Game Preview: at Merritt Centennials

For the third Saturday in four weeks, the Prince George Spruce Kings will play the Merritt Centennials in a BCHL regular season matchup. The first was the season opener for both teams on September 8th at the BCHL Showcase weekend in Chilliwack.

In that game the Spruce Kings opened a 1-0 lead in the first period with the Centennials answering back in the second period on the powerplay. Three unanswered goals gave Prince a 4-1 win. Two weekends later in Prince George it was the Merritt Centennials that spotted themselves a 2-0 lead in the first period forcing the Spruce Kings to answer back which they did leading to a 2-2 tie that overtime could not solve.

A week later the two teams are set to renew an interesting rivalry that will be shelved after tonight's game - the third and final time these two teams will see each other in this BCHL regular season. These two have formed an unique bond this season and over the past couple of seasons with post season meetings along with some interesting battles during the regular season.

Both teams are coming off Friday night wins - the Merritt Centennials defeated the Langley Rivermen 2-1 in the Nicola Valley Arena while the Spruce Kings built momentum off a strong defensive effort to defeat the Vernon Vipers 5-2 in Vernon. Both games were high shooting matches with the Merritt Centennials firing 42 shots at the Rivermen goaltender and the Spruce Kings getting 46 shots on the Vipers netminder.

The open ice on Friday night seemed to favour the Prince George Spruce Kings, but that will be a luxury they won't have tonight in the less than friendly confines of the Nicola Valley Arena. With an ice surface just smaller than the Coliseum, expect to see a physical affair designed to wear players down.

Look for the Merritt Centennials to try and use the smaller arena to their advantage who are known to use stretch passes to find a forward streaking through the middle. That however could become a quick negative for the Cents if the passes aren't on the mark with the new no-change icing rule in the BCHL.

The Spruce Kings defence, who shone last night, will have to be aware of those fast moving forwards looking for the break away passes. Mitch Eden and Brad Ryan played a ton last night and were rewarded with some hefty offensive numbers (Ryan - 1G, 3A and Eden - 3A). That places the pair in the League's top ten scoring race with nine points each and just three points shy of the Brett Hull Trophy leader, Evan Tironese (4G, 8A) of the Alberni Valley Bulldogs.

After their wins on Friday night, both teams will be carrying a little momentum with them into the game tonight. Puck drop is at 7:30pm with the Spruce Kings broadcast starting up at 7:10pm on 93.1 CFIS-FM Community Radio. The audio feed can also be found online at cfisfm.com and the pay-per-view video broadcast of the game is available from the Fasthockey.com website.

Following the game, the Spruce Kings will head to Penticton to prepare for their third and final road game of the weekend against the Vees beginning at 5pm in the South Okanagan Events Centre. Look to the Spruce Kings Twitter feed and Facebook page for updates from tonight's game and post game thoughts.

Weekend Starts With A Win

Spruce Kings celebrate a 5-2 win over the Vernon Vipers

The Prince George Spruce Kings started their three game roadtrip on the right foot with a big 5-2 win over the Vernon Vipers on Friday night. A pair of goals from Cam Lawson and singles from Sean Landrey, Brad Ryan and Lyndon Martell weren't even the story in this one as the defence shone and the powerplay came to life.

Before the game coach Dave Dupas said that his squad would have to find a way of containing the Vipers speed and take away their chances. The players got that message loud and clear and delivered with a solid effort that was put to the test early in the first period when the Spruce Kings ran into penalty trouble.

The first of three consecutive powerplays for Vernon came after Colton Sparrow just missed Skylar Pacheco with a hit. Latrell Charleson didn't like the intent he saw in the missed hit and immediately dropped the gloves to go with Sparrow. Charleson drew a two minute minor for being the instigator, five minutes for fighting and another ten minute misconduct for his efforts.

The Spruce Kings didn't let the Vipers set up in their zone and held the home team to a single shot on goal. The Vipers didn't go away and kept pressing, looking for any chance to opening the scoring including a few bank shot attempts from behind the net. Kirk Thompson had to be sharp to find loose pucks in the crease and keep the game scoreless robbing Adam Tambellini a couple of times in the opening period.

The Vipers would get a second powerplay chance when Brad Ryan was called for a high stick. Again the Vipers had some trouble setting up as the Spruce Kings blocked a number of shots. This would continue into a third powerplay opportunity with Tyson Witala called for a slash.

After killing off three consecutive penalties, the Spruce Kings seemed to settle down and started getting chances of their own. The best chance to open the scoring had to come off the Coltyn Hansen breakaway through the middle. As he went in on the goaltender he was caught from behind and brought down by Brett Corkey resulting in a penalty shot for Hansen.

