlies, Hawes brought 19-year-olds Coltyn Hansen and Cam Lawson north and they have meshed beautifully with P.G. minor hockey product and former WHLer Lyndon Martell on the top line. Through two games - a 4-1 win against Merritt and a 6-5 overtime decision against Langley - Hansen , Lawson and Martell have combined for 11 points.

Defenceman David London was also part of the (Spruce) Kings-Grizzlies trade but is recovering from a broken collarbone and is still waiting to make his regular-season debut.

Other impact newcomers added by Hawes include (20-year-old defenceman Brad Ryan,) 19-year-old forward Liam Board and 17-year-old blueliner Mitch Eden, (all three) from Ontario. Gone, it seems, are the days when players didn't want to skate for the (Spruce) Kings and that say a lot about the new and positive culture that has been fostered by Hawes and head coach Dave Dupas.

Hawes also hasn't been shy about dipping into the local talent pool. Along with Martell, he has P.G. minor hockey products Tyson Witala, Sean Landrey, Jake LeBrun and Tanner Fjellstrom in uniform, not to mention Quesnel boy Ryan Keis. In past years, junior hockey teams in this town were often guilty of overlooking local players because, well, somebody from outside city limits had to be better. Credit to Hawes for getting out of that mindset and utilizing homegrown skill, much of which has come through the Cariboo Cougars major midget program.

fans of the (Spruce) Kings have reason to be excited. They may need some time to figure out who's who in the home jerseys, but they'll have an entertaining and highly-skilled club to watch.

If they see Hawes wandering around the building between periods, they should give him a pat on the back.

Character Win

Spruce Kings celebrate an overtime win Sunday night

The Prince George Spruce Kings came out of the BCHL Showcase with the full allotment of their four points after posting a 6-5 come-from-behind overtime victory on Sunday evening against the Langley Rivermen. The win capped off a big weekend in Chilliwack for the Spruce Kings who opened with a 4-1 victory over the Merritt Centennials Saturday afternoon.

Although the Spruce Kings ended up with two wins and four points in their two games, it certainly wasn't looking that way through much of the game Sunday. Against the Langley Rivermen, the Prince George squad never led the game and twice had to erase multiple goal deficits to get the game to overtime.

As the game started out the two teams traded chances with neither team able to capitalize on their limited chances. At the BCHL timeout midway through the first period the two teams had three shots each in a scoreless tie. After the time out, the Rivermen came out with a physical game and started creating chances for themselves that included a power play opportunity that produced seven shots on goal.

On the first goal a collision in front of the net that should have at least led to a stoppage in play if not an interference call against the Rivermen, was allowed to continue. Kirk Thompson was sent sprawling into the net with players laying on top of him as the puck came out to the point for Tyler Vanscourt to find the top half of the net and the game's opening goal at 15:12 of the 1st period.

The unfortunate circumstances continued for Prince George a couple of minutes later when Latrell Charleson was given a minor for boarding. The call was made by the back official even though the referee that was right beside the play saw it and looked away without raising his arm. The powerplay for the Langley Rivermen was potent early for them.

The Rivermen poured on the pressure with Charleson sitting in the penalty box and were able to double their lead at 18:48 of the first period. The teams headed to the dressing rooms with Prince George down 2-0 on the scoreboard and trailing 14-3 on the shot clock. To make matters seemingly worse, the second period would start the way the first ended.

Forty seconds into the middle frame, Brad Ryan was given a two minute minor for tripping and the Rivermen went to work on their third powerplay. Again pressure was applied but it would be a lucky bounce for the Rivermen this time when Vanscourt's shot from under the blueline went off Karan Toor's stick. The deflected puck took the flight of a three point basketball shot as it lobed up and over four players including Thompson and fell into the back of the net. Vanscourt's second of the game gave Langley a 3-0 cushion 1:47 into the second period.

Cue the first comeback for the Spruce Kings as they started getting small little doses of momentum-building plays. It started defensively with a couple of timely saves and blocks before the top line started getting some chances. Coltyn Hansen was the first Spruce Kings to get a shot on goal in almost 15 minutes of play and although it was stopped it was still something.

On the same shift Hansen found himself with another opportunity to take a shot and this time made no mistake taking a hard shot that took flight about five inches off the ice beating James Barr to the far side. It was just the fifth shot on goal but it put the Spruce Kings on the board and gave Hansen his second goal of the season at 4:12 of the second period.

Just four minutes later on the most unselfish play I have ever seen, the Spruce Kings got to within a goal. The play started on an offensive opportunity for the Rivermen, Thompson stacked the pads to keep the puck out. A redeeming heads up play from Toor saw the defenceman feed the puck up to Liam Board at centre and behind the five Rivermen who were all playing far too up the ice. Board headed straight down the middle on a clear breakaway with Tyson Witala trailing.

