Game 52 - at Victoria Grizzlies

Pregame ...

Game time this afternoon is 4:30 with a pregame show at 4:10pm starting off the live broadcast from the Bear Mountain Arena in Victoria. Ron Gallo will have the call of the game on 93.1 CFIS-FM and also online from the Spruce Kings website and the Pay-Per-View broadcast on the BCHL Fanzone. Questions and comments can be sent to Ron Gallo by clicking on the "comments" link below. Following the game tonight, the Spruce Kings will head home to prepare for the Williams Lake Timberwolves on Wednesday night in the Coliseum.


Rosters ...

Victoria Grizzlies

2 Nick Buchanan (D 6'04" 195 5/09/91 Victoria, BC, CAN) (GP 41 G 1 A 9 Pts 10 31 PIMs)
3 Jake Baker (D 6'04" 205 7/18/91 Port Moody, BC, CAN) (GP 37 G 0 A 8 Pts 8 44 PIMs)
4 Jordan Heywood (D 6'01" 193 3/06/89 Regina, SK, CAN) (GP 47 G 12 A 32 Pts 44 45 PIMs)
5 Brad Pawlowski (D 6'03" 219 1/17/89 Marathon, BC, CAN) (GP 40 G 10 A 21 Pts 31 85 PIMs)
6 Jared Eng (D 5'09" 178 8/16/92 North Vancouver, BC, CAN) (GP 43 G 3 A 12 Pts 15 20 PIMs)
7 Brett Kolins (D 6'01" 172 1/12/92 Abbotsford, BC, CAN) (GP 40 G 1 A 3 Pts 4 85 PIMs)
8 Sean Robertson (D 6'01" 174 2/28/91 Cobble Hill, BC, CAN) (GP 3 G 0 A 0 Pts 0 02 PIMs)
11 Mike Tebbutt (F 6'04" 215 5/09/92 Abbotsford, BC, CAN) (GP 10 G 2 A 3 Pts 5 15 PIMs)
12 Graeme McCormack (D 6'02" 195 4/22/91 Thunder Bay, ON, CAN) (GP 32 G 5 A 15 Pts 20 16 PIMs)
13 Dylan Nowakowski (F 5'07" 150 9/14/91 Calgary, AB, CAN) (GP 50 G 6 A 16 Pts 22 35 PIMs)
14 Alex Allan (F 5'10" 180 8/28/89 Calgary, AB, CAN) (GP 50 G 18 A 32 Pts 50 16 PIMs)
16 Madison Dias (F 6'01" 175 11/02/92 Penticton, BC, CAN) (GP 45 G 10 A 22 Pts 32 49 PIMs)
17 Joel Lowry (F 6'02" 173 11/15/91 Calgary, AB, CAN) (GP 48 G 14 A 25 Pts 39 49 PIMs)
19 Bryce Twa (F 5'11" 170 1/09/91 Victoria, BC, CAN) (GP 35 G 2 A 5 Pts 7 10 PIMs)
20 Wesley Myron (F 6'02" 175 9/16/92 Victoria, BC, CAN) (GP 37 G 9 A 11 Pts 20 06 PIMs)
21 Dustin Mowrey (F 5'09" 178 2/12/91 Burnaby, BC, CAN) (GP 49 G 28 A 26 Pts 54 66 PIMs)
22 Derek Bacon (F 5'08" 160 9/27/91 Calgary, AB, CAN) (GP 49 G 7 A 18 Pts 25 48 PIMs)
24 Sam Grist (D 6'03" 200 6/27/93 Victoria, BC, CAN) (GP 39 G 2 A 4 Pts 6 49 PIMs)
25 Spencer Copp (F 6'02" 200 1/12/90 Calgary, AB, CAN) (GP 48 G 7 A 16 Pts 23 15 PIMs)
26 Brandon Fagerheim (F 5'10" 172 12/13/90 Calgary, AB, CAN) (GP 49 G 18 A 24 Pts 42 58 PIMs)
27 Gregory Simpson (F 6'00" 195 6/08/90 Victoria, BC, CAN) (GP 47 G 7 A 8 Pts 15 97 PIMs)
31 Ryan Holfeld (G 5'11" 180 6/29/89 Leroy, BC, CAN) (GP 21 G 0 A 3 Pts 3 04 PIMs)
35 Colin Fernandes (G 5'11" 170 11/15/90 Surrey, BC, CAN) (GP 11 G 0 A 0 Pts 0 00 PIMs)
98 Michael Colantone (F '91)