The penalty shot didn't go well for Hansen who had the puck bobble on him just as he was about to pull it to his backhand. The fluttering puck forced Hansen to take the shot from an awkward angle and also gave Austin Smith enough time to get his left leg down to make the save and preserve the scoreless tie. Although the Spruce Kings were able to get back on even terms on the shot clock (11-11), the first period ended with goose eggs on the board.

To start the second period the Vernon Vipers came at the Spruce Kings hard and after about forty seconds of sustained pressure and a few shots the Spruce Kings were able to clear the zone. The problem being that the puck didn't go deep allowing Ryan Renz to feed TJ Dumonceaux who went in the offensive zone and let a hard shot go that beat Thompson low to the blocker side.

The Spruce Kings didn't give up the game plan and stuck with it getting a few chances of their own and finally a powerplay to work with at 4:59 of the second period. On the powerplay Brad Ryan and Mitch Eden worked the points for over 1:40 each and were able to keep the puck in the attacking zone almost that whole time for Liam Board, Coltyn Hansen and Cam Lawson to work with. After getting the puck in the slot from Board, Lawson eyed the top corner and sniped the tying goal one second after the penalty expired.

The Studio Cuts Crowning Moment of the Game would come a little over seven minutes later when Brad Ryan was able to keep the puck in the Vipers zone. Spotting a defender without his stick, Ryan got the puck to Sean Landrey who was able to walk into the danger zone and beat Smith for his first of the season. This goal just seemed to turn the tides and spelled the end of the Vipers as they started losing their composure and started taking penalties.

Including the initial penalty at 4:59, the Vipers took a total of six straight penalties. At 18:12 Michael Roberts was called for a high stick and 43 seconds later the puck was being fished out of the back of the net following another laser beam shot from Brad Ryan just above the left side faceoff circle. To make matters worse for the Vipers, the goal came with another penalty in the works for the home team leaving the Spruce Kings on the powerplay to end the second period and start the third with.

The Spruce Kings did cash in on this one but just as it was expiring the Vipers Kevin Guiltinan was called for a blow to the head. Cam Lawson came back out on the powerplay and a minute later had his second of the game and fourth of the season with a helper to Mitch Eden and Brad Ryan.

The Vernon Vipers parade to the penalty box wasn't done there as they would take back to back penalties giving the Spruce Kings a 1:40 to work with on a two man advantage. This time it would Lyndon Martell finding the twine in the top corner on a sharp angle shot that was in and out quickly. The referee was in the right place at the right time to see Martell's third of the season and the Spruce Kings found themselves up 5-1 at this point.

They seemed to roll after that and still managed to get 19 shots in the third period on Smith to finish the game with 46 in total. The Vipers managed eight shots in the final period and were able to beat Thompson on one at 16:39 but that was as close as they would come on this night. Defensively the team was sound blocking shots, taking away chances, clearing loose pucks and keeping the top guys off the scoresheet.

Brad Ryan (1G, 3A) was named the game's first star with his biggest night since coming west to play for the Spruce Kings. Cam Lawson's two goal performance earned him second star honours while the defensive presence coupled with three assists earned Mitch Eden the nod for third star and DQ Player of the Game. Kirk Thompson was named the FortisBC Energy Player of the Game on the broadcast with his strong performance especially early on when the game was up for grabs

The Spruce Kings won't see the Vernon Vipers again now until March 1st when they come to the Castle for their one and only time this season. The win along with a Coquitlam Express loss on Friday night sees the Spruce Kings take over sole possession of top spot in the Mainland Division with a record of 4-0-1-1. The Spruce Kings next game is Saturday night at 7:30pm against the Merritt Centennials in the Nicola Valley Arena. On Friday night, the Centennials defeated the Langley Rivermen 2-1.

The game Saturday night will mark the final time this season that the Spruce Kings and the Centennials will see each other. In the season opener for both teams, the Spruce Kings defeated Merritt 4-1 and one week ago in Prince George, the Spruce Kings had to come from behind to force overtime in a game that finished in a 2-2 tie.

Game Preview: at Vernon Vipers

It is the first time and only time this season that the Spruce Kings will be in the Wesbild Centre or as some will have you call it - the snake pit - for being the home of the Vernon Vipers. I'm still getting used to the idea that the Spruce Kings don't play in the Interior Division with all the usual rivals like the Penticton Vees, the Merritt Centennials and the Vernon Vipers. Oh wait ... isn't that who they are playing this weekend?