Board made only one move after getting to the deep slot and that was to give the puck to Witala. The play surprised everybody in the building and allowed Witala to walk around Barr and give the Prince George forward his second goal of the season. More importantly that put the Spruce Kings within a goal of the Langley Rivermen trailing 3-2.

The Spruce Kings continued to apply the pressure with their next best scoring chance coming just before the second period BCHL time out when Coltyn Hansen and Cameron Lawson found themselves on a two-on-one down low. Hansen fed the puck through to Lawson who was streaking to the net only to have Barr come up with his best save of the night slamming the door shut on the far side.

With momentum on their side the Spruce Kings continued looking for the even up marker which would come at 17:20 on a two man powerplay. The goal itself was a result of a series of related events that started with a huge hit by new Spruce Kings forward Alec Butcher on Bo Pellah. The hit left Pellah groggy and drew an immediate reaction from the referee and Pellah's team mate, Mario Puskarich who dropped his gloves and immediately went after Butcher.

Surprisingly it was the Spruce Kings that came out shorthanded as a result of the original call on Butcher's hit and the lack of an instigator penalty and the Rivermen forward. The Spruce Kings killed that off successfully and shortly after Pellah was seen back on the ice taking his frustrations out on Brad Ryan, two handing the 6' 5" defenceman across the side of the shin. The referee saw the infraction and assessed a two minute minor for the slash.

Twenty seconds later with the Spruce Kings on the powerplay and applying pressure, Trevor Cope was caught for closing his hand on the puck in the crease resulting in another penalty to Langley. With the Spruce Kings on the two man advantage, they worked the puck around the zone until finally Mitch Eden was able to step into a shot in the very high slot. The bullet shot went through everybody and found the back of the net pulling the Spruce Kings even with the Rivermen with a 3-3 score at 17:20 of the second period.

The Langley Rivermen were able to settle down after the tying goal and went back on the attack. Into the final minute of the second period, Cameron Lawson was cross checked into Kirk Thompson sending both Spruce Kings onto the ice and into the back of the net leaving the top open for Trevor Cope to restore a lead for the Rivermen. The period would end with Langley leading 4-3 and enjoying a 21-12 shots on goal lead, although the Spruce Kings outshot the Rivermen 9-7 in that middle frame.

The Rivermen would build up their lead to 5-3 with an early third period powerplay goal scored by Cope at 2:23. Again the Spruce Kings found themselves back in a hole and needing a bailout. That would come with a heads up play while shorthanded. Coltyn Hansen found himself looking to get around a defender on the left side, put on the brakes and fed the puck across the ice to Brad Ryan. Ryan walked in and fired a shot hard along the ice that was kicked out by Barr coming right out to Liam Board who just flipped an easy one up and over the goaltender for his first in the BCHL.

On their next shift the pair that played together last season with the Oakville Blades would setup the Spruce Kings second tying goal. Tyson Witala was the recipient of more hard work and determination getting the puck from Board and Ryan in the corner and coming out front to slip his second of the game past Barr. With 10:08 remaining in regulation time, the teams were tied 5-5.

The remaining time in regulation would end with both Thompson and Barr forced to keep their teams alive. Shots on goal in the third ended even at 7 giving the Rivermen 28 through sixty minutes to the Spruce Kings 19. In overtime the Langley Rivermen had the better of the chances and directed four more shots on Thompson but in the end it was the hockey gods that showed they had been watching the entire game and corrected all of the inconsistencies from earlier on.

With just the Spruce Kings second shot in the extra period, Lyndon Martell came in from the half wall on his backhand. With a simple and harmless looking half flip, Martell's shot fluttered up and over the glove hand of Barr and into the back of the net. The Spruce Kings bench erupted and the players poured over the boards to celebrate the completed comeback and a four point weekend at the BCHL Showcase.

The team's focus will now shift to the Trail Smoke Eaters and the Spruce Kings home opener on Friday night September 14th in the Coliseum. As Brad Rihela (Spruce Kings Assistant Coach) said in the post game show, "I want to see the fans come out, fill the rink and see these guys play!" The Spruce King ended last season with three consecutive sell outs and are hoping to see the same to start the 2012-13 season.

Advance tickets, punch cards and season tickets will be available prior to the game at the Season Opening Tailgate Party sponsored by Save On Foods beginning at 5pm Friday evening. Along with a hot dog bar-b-que, chips and drinks for $3 with proceeds going to Big Brothers Big Sisters, there will also be ticket give-aways for the Stone Temple Pilots concert and Charlie Daniels Band later in the month. A $10,000 "Shoot To Win" will also take place in the first intermission.