Prince George Spruce Kings

4 Reid Blinkhorn (D 5'11" 170 12/23/91 Winfield, BC, CAN) (GP 5 G 1 A 0 Pts 1 02 PIMs)
5 Justin Fillion (D 5'11" 175 4/23/90 Prince George, BC, CAN) (GP 51 G 6 A 33 Pts 39 70 PIMs)
7 Jesse Scrimbit (D 6'01" 180 12/19/90 Sicamous, BC, CAN) (GP 46 G 0 A 5 Pts 5 33 PIMs)
8 Jonathan Gibson (D 6'01" 205 2/01/90 Prince George, BC, CAN) (GP 47 G 5 A 5 Pts 10 47 PIMs)
9 Nick DeSousa (F 6'00" 180 11/13/90 Fraser Lake, BC, CAN) (GP 47 G 21 A 16 Pts 37 31 PIMs)
10 Brad Bourke (D 6'01" 175 4/21/89 Onoway, AB, CAN) (GP 47 G 7 A 23 Pts 30 51 PIMs)
11 Kyle Manlow (F 5'10" 165 6/28/91 Murrieta, CA, USA) (GP 49 G 5 A 3 Pts 8 21 PIMs)
14 Lyndon Martell (F 6'01" 190 1/13/93 Prince George, BC, CAN) (GP 35 G 12 A 13 Pts 25 10 PIMs)
15 Luke Hannas (F 6'02" 185 9/09/91 Williams Lake, BC, CAN) (GP 44 G 2 A 6 Pts 8 123 PIMs)
16 Jeff Earnest (F 5'10" 175 2/08/91 Anchorage, AK, USA) (GP 43 G 9 A 12 Pts 21 58 PIMs)
18 Riley Spraggs (F 5'09" 175 11/23/91 Coldstream, BC, CAN) (GP 3 G 0 A 0 Pts 0 00 PIMs)
19 Joe Morgan (F 5'08" 180 4/07/89 Kitimat, BC, CAN) (GP 39 G 13 A 22 Pts 35 24 PIMs)
20 Jeff Datoff (D 5'10" 160 5/26/92 Nanaimo, BC, CAN) (GP 36 G 0 A 4 Pts 4 13 PIMs)
21 Stewart Lambert (F 6'00" 175 4/05/90 Prince George, BC, CAN) (GP 29 G 2 A 1 Pts 3 09 PIMs)
22 Jeremy Wiebe (F 6'00" 180 7/20/91 Vernon, BC, CAN) (GP 43 G 1 A 1 Pts 2 94 PIMs)
23 RJay Berra (F 6'00" 180 7/26/90 Prince George, BC, CAN) (GP 51 G 11 A 13 Pts 24 13 PIMs)
24 Jordan Bledsoe (F 5'09" 165 11/20/91 Costa Mesa, CA, USA) (GP 2 G 0 A 0 Pts 0 00 PIMs)
25 Zac Rasmussen (F 5'09" 178 5/08/89 Kamloops, BC, CAN) (GP 47 G 16 A 23 Pts 39 103 PIMs)
26 Sam Muchalla (F 5'08" 150 8/14/90 Prince George, BC, CAN) (GP 49 G 26 A 42 Pts 68 56 PIMs)
30 Andrew Walsh (G 6'02" 185 12/15/90 Dawson Creek, BC, CAN) (GP 34 G 0 A 0 Pts 0 24 PIMs)
35 Kyle Nielsen (G 5'10" 170 7/21/90 New Westminster, BC, CAN) (GP 22 G 0 A 0 Pts 0 00 PIMs)

Game 51 - at Alberni Valley Bulldogs

Pregame Notes ...

For those that live on Vancouver Island the saying "over the hump" refers to the trip into Port Alberni. The Spruce Kings are using that saying following last night's game in reference to an event that will spark the team to get "over the hump" in their season. Following last night's loss to the Cowichan Valley Capitals, the Prince George Spruce Kings stood together as a team at centre ice staring down their opponents.

The game itself provided lots of opportunities for the Spruce Kings but none that would put them on the scoreboard until it was a little too late. In the first period Jeff Datoff and Jeff Earnest both had chances to open the scoring; Datoff from a point shot and Earnest from going hard to the net. Unfortunately, it was the Capitals that scored first and scored again late in the opening frame to stake a claim to a 2-0 lead after the opening twenty minutes.

In the second period, a questionable late hit that went uncalled led to a third goal for the Capitals and spelled the end of the night for Andrew Walsh. Kyle Nielsen came in as relief and turned aside 17 shots in the middle frame. The Spruce Kings again had their chances with AP Riley Spraggs getting the best one as he tried to reach across the face of the net and tuck one in off the far side post.

Joe Morgan also brought the Spruce Kings bench to their feet showing some speed down the right side wall and then applying the brakes so hard that the defender slid right by. Morgan then fired a bullet intended for the top shelf but was stopped by the tip of the goaltender's glove sending the puck just over the crossbar. The second period saw the momentum shift slightly towards the Spruce Kings but they were unable to capitalize on their chances and were sent to the dressing room trailing 3-0.

In the third period, the Capitals built up a 4-0 lead on a well executed play by Mike Hammond who picked up his second of the game. The Spruce Kings kept pressing and would finally be rewarded as a result of hard work from Nick DeSousa. The play started inside the Spruce Kings zone and saw Sam Muchalla move the puck out to DeSousa who cut hard through the middle and then around the defender who brought down DeSousa. With the referee's arm indicating a delayed penalty, the puck slid into the crease where Joe Morgan was able to find it and get it through Brossoit making it a 4-1 game.

Time was not friendly to the Spruce Kings and with the net empty in the final two minutes it would be the Capitals getting a chance at the empty net that went off the goal post. In the ensuing scramble, the Spruce Kings executed a line change and sent Nielsen back in on the fly who made a save scrambling back into goal. The save allowed the Spruce Kings to head back up the ice and after some hard work along the wall by Jeff Earnest, DeSousa was able to pick up the puck and get it to Sam Muchalla who buried his 25th of the season to make it a 4-2 game with 3.3 seconds remaining.

The final ticks of the clock led to a fight off the faceoff and then, as time expired, the teams were let out onto the ice. That's when the centre ice standoff happened; although a recipe for a serious situation, the two teams mostly just chirped each other with one fight breaking out between Luke Hannas and Brendon MacDonald. Shortly after the fight, the two teams would finally head to their respective dressing rooms.

There was a quiet buzz today around the players and it seems that the centre ice standoff has become one of those moments in time that binds the players tighter together as a team. Tonight the Spruce Kings will head "over the hump" for a 7:00pm meeting with the Alberni Valley Bulldogs with what I expect will be a more passionate team ... something like what we saw in the Castle a week ago against the Merritt Centennials.

