Intra Squad Game - Period Summaries

Third Period - The final period started quickly with a tilt featuring two players that were on the same team during the round robin scrimmages this weekend. Clayton McEwan of Kelowna and Jeremy Wiebe of Vernon traded a few in a no-decision battle that went on for a good 30 seconds and then some. Once play resumed, Team Blue stayed on task looking to mount a comeback but again came up empty on their sixteen shots on goal.

Team White on the other hand just kept rolling and playing it safe and still managed to squeak in a lucky one at 16:39 when Dylan DeSousa of Fraser Lake kept slapping at the loose puck against the goal post and finally squeezed it past Cameron Large of Nanaimo. The only helper on the goal scored by Nick DeSousa's younger brother went to Travis Flaherty of Williams Lake.

Besides the offsetting fighting majors, there were five minors also handed out in the third period. Oliver Holt of Vernon was assessed a high sticking penalty at 1:26 for Team White. At 4:32 Adrian Moyls of Nelson from Team Blue got caught with the hooking infraction and Lambert was assessed a roughing minor in retaliation. At 8:30 Spencer Doduk of Mission put Team Blue down a man for the fourth time in the game with a roughing call and the final penalty of the game came at 10:42 when Colten Derickson from Team White got his stick up too high.

Following the game the players shook hands at centre ice knowing that this might be the last time they seem some of the other guys for awhile. The Spruce Kings coaching and scouting staff will start the process of pairing down the camp roster to approximately 30 players that will be carried into the exhibition season. Preseason play starts on Tuesday night with a game against the Quesnel Millionaires at 7:00pm in the Coliseum.

Second Period - Well this period definitely had a little more of everything including intensity. Team White picked up where they left off in the second half of the first period by continuing to get shots through. The victim would be Team Blue's second goaltender, Ryley Carter from Dawson Creek who was scored on a total of four times. Team White scored a pair of goals 36 seconds apart thanks in part to Stewart Lambert of Prince George.

At 14:08 Lambert's shot found the back of the net after Colten Derickson and RJay Berra worked the give and go to gain the offensive zone, Berra then got the puck out to Lambert in front of the net who let go a quick one-timer. At 4:44 it was Lambert's turn to play the role of setup man after his shot on goal came back to the defenceman Jonathan Gibson of Prince George. The second assist on the goal went to sixteen year old Tyson Witala of Prince George.

Team White would take a 3-1 lead at the 8:25 mark with a goal from Jeremy Wiebe of Vernon who was able to knock in a rebound. Helpers on the third goal went to Chris Allbee of Prince George and Brady Fuller of Williams Lake. A series of penalties would follow including a chance with a two man advantage that Team Blue could not capitalize on.

Ryley Muise from Team Blue was first into the penalty box with a elbowing call at 9:34. Jesse Scrimbit from Team White followed less than two minutes later with a hooking call at 11:04. Tim Martens of Burns Lake joined his White team mate in the penalty box with a high sticking call. At 12:47, Dmetri Culker put Team Blue down a man with his holding the stick call.

Although no power play goals were scored, Team White did make it 4-1 just six seconds after Culker's penalty expired. Tyson Witala picked up his second point of the game with assists going to Scrimbit and Berra. Ryan Wilson from Grande Prairie turned aside all 14 shots he faced while in net for Team White. At the other end it wasn't as pleasant for Wilson who faced a total of nine shots.

First Period - Thirty nine players are in the Intra Squad game: three goaltenders, six defenceman and ten forwards on each team. From the view I have in the press box, it looked like the 35 plus players with no previous Junior A experience were tentative at best in getting started. Some good end to end rushes and chances by both squads. Just past the mid-way mark of the first period, Team Blue had a 6-4 shots on goal lead.

The first goal of the game and the only one of the first period was the result of missed opportunity to get the puck deep by Team White that resulted in a turnover. Riley Muise of Tumbler Ridge fed Luke Hannas of Williams Lake who skated it in to the top of the right side faceoff circle and let an off-speed shot go that fooled Team White's starting goaltender, Evan Smith from Penticton.

The goal fired up the home bench who then started peppering Team Blue's starting goaltender, Tim Zwiers of Williams Lake. Zwiers was solid in net and turned aside all fifteen shots he faced during his tour of duty between the pipes. Under the pressure applied by the home team, Team Blue was only able to get one more shot on goal before the end of the period.

There was only one penalty called in the opening and that went to Team Blue. Tyson Young from Prince George drew a slashing call at 18:07.