I know I've covered this before, but just to do it again for the benefit of understanding it myself ... the Spruce Kings were moved to the Mainland Division of the Coastal Conference where they will play the Surrey Eagles, Langley Rivermen, Coquitlam Express and Chilliwack Chiefs a total of eight times each. They will play all remaining teams twice throughout the season with one small exception. The BCHL Showcase against the Merritt Centennials and Mainland Division rival Langley Rivermen were randomly selected games to make up the regular season total of 56 games.

As we close out the first month of the 2012-13 season, the Spruce Kings are yet to see a team from the Coastal Conference with the exception of Langley at the BCHL Showcase. So what does this mean to the Prince George Spruce Kings? I think it means a lot in the way of preparing for their early season games.

There is familiarity for the coaching staff especially with the opponents and their facilities. That familiarity can be passed down to the players ahead of the game so that the rookies and those that may not have played in the Wesbild Centre, Nicola Valley Arena or the South Okanagan Events Centre can be a little more prepared.

Yes the Spruce Kings traveled to Chilliwack for a pair of games in the BCHL Showcase but this is the first real roadtrip of the regular season for the Spruce Kings. Starting on the road with some familiarity in tow should take away from too many early game jitters and nerves, allowing both teams to play the type of game we've come to expect from these BCHL rivals.

First up is the Vernon Vipers Friday night at 7pm. The Spruce Kings rolled into the North Okanagan city Thursday night and almost immediately took up residency in their hotel rooms and even in their dressing room at the Wesbild Centre. Game preparation included getting enough sleep the night before and then taking a look at game video.

The focus for Dave Dupas and his coaching staff is more on his own team and improving on some key areas. Safe to say one of those areas is the powerplay which currently sits 12th in the league with a 14.29% success rate. This past week the coaching staff started seeing a few more bodies return to the practice ice from some nagging injuries. Which allows the team to work a little more indepth on their systems.

Earlier in the week the Spruce Kings signed Justin Rai and were able to get Sean Landrey back in the lineup. Tanner Fjellstrom is still out but is considered day-to-day now while David London is still on the long term injured reserve list but is expected to join the team as they play these three games near his home in Kelowna.

The opposition is a bit of wild card to start the season. The Vernon Vipers currently sit second in the Interior Division with six points in five games. Those five games have featured a pair of overtime losses and two regulation time wins with only one regulation time loss. Like the Spruce Kings, the Vipers have scored on average one more goal then they have allowed in their five games.

Leading the way for the Vipers is 18 year old second year forward Adam Tambellini with 7 points (3G, 4A) good for a share of 8th spot in the League. Tambellini (son of Steve and brother of Jeff) is committed to the University of North Dakota for the 2012-14 season. Also in the League's Top Twenty is Vipers' third year veteran Aaron Hadley with 4 goals and 2 assists.

The Spruce Kings top trio of Coltyn Hansen, Cam Lawson and Lyndon Martell as well as offensive defenceman Mitch Eden are all within striking distance of the League's Top Twenty. Also playing at or just under a point a game average are Brad Ryan, Jeremiah Luedtke, Chad Staley, Liam Board and Tyson Witala. Another player that will be looking to add to his numbers will be Justin Rai after becoming a carded player with the Spruce Kings.

The Vernon Vipers have been relying heavily on import goaltender Austin Smith who comes with major junior experience having played 31 games over two seasons with the Swift Current Broncos. Last season in 20 games, Smith finished with a record of 3 wins, 7 losses and 1 shootout loss. So far this season, Smith has earned both of the Vipers' wins and has a 2.03 goals against average to go along with his 91.3 save percentage.

Look for Kirk Thompson to get his third straight start for the Spruce Kings and fourth of the regular season. Thompson is off to a good start with three wins, 2.36 goals against average and 92.2 save percentage. To go along with those numbers, Thompson has also picked up back-to-back first star honours after stopping 66 of 70 shots he faced through 130 minutes of play.

The Vernon Vipers and the Prince George Spruce Kings have always had entertaining games and tonight's should be no exception to the norm as both teams will be looking to continue padding their points. Game time is 7:00pm with the game being broadcast on 93.1 CFIS-FM. Free audio will be available online as well from www.cfisfm.com and the pay-per-view broadcast on www.fasthockey.com with Ron Gallo providing the call of the game.

Community Service Award Finalist

The Prince George Spruce Kings know first hand how committed to the community that the four Save On Foods stores in Prince George are. Now the whole country is starting to know it too after the Canadian Grocer announced their finalists in the annual Community Service Awards.

I recently worked with the Canadian Grocer to help with recognizing the Save On Foods stores in Prince George for their contributions to the community. This is just the first step as I think they should become one of the four winners. Please read my edited transcription of the article in the Canadian Grocer that highlights Prince George and the work of four stores.