The Spruce Kings will still have to stick to their game plan and be very aware defensively as the Bulldogs have a number of weapons in their arsenal. Reaching that benchmark of 50 goals in 50 games, Mitch MacMillian leads the way for the Bulldogs with 54 goals in 53 games and has 84 points so far this season. Not far off is younger brother and rookie Mark MacMillian with 69 points (22-47) in his first season in the BCHL. Also with 22 goals, although most were scored with the Trail Smoke Eaters, is Tye Lewis who has contributed with 7 goals and 17 assists.

David Dziurzynski is next on the goal scoring list with 19 and sits in third spot on team scoring with 64 points. Kevin Ross is one shy of 50 points with a record of 7 goals and 42 assists. Rounding out the 40 plus club for the Bulldogs is Johnny Rogic with 16 goals and 24 assists.

Leading the Coastal Conference, the Alberni Valley Bulldogs have arguably one of the best goaltending tandems with Frank Slubowski and Scott Lewan. Slubowski has the most wins with a record of 28-9-1 and has a 2.33 goals against average with a 91.65 save percentage. Lewan has posted 11 victories and 4 losses and has a 2.60 goals against average and a 90.05 save percentage.

It won`t be easy for the Spruce Kings tonight but in their previous meeting on December 11th in the Coliseum, the Spruce Kings did hold a 5-4 lead with 5 minutes to go. The Spruce Kings will need to play together tonight as a team and play for a full sixty minutes with very few if any mistakes in the always unfriendly dog pound that is the Weyerhauser Arena in Port Alberni.

Game time tonight is 7:00 with a pregame show at 6:40pm starting off the live broadcast on 93.1 CFIS-FM and also online from the Spruce Kings website and the BCHL Fanzone. Questions and comments can be sent to Ron Gallo by clicking on the "comments" link below. The Spruce Kings will wrap up their Island road trip tomorrow with a late afternoon game against the Victoria Grizzlies (4:30pm from the Bear Mountain Arena) before heading home.


Rosters ...

Alberni Valley Bulldogs

1 Frank Slubowski (G 5'10" 175 12/31/90 Prince Rupert, BC, CAN) (GP 39 G 0 A 1 Pts 1 04 PIMs)
2 Ryan Renz (D 6'01" 200 8/04/93 Castlegar, BC, CAN) (GP 7 G 1 A 2 Pts 3 04 PIMs)
3 Brody Lynott (D 6'01" 185 7/05/91 Kelowna, BC, CAN) (GP 32 G 0 A 2 Pts 2 68 PIMs)
5 Adam Hout (D 5'10" 187 9/29/89 Ladera Ranch, CA, USA) (GP 9 G 2 A 3 Pts 5 12 PIMs)
7 Frank Riddle (D 6'00" 180 4/19/90 St. Catharines, ON, CAN) (GP 48 G 3 A 10 Pts 13 39 PIMs)
8 David Dziurzynski (F 6'03" 205 10/06/89 Lloydminster, AB, CAN) (GP 51 G 19 A 45 Pts 64 77 PIMs)
9 Casey Bailey (F 6'01" 185 10/22/91 Anchorage, AK, USA) (GP 44 G 12 A 10 Pts 22 37 PIMs)
10 Matt Hatch (F 6'01" 180 1/22/90 Massena, CA, USA) (GP 51 G 13 A 24 Pts 37 54 PIMs)
11 Jeff Reppucci (D 5'10" 170 1/21/91 Newburyport, SK, CAN) (GP 21 G 2 A 7 Pts 9 24 PIMs)
12 Tyler Berkholtz (F 5'11" 180 1/19/92 Penticton, BC, CAN) (GP 36 G 2 A 9 Pts 11 46 PIMs)
14 Nick Cecere (D 6'00" 180 10/12/90 West Des Moines, IO, USA) (GP 53 G 2 A 8 Pts 10 37 PIMs)
15 Mitch MacMillan (F 6'00" 185 11/24/89 Penticton, BC, CAN) (GP 53 G 54 A 30 Pts 84 80 PIMs)
16 Mark MacMillan (F 6'00" 150 1/23/92 Penticton, BC, CAN) (GP 53 G 22 A 47 Pts 69 40 PIMs)
17 Johnny Rogic (F 6'00" 185 11/14/90 Vancouver, BC, CAN) (GP 53 G 16 A 24 Pts 40 34 PIMs)
20 Tye Lewis (F 5'10" 185 6/24/89 Vancouver, BC, CAN) (GP 48 G 22 A 36 Pts 58 20 PIMs)
21 Warren Muir (F 6'00" 193 10/16/89 Nanaimo, BC, CAN) (GP 41 G 14 A 4 Pts 18 44 PIMs)
22 Pearce Eviston (F 6'00" 175 11/04/92 Vancouver, BC, CAN) (GP 10 G 2 A 1 Pts 3 00 PIMs)
23 Trent Dorais (F 5'10" 160 4/15/91 Vernon, BC, CAN) (GP 49 G 7 A 10 Pts 17 95 PIMs)
24 Josh Mitchell (F 5'10" 165 3/21/91 Osoyoos, BC, CAN) (GP 49 G 3 A 15 Pts 18 06 PIMs)
25 Sam Mitchell (F 6'00" 190 1/16/90 Osoyoos, BC, CAN) (GP 48 G 10 A 11 Pts 21 44 PIMs)
27 Kevin Ross (D 6'00" 180 6/18/90 Cranbrook, BC, CAN) (GP 53 G 7 A 42 Pts 49 16 PIMs)
28 Robert Lindores (F 6'01" 198 3/07/91 Port Alberni, BC, CAN) (GP 38 G 2 A 4 Pts 6 44 PIMs)
35 Scott Lewan (G 6'00" 180 10/12/90 West Des Moines, IO, USA) (GP 18 G 0 A 1 Pts 1 00 PIMs)


Prince George Spruce Kings

4 Reid Blinkhorn (D 5'11" 170 12/23/91 Winfield, BC, CAN) (GP 4 G 1 A 0 Pts 1 02 PIMs)
5 Justin Fillion (D 5'11" 175 4/23/90 Prince George, BC, CAN) (GP 50 G 6 A 33 Pts 39 68 PIMs)
7 Jesse Scrimbit (D 6'01" 180 12/19/90 Sicamous, BC, CAN) (GP 45 G 0 A 5 Pts 5 33 PIMs)
8 Jonathan Gibson (D 6'01" 205 2/01/90 Prince George, BC, CAN) (GP 46 G 5 A 5 Pts 10 45 PIMs)
9 Nick DeSousa (F 6'00" 180 11/13/90 Fraser Lake, BC, CAN) (GP 46 G 21 A 16 Pts 37 29 PIMs)
10 Brad Bourke (D 6'01" 175 4/21/89 Onoway, AB, CAN) (GP 46 G 7 A 23 Pts 30 49 PIMs)
11 Kyle Manlow (F 5'10" 165 6/28/91 Murrieta, CA, USA) (GP 48 G 5 A 3 Pts 8 21 PIMs)
14 Lyndon Martell (F 6'01" 190 1/13/93 Prince George, BC, CAN) (GP 34 G 12 A 13 Pts 25 10 PIMs)
15 Luke Hannas (F 6'02" 185 9/09/91 Williams Lake, BC, CAN) (GP 44 G 2 A 6 Pts 8 123 PIMs)
16 Jeff Earnest (F 5'10" 175 2/08/91 Anchorage, AK, USA) (GP 42 G 9 A 12 Pts 21 58 PIMs)
18 Riley Spraggs (F 5'09" 175 11/23/91 Coldstream, BC, CAN) (GP 2 G 0 A 0 Pts 0 00 PIMs)
19 Joe Morgan (F 5'08" 180 4/07/89 Kitimat, BC, CAN) (GP 38 G 13 A 22 Pts 35 24 PIMs)
20 Jeff Datoff (D 5'10" 160 5/26/92 Nanaimo, BC, CAN) (GP 35 G 0 A 4 Pts 4 13 PIMs)
21 Stewart Lambert (F 6'00" 175 4/05/90 Prince George, BC, CAN) (GP 28 G 2 A 1 Pts 3 09 PIMs)
22 Jeremy Wiebe (F 6'00" 180 7/20/91 Vernon, BC, CAN) (GP 42 G 1 A 1 Pts 2 94 PIMs)
23 RJay Berra (F 6'00" 180 7/26/90 Prince George, BC, CAN) (GP 50 G 11 A 13 Pts 24 13 PIMs)
24 Jordan Bledsoe (F 5'09" 165 11/20/91 Costa Mesa, CA, USA) (GP 1 G 0 A 0 Pts 0 00 PIMs)
25 Zac Rasmussen (F 5'09" 178 5/08/89 Kamloops, BC, CAN) (GP 46 G 16 A 23 Pts 39 94 PIMs)
26 Sam Muchalla (F 5'08" 150 8/14/90 Prince George, BC, CAN) (GP 48 G 26 A 42 Pts 68 56 PIMs)
30 Andrew Walsh (G 6'02" 185 12/15/90 Dawson Creek, BC, CAN) (GP 33 G 0 A 0 Pts 0 24 PIMs)
35 Kyle Nielsen (G 5'10" 170 7/21/90 New Westminster, BC, CAN) (GP 21 G 0 A 0 Pts 0 00 PIMs)

Game 50 - at Cowichan Valley Capitals

Pregame ...

After a day off on the Island, the Prince George Spruce Kings are ready to get back down to business with their 50th game of the season against the Cowichan Valley Capitals. The Spruce Kings started their four game Vancouver Island road trip off on the right foot but stumbled near the end of turn one when they suffered an overtime loss to the Nanaimo Clippers. Prince George was doing everything right with Sam Muchalla setting up all three goals and helping the Spruce Kings establish a 3-1 lead with less than four minutes remaining in the game.

Perhaps the excitement of picking up their first ever victory in the Frank Crane Arena or the long trip to Nanaimo caught up with them, but a pinball shot followed by a seeing eye shot less than two minutes later turned that lead into a tie. In overtime Brad Bourke, Nick DeSousa, Sam Muchalla and Justin Fillion all had chances but it would be the Nanaimo Clippers on a two-on-one rush in double overtime that would end the game. The win was the Clippers first in 2010 and ended an eleven game drought for the Coastal Conference team that has arguably struggled this season.

The Spruce Kings had lots going for them including a glorious scoring opportunity on the very first shift and shot on goal. Sam Muchalla found himself deep in the left corner of the offensive zone where he spotted Brad Bourke sneaking in through the middle. With a perfect saucer pass to the defencman that has been lighting it up for Prince George since the trade deadline, Bourke fired the one-timer that hit a surprised Rhys Hadfield square in the chest. The Nanaimo Clippers were the first on the board scoring a powerplay goal late in the first period to give themselves a 1-0 lead after the first period.

In the second period the Spruce Kings came out hard and were rewarded on a bit of a line change miscue by the Clippers that left Sam Muchalla all alone on the far side. Muchalla was able to draw the lone defender towards him which then opened up Joe Morgan on the other side. The Spruce Kings leading goal scorer and points leader fed another perfect pass to his team mate and Morgan was able to tap home his 11th of the season and even up the game at one. A few minutes later the spruce Kings were given a power play opportunity and they didn't waste much time taking the lead. Playing on the points, Justin Fillion and Brad Bourke played the puck between them before Bourke got the puck down to Muchalla in the left side faceoff circle. With patience and poise, Muchalla waited for Morgan to roll in towards the net before dishing off the puck for Morgan to tap in his second of the game.