Canadian Grocer has announced the 10 finalists for this year’s Community Service Awards.

The 10 stand-out stores cover the country, including the Save-on Foods in Prince George, B.C., which helped those in need when an explosion ripped through a local sawmill.

Save-on Foods, Prince George, B.C.

When an explosion ripped through the Lakeland Mills sawmill in April, the blast was felt throughout Prince George. That night, Save-on employees handed out supplies to those who rushed to help co-workers and friends at the mill. In-store initiatives also raised more than $27,000 for the foundation to support the Lakeland Mill’s fire relief fund.

The stores also look for ways to support the community year-round. Take manager Brian Gandy’s staff, who rallied all four stores to help the Spruce Kings, a local hockey team with three events to fill the arena and raise money for charity.

The awards were launched three years ago by Canadian Grocer to recognize retailers who support causes such as kid’s charities, raise money for local hospitals and food banks or lend a helping hand in some other way.

This year’s winners show just how far grocery store managers and owners across the country are willing to go to aid a good cause, said Rob Gerlsbeck, editor of Canadian Grocer magazine. “We started the Community Service Awards because we knew the commitment grocers have to the people surrounding their stores and the unique ways they come up with to raise money for charity.”

Canadian Grocer received a record number of entries from grocers across the country this year for the awards sponsored by Campbell’s and Chatelaine magazine.

The finalists were chosen by a judging panel comprised of: George Condon, Canadian Grocer’s consulting editor; James Fraser, partner at retail branding agency Hunter Straker; Agnieszka Rum of Canadian Business for Social Responsibility; Alicia Androich, senior staff writer at Marketing magazine; and David Soberman, marketing professor at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management.

These same judges will now choose the four winners, who will be announced in the December issue of Canadian Grocer and also a featured in Chatelaine. For a complete read of the original article with all ten finalists and their stories, visit the Canadian Grocer website or look in the September issue of Canadian Grocer, out now.

Weekly Rankings

Every week the Canadian Junior Hockey League releases their list of ranked teams. The top twenty list is a collaborative effort between the CJHL and NHL Central Scouting.

The rankings are based upon a variety of factors which includes the league in which the teams belong to, this season's results in regular season, last season's playoffs, as well as initial recruiting efforts for the upcoming season. Last year's final rankings and the leagues in which the teams belong to are in parenthesis.

Here is the inaugural rankings for the 2012-13 season released Monday September 24, 2012.

1. (1) Penticton Vees (BCHL)
2. (11) Brooks Bandits (AJHL)
3. (HM) Yarmouth Jr. A Mariners (MHL)
4. (3) Humboldt Broncos (SJHL)
5. (12) Newmarket Hurricanes (OJHL)
6. (NR) Camrose Kodiaks (AJHL)
7. (9) Portage Terriers (MJHL)
8. (NR) Victoria Grizzlies (BCHL)
9. (NR) Sudbury Nickel Barons (NOJHL)
10. (NR) Flin Flon Bombers (SJHL)
11. (NR) Coquitlam Express (BCHL)
12. (NR) Bonnyville Pontiacs (AJHL)
13. (NR) Dryden Ice Dogs (SIJHL)
14. (NR) Pembroke Lumber Kings (CCHL)
15. (NR) Winnipeg Blues (MJHL)
16. (NR) Truro Bearcats (MHL)
17. (NR) College Francais de Longueuil (LHJAAAQ)
18. (NR) Carlton Place Canadians (CCHL)
19. (NR) Oakville Blades (OJHL)

Honourable mention goes to the Canmore Eagles (AJHL), Notre Dame Hounds (SJHL), OCN Blizzard (MJHL), North Bay Trappers (NOJHL) Toronto Lakeshore Patriots (OJHL).

I'm not entirely sure why they only have 19 teams in the top twenty list so I offer up the Prince George Spruce Kings (BCHL) in that available slot after starting the season with a record of 3-0-1-1 to sit in top spot in the Mainland Division and tied for third in the British Columbia Hockey League. Undefeated through regulation time, the Spruce Kings also picked up a big win over the Penticton Vees ... number one ranked team ... and that's good for some bonus points.

Spruce Kings, Centennials Fit To Be Tied

Tyson Witala (9) with the Spruce Kings best chance
to win the game in the second overtime

The Prince George Spruce Kings must love to play hockey, because they've sure done a lot of it early in this BCHL season.

For the third time in five starts the Spruce Kings went to overtime on Saturday night, this time settling for a 2-2 tie with the Merritt Centennials at the Coliseum.