The second period would end 2-1 in favour of Prince George and they seemed to be playing with a lot of confidence that spilled over into the third period. With less than six minutes showing on the score clock, Jeff Datoff was able to intercept a pass in the defensive zone and get it to Muchalla at the blue line. Muchalla cut through centre ice and, upon reaching the blue line, fed the puck into the slot behind both defencemen where a streaking Nick DeSousa picked it up and was able to undress the Clippers goaltender before sliding the puck under the arm of Hadfield. DeSousa's 21st of the season was another highlight reel goal for the second year veteran and gave the Spruce Kings a two goal lead ... a lead that proved to be not enough.

With a single point in their back pocket, the Spruce Kings left the arena trying to sort out what went wrong and what they could do next to get back into that playoff hunt. The last playoff spot has been so close but so far away for over a month now, but the players have not given up and were given a breathe of life last night with the Trail Smoke Eaters loss to the Langley Chiefs. Although still very much in the hunt for a playoff spot mathematically, the Spruce Kings have to rely on other teams to help them out but they must also count on themselves to find victories this weekend.

Next up is the Cowichan Valley Capitals and a team that is holding onto its playoff life sitting in seventh place in the Coastal Conference. The Capitals defeated the Clippers on Tuesday night and had two days off to prepare for the Spruce Kings, which would have given them a chance to scout their opponents on Wednesday night. The two teams met in December back in the Castle in a game that saw the Spruce Kings holding off the Capitals by a 2-1 margin, but ultimately lost the game 3-2 as a result of two quick goals late in the third period.

The Spruce Kings have a lot more confidence and ability to open up a game and will be looking to get rolling early against the Capitals. As mentioned, Sam Muchalla picked up three assists on Wednesday night and has climbed into seventh spot among the league's scoring leaders. Joe Morgan scored a pair against the Clippers and now has a dozen goals on the season. Nick DeSousa has been scoring highlight reel goals all season and picked up his 21st of the season which is three times his rookie season. Brad Bourke, Justin Fillion and Jeff Datoff have improved on their point a game streaks picking up an assist each.

The Cowichan Valley Capitals offensive strengths come from a pair of players with Mike Hammond (17-32) leading the way with 49 points followed by Nick Anderson (23-23) at 46 points. After that the numbers start dropping off with only two other players having better than 20 points, Jackson Garrett (17-20) has 37 and Shayne Taker (6-22) has 28. The Capitals have three players that Spruce Kings fans should be somewhat familiar with as a result of transactions with Interior Conference teams. Justin Sotkowy was picked up from the Quesnel Millionaires, Nick Amies from the Vernon Vipers and Colten Derickson from the Spruce Kings.

As a defenceman, Sotkowy has played 8 games with Cowichan Valley scoring a goal and adding an assist. Amies, another defencman has played in 21 games with the Capitals and has a record of one goal and five assists. Derickson has found his game on the Island with four goals and four assists in eleven games. As a team, the Cowichan valley Capitals have a perfect .500 record through ten games played in January (4-4-0-2). The Spruce Kings record hasn't fared as well but has been improving and is now at 2-7-0-1. In the goals for and against category, the Spruce Kings have a slight edging averaging 3.50 goals a game compared to 2.80 for the Capitals. The two are much closer with the Capitals at 4.10 goals against and the spruce Kings allowing an average of 4.50 goals a game.

If special teams come into play in the game tonight, the Spruce Kings are ranked ninth on the road while the Capitals sit last in the league with the extra man. However, the Capitals penalty kill is better ranked 9th at home compared to the Spruce Kings 11th place ranking on the road. In Wednesday's game, the Spruce Kings and the Nanaimo Clippers were both 1 for 2 with the man advantage whereas the capitals were 1 for 4 with the man advantage and gave up three power play goals on seven opportunities in their game the previous night against the Clippers.

Game time tonight is 7:30 with a pregame show at 7:10pm starting off the live broadcast from the Island Savings Centre in Duncan. Ron Gallo will have the call of the game on 93.1 CFIS-FM and also online from the Spruce Kings website and the BCHL Fanzone. Questions and comments can be sent to Ron Gallo by clicking on the "comments" link below. The Spruce Kings also have games against the Alberni Valley Bulldogs (Saturday at 7:00pm) and the Victoria Grizzlies (Sunday at 4:30pm) before heading home from their Vancouver Island roadtrip.




Rosters ...

Cowichan Valley Capitals

3 Brett Apted (D 6'00" 190 10/27/90 St. Louis, MO, USA) (GP 33 G 1 A 6 Pts 7 43 PIMs)
5 Nicholas Wong (D 6'00" 198 12/08/91 Burnaby, BC, CAN) (GP 50 G 2 A 15 Pts 17 24 PIMs)
6 Justin Sotkowy (D 5'11" 175 8/30/90 Victoria, BC, CAN) (GP 16 G 1 A 1 Pts 2 06 PIMs)
7 Shayne Taker (D 6'03" 190 2/12/90 Surrey, BC, CAN) (GP 49 G 6 A 22 Pts 28 36 PIMs)
8 Jackson Garrett (F 6'03" 185 7/14/91 Comox, BC, CAN) (GP 40 G 17 A 20 Pts 37 66 PIMs)
9 Alex Halloran (D 5'09" 180 9/10/90 Salt Lake City, UT, USA) (GP 48 G 3 A 12 Pts 15 58 PIMs)
11 Nick Anderson (F 6'01" 190 10/29/89 Port Coquitlam, BC, CAN) (GP 50 G 23 A 23 Pts 46 55 PIMs)
13 Nick Amies (D 6'02" 185 7/25/92 Enderby, BC, CAN) (GP 48 G 3 A 8 Pts 11 26 PIMs)
14 Chase Kaiser (F 5'09" 170 5/18/92 Duncan, BC, CAN) (GP 49 G 6 A 3 Pts 9 23 PIMs)
16 Rajan Sidhu (D 6'03" 190 3/29/91 Surrey, BC, CAN) (GP 35 G 3 A 11 Pts 14 21 PIMs)
17 Taylor Paziuk (F 6'00" 172 7/18/90 Prince George, BC, CAN) (GP 45 G 8 A 9 Pts 17 56 PIMs)
18 Colten Derickson (F 6'01" 200 11/15/89 Kelowna, BC, CAN) (GP 20 G 4 A 5 Pts 9 22 PIMs)
19 Shawn Mueller (F 6'02" 185 8/20/92 Kitimat, BC, CAN) (GP 46 G 4 A 2 Pts 6 16 PIMs)
20 Joey Massingham (F 5'08" 160 5/21/89 Duncan, BC, CAN) (GP 50 G 5 A 7 Pts 12 58 PIMs)
21 Joel Kern (F 6'01" 180 4/01/91 New Orleans, NO, USA) (GP 48 G 1 A 15 Pts 16 81 PIMs)
24 Chris Daniels (F 6'00" 180 5/06/91 Winnipeg, MB, CAN) (GP 11 G 1 A 4 Pts 5 08 PIMs)
25 Mike Hammond (F 5'10" 170 2/21/90 Victoria, BC, CAN) (GP 37 G 17 A 32 Pts 49 16 PIMs)
26 Mikael Jung (F 5'10" 175 1/01/92 Nanaimo, BC, CAN) (GP 43 G 7 A 3 Pts 10 12 PIMs)
27 Brendon MacDonald (F 5'11" 180 6/23/91 Calgary, AB, CAN) (GP 48 G 2 A 4 Pts 6 111 PIMs)
31 Laurent Brossoit (G 6'02" 189 3/23/93 Surrey, BC, CAN) (GP 14 G 0 A 0 Pts 0 02 PIMs)
33 Alexandre Peck (G 6'04" 185 10/28/90 Kirkland, PQ, CAN) (GP 35 G 0 A 0 Pts 0 02 PIMs)
91 Ryan Green (F 6'03" 210 9/26/90 Essex, ON, CAN) (GP 37 G 9 A 10 Pts 19 84 PIMs)


Prince George Spruce Kings

4 Reid Blinkhorn (D 5'11" 170 12/23/91 Winfield, BC, CAN) (GP 3 G 1 A 0 Pts 1 02 PIMs)
5 Justin Fillion (D 5'11" 175 4/23/90 Prince George, BC, CAN) (GP 49 G 6 A 33 Pts 39 68 PIMs)
7 Jesse Scrimbit (D 6'01" 180 12/19/90 Sicamous, BC, CAN) (GP 44 G 0 A 5 Pts 5 33 PIMs)
8 Jonathan Gibson (D 6'01" 205 2/01/90 Prince George, BC, CAN) (GP 45 G 5 A 5 Pts 10 45 PIMs)
9 Nick DeSousa (F 6'00" 180 11/13/90 Fraser Lake, BC, CAN) (GP 45 G 21 A 14 Pts 35 27 PIMs)
10 Brad Bourke (D 6'01" 175 4/21/89 Onoway, AB, CAN) (GP 45 G 7 A 23 Pts 30 49 PIMs)
11 Kyle Manlow (F 5'10" 165 6/28/91 Murrieta, CA, USA) (GP 47 G 5 A 3 Pts 8 21 PIMs)
14 Lyndon Martell (F 6'01" 190 1/13/93 Prince George, BC, CAN) (GP 33 G 12 A 13 Pts 25 10 PIMs)
15 Luke Hannas (F 6'02" 185 9/09/91 Williams Lake, BC, CAN) (GP 43 G 2 A 6 Pts 8 105 PIMs)
16 Jeff Earnest (F 5'10" 175 2/08/91 Anchorage, AK, USA) (GP 41 G 9 A 11 Pts 20 58 PIMs)
18 Riley Spraggs (F 5'09" 175 11/23/91 Coldstream, BC, CAN) (GP 1 G 0 A 0 Pts 0 00 PIMs)
19 Joe Morgan (F 5'08" 180 4/07/89 Kitimat, BC, CAN) (GP 37 G 12 A 22 Pts 34 24 PIMs)
20 Jeff Datoff (D 5'10" 160 5/26/92 Nanaimo, BC, CAN) (GP 34 G 0 A 4 Pts 4 13 PIMs)
21 Stewart Lambert (F 6'00" 175 4/05/90 Prince George, BC, CAN) (GP 27 G 2 A 1 Pts 3 09 PIMs)
22 Jeremy Wiebe (F 6'00" 180 7/20/91 Vernon, BC, CAN) (GP 42 G 1 A 1 Pts 2 94 PIMs)
23 RJay Berra (F 6'00" 180 7/26/90 Prince George, BC, CAN) (GP 49 G 11 A 13 Pts 24 13 PIMs)
24 Jordan Bledsoe (F 5'09" 165 11/20/91 Costa Mesa, CA, USA) (GP 0 G 0 A 0 Pts 0 00 PIMs)
25 Zac Rasmussen (F 5'09" 178 5/08/89 Kamloops, BC, CAN) (GP 45 G 16 A 23 Pts 39 94 PIMs)
26 Sam Muchalla (F 5'08" 150 8/14/90 Prince George, BC, CAN) (GP 47 G 25 A 41 Pts 66 56 PIMs)
30 Andrew Walsh (G 6'02" 185 12/15/90 Dawson Creek, BC, CAN) (GP 32 G 0 A 0 Pts 0 24 PIMs)
35 Kyle Nielsen (G 5'10" 170 7/21/90 New Westminster, BC, CAN) (GP 20 G 0 A 0 Pts 0 00 PIMs)

Game 49 - at Nanaimo Clippers

Pregame ...