Kirk Thompson was brilliant in net for Prince George, garnering his second straight first star honour, making 34 saves — including eight in extra time. A shoulder save off Regan Soquila in the dying minutes of the second overtime period was key as was a stop in the first OT when Soquila was on the doorstep.

The Spruce Kings had their own chances to get the winner in OT and collect the extra point. Chad Staley had the best opportunity in the first overtime, but Centennials goaltender Russell Sanderson was able to get a pad on his deflected shot.

Staley and Tyson Witala both had glorious scoring opportunities in the second overtime — Witala even had a breakaway — but neither could find the back of the net.

Special teams continued to play a big role for the Spruce Kings as they finished the night 1-for-7 on the power play and failed to capitalize on a two-man advantage for 1:15 in the third period.

The Centennials, who came into the game with the best power play in the league, showed why just 4:36 into the game when Brandon Bruce put a rebound past Thompson to open the scoring on the man advantage.

Prince George was slow out of the gate. It took the Spruce Kings just under seven minutes to register a shot on rookie Sanderson and the Centennials took an early 9-0 shot advantage.

Jeremiah Luedtke, who was in the penalty box when Bruce scored, got Prince George on the board at 13:19 coming up with the loose puck in the slot to bury it into a wide open cage. Justin Rai and Staley picked up the assists.

The Centennials restored their advantage just over a minute later when Jeff Wight took a feed from Brendan Lamont and beat Thompson at 14:41.

The Spruce Kings finally tied it up for good in the second period when Cameron Lawson scored on the power play. Lawson, who rung one off the cross bar moments earlier, took a pass from Lyndon Martell and buried the equalizer at 7:09. Coltyn Hansen also picked up an assist.

The Centennials outshot the Spruce Kings in each period and finished with a 36-26 advantage overall.

The Spruce Kings, now 3-0-1-1 on the year, wrapped up their first homestand of the season with a win, a tie and an overtime loss. They now head out on the road for six straight, first with visits to Vernon, Merritt and Penticton next weekend and then a trip to the Lower Mainland to play Surrey once and Langley twice.

The next home game isn't until Oct. 12 when Powell River comes to the Castle.

Game Preview: vs Merritt Centennials

photo courtesy Garrett James from BCHL Showcase

The last time these two teams met in the Castle the Merritt Centennials abruptly ended the Spruce Kings season. Only six players were on that Prince George squad while the Merritt Centennials bring back eight players hoping to relive that moment in time.

Both teams are riding a bit of a high to start the season. The Spruce Kings have picked up seven of a possible eight points in their first four games. The Centennials have won two of their first three games after losing their season opener to Prince George.

That first game for both teams was played on September 8th at the BCHL Showcase in Chilliwack. The Spruce Kings opened the scoring when Coltyn Hansen drove hard to the net getting underneath the defenceman before sailing through the top of the crease and outwaiting the goaltender.

The Centennials answered that goal back with a powerplay tally in the second period. The third belonged to the Spruce Kings who scored three times en route to a 4-1 final. The Centennials successfully shelved that loss to be revisited at another time and that time has come tonight. They will be looking to even the season series with their former Interior Division rivals.

Although the Spruce Kings are playing out of the Mainland Division of the Coastal Conference, their opponents have been from the Interior Division as if to be a way of transitioning from the known to the unknown. Tonight marks the second of three meetings between these two teams in the month of September with the final meeting taking place in one week’s time in Merritt.

The Spruce Kings have been preparing all week for this lone matchup of the weekend which should bode well for the home team after being able to work through some early season systems. The same could be said for the Merritt Centennials who have only played one game since the Showcase and that was a 6-2 win over the Trail Smoke Eaters on home ice.

The Spruce Kings still have three players on the shelf with Tanner Fjellstrom and Sean Landrey now considered day to day while the prognosis is not so kind for David London who is out for a few more weeks still. The Centennials have a few bumps and bruises as well with the noteable player being the goaltender, Tyler Steel.

Both teams will dress an AP (affiliate player tonight) with Justin Rai (rye) finding some time on the Spruce Kings “buzz line” with Jeremiah Luedtke and Chad Staley. Rai has been a factor in both of his previous games and is excited to be with the Spruce Kings looking to make a lasting impression with the team.

It won’t be a surprise to see some excitement come in to play in this game with the history these two teams share. Ron St. Clair will have the complete call of the game available for free on 93.1 CFIS-FM and online at www.cfisfm.com. Out of town fans also have a chance to watch the game on pay-per-view through fasthockey.com.

Enjoy the game tonight and look for a post game recap here afterwards.