The Prince George Spruce Kings start their second Coastal Conference road trip of the season with a game against the Nanaimo Clippers tonight at 7:00pm. It has been over a year since these two teams last met back on December 19, 2008 in Nanaimo. The game was played in the Frank Crane Arena and required the maximum amount of time for each team to be awarded a single point in a 2-2 tie. The Spruce Kings historically have not had much luck finding points in the Frank Crane Arena, but the meetings have all been memorable with both teams playing some of their best and most emotional games against each other.

Going back five years to the 2004-05 season, the game was one of the most one-sided as far as shots goes with the Nanaimo Clippers firing 78 shots on Brandon Highton while limited the Spruce Kings to just 11 shots. The final score was not that one-sided though with Prince George trailing 2-1 after the first and 3-1 after the second before finally losing the game 5-1. A year later saw the Clippers out-shoot the Spruce Kings 69-22, but again could only muster a four goal victory. In the Spruce Kings RBC year the shots were a lot closer at 39-28 and so was the game with an empty netter finally providing the win for the Nanaimo Clippers.

In 2007-08 it was the BCHL Rookie of the Year, Jordie Christian that provided the spark earning third star honours in a game that remained close but ultimately went the way of the Nanaimo Clippers who had period leads of 2-1, 3-1 and a 4-1 final. Last season saw the Spruce Kings take their first point away from the Clippers in their house with that 2-2 tie. Adam Baldassarre and Joe Morgan scored for Prince George while Kevin Genoe turned away 31 of 33 shots through 70 minutes and Zach Davies earned first star honours for his role in shutting down the Clippers.

Joe Morgan and RJay Berra are the only current Spruce Kings with points against the Nanaimo Clippers from the past two seasons, from games played in Nanaimo, and both will be looking to extend their streaks against the Coastal Conference rival. Morgan has scored once in both of the past two seasons against the Clippers while Berra picked up one of the helpers on Morgan's goal last season. Sam Muchalla does have a goal against Nanaimo. that came on February 22, 2008 when the Clippers were in Prince George. The last time the Spruce Kings beat Nanaimo was during the RBC year back on February 23, 2007 in a game played at the CN Centre that went to overtime and included a penalty shot in the extra time for Nanaimo.

Tonight's game should be another interesting one as it features two teams that have been playing better than their records indicate and are looking to make a move in the late stages of the regular season. The Nanaimo Clippers have a ten game record of 0-9-0-1 with their last win a 5-1 victory of Surrey on December 29. In their previous ten games five have been one goal losses, three losses were by two goals and only one was a blowout - an 11-3 loss to Powell River on January 16.

The Spruce Kings ten game record is a little bit brighter at 2-7-0-1. Two of those losses were by a goal, three by a pair, another by three goals and two losses by a five goal or larger margin. This past weekend saw the Spruce Kings playing some of their best hockey in that string of ten games and featured the big 11-3 victory over the Merritt Centennials. In that game, the Merritt broadcaster was overheard comparing the Spruce Kings to the Vernon Vipers. Ten different players registered a goal with only Sam Muchalla scoring a pair; a total of fifteen players had at least a point in the game with seven picking up multiple points.

One of the best players for the Spruce Kings since the trade deadline has been Brad Bourke who has seen his ice time pick up substantially with the departure of Wes McLeod and Josh Pineiro from the blue line. Missing one game due to a suspension from a mulitple fight situation, Brad Bourke has scored twice and added five helpers in three games. In each of those three games he has been or been considered for a three star selection. In the 11-3 win over his former team, Bourke was named the first star and was second star in the 6-4 victory over Quesnel; in the loss to Penticton, Bourke was named the Player's Bench Player of the Game.

Other players having success since the trade deadline include Zac Rasmussen with 3 goals and 3 assists in 4 games, Lyndon Martell has a goal in each of the previous 3 games, Luke Hannas also has a two game goal streak going and has 5 points in 4 games. Sam Muchalla has 2 goals and 6 assists since the trade deadline while both Nick DeSousa and Justin Fillion have 6 points. RJay Berra and Jeff Earnest have been quietly adding to their season totals with 4 points in 4 games. The APs that have been called up have also been contributing with Jordie Cool scoring the game winner against Quesnel on January 15 and Reid Blinkhorn scoring a highlight reel goal against Merritt. As a team, the Spruce Kings have been averaging 15 points a game since Janaury 10th.

History has shown the Spruce Kings that they can't be taking the Nanaimo Clippers lightly, especially in their rink and as if that wasn't enough, the Spruce Kings have yet to get a point away from any Coastal Conference team this season. Without any players in the league's top twenty for points, the Nanaimo Clippers have more of a threat with their depth. Nine of the Clippers top ten scorers are forwards with a combined total of 288 points, the lone defenceman in the top ten is rookie Victor Newell with 32 points. In his first season in the BCHL, Newell has already impressed the scouts of Yale and earned a NCAA Div I scholarship to start the 2011-12 season with that Ivy League school.

Luc Oliver Blain is Nanaimo's leading scorer averaging a point a game with 24 goals and 25 assists. This balanced approach with points makes Blain a dangerous player on the ice with the ability to score or setup a team mate for a double barrelled attack. Cody Bremner has similar numbers with 22 goals and 24 assists while the only other point a game player on the Clippers roster, Teal Burns has 17 goals and 27 assists to lead the team in helpers. Joe Perry (7-19) and Carson Schell (5-25) are two of only three twenty year olds (Blain is the other) and they both figure in the top ten scoring with three rookies and an eighteen year old rounding out the top ten scorers.

Other comparsions between the two teams show that the Spruce Kings have improved their goals for and are averaging 3.60 goals a game while the Nanaimo Clippers are at 3.10. Defensively over the course of the season, the Clippers have allowed fewer goals against and a full goal less on average per game than Prince George. The Clippers have been scored on 170 times or an average of 3.50 while the Spruce Kings have allowed 218, an average of 4.50 per game. In order for the Spruce Kings to get their first win ever out of the Frank Crane Arena, they will have to be sharp defensively and that will have to start with the goaltender stopping the first shot and the defence pairings cleaning up the garbage.

Kyle Nielsen is expected to get his second consecutive start after posting the victory on Saturday night and being arguably the best player in his team's first game back following the Christmas break. Nielsen has been improving his game and his numbers for awhile and, with the expected start tonight, will also be given that much needed shot of confidence. The team will rally around their goaltender and with the recent strength shown on the blue line, will look to stifle any kind of offensive threat that Nanaimo will be looking to bring to the game. It has been a common approach to the games of late and don't expect it to be any different tonight, the Spruce Kings will look to strike first and stike quickly.

Game time tonight is 7:00 with the game broadcast live on 93.1 CFIS-FM and also online from the Spruce Kings website and the BCHL Fanzone. Ron Gallo will start the pre-game show at 6:40pm with player and coach's interviews followed by complete play-by-play from the Frank Crane Arena in Nanaimo. Following the game will be the Predator Paintball Post Game Show featuring a wrap up of the game and a look ahead for the Spruce Kings. Updates will also be posted on Twitter time permitting. If you have a question or a comment about the broadcast, just click on the "comment" link below and an email will be send to Ron Gallo.


Rosters ...

Nanaimo Clippers

3 Tyler Mah (D 6'03" 210 6/01/90 Burnaby, BC, CAN) (GP 38 G 4 A 6 Pts 10 65 PIMs)
4 Nick Bell (D 6'00" 200 3/27/91 Nanoose Bay, BC, CAN) (GP 34 G 0 A 6 Pts 6 55 PIMs)
5 Nicholas McIntyre (D 6'00" 195 3/25/90 Dollard Des Ormeaux, PQ, CAN) (GP 46 G 6 A 11 Pts 17 26 PIMs)
7 Keifer McNaughton (D 6'03" 205 8/25/93 North Vancouver, BC, CAN) (GP 15 G 3 A 1 Pts 4 33 PIMs)
8 Victor Newell (D 5'10" 170 2/23/93 Burnaby, BC, CAN) (GP 43 G 7 A 25 Pts 32 43 PIMs)
9 Andrew Gladiuk (F 6'01" 180 3/07/91 Surrey, BC, CAN) (GP 49 G 13 A 22 Pts 35 16 PIMs)
11 Colton Cyr (F 5'11" 175 9/13/91 Nanaimo, BC, CAN) (GP 49 G 11 A 8 Pts 19 47 PIMs)
14 Kyle Yamasaki (F 6'00" 200 7/13/91 Nanaimo, BC, CAN) (GP 5 G 0 A 0 Pts 0 00 PIMs)
15 Kyle Weber (D 6'00" 185 7/13/90 Fraser Lake, BC, CAN) (GP 43 G 1 A 6 Pts 7 56 PIMs)
16 Carson Schell (F 5'11" 192 1/01/89 Saskatoon, SK, CAN) (GP 49 G 5 A 25 Pts 30 101 PIMs)
17 Joe Perry (F 6'02" 200 8/29/89 Nanaimo, BC, CAN) (GP 34 G 7 A 19 Pts 26 42 PIMs)
18 Luc Olivier Blain (F 6'03" 195 11/16/89 Longueuil, PQ, CAN) (GP 47 G 24 A 25 Pts 49 60 PIMs)
19 Cody Bremner (F 6'01" 181 6/05/90 Victoria, BC, CAN) (GP 44 G 22 A 24 Pts 46 40 PIMs)
20 Todd Gebert (D 6'03" 220 5/24/90 Surrey, BC, CAN) (GP 25 G 0 A 5 Pts 5 62 PIMs)
21 Ty Morton (D 6'00" 188 2/20/91 Port Hardy, BC, CAN) (GP 33 G 0 A 3 Pts 3 16 PIMs)
22 Kyle Kramer (F 5'11" 170 4/15/92 Qualicum Beach, BC, CAN) (GP 46 G 9 A 8 Pts 17 65 PIMs)
23 Brayden Jaw (F 6'01" 188 4/24/92 Vancouver, BC, CAN) (GP 47 G 7 A 15 Pts 22 39 PIMs)
24 Tristan Lowenberger (F 6'00" 175 5/15/92 Coquitlam, BC, CAN) (GP 42 G 2 A 11 Pts 13 44 PIMs)
25 Mike Puddifant (D 6'00" 192 6/27/91 Salmon Arm, BC, CAN) (GP 35 G 1 A 3 Pts 4 74 PIMs)
27 Mike Domsodi (F 6'03" 215 5/09/90 Kirkland, ON, CAN) (GP 46 G 4 A 12 Pts 16 21 PIMs)
30 Loic Boivin (G 6'00" 190 6/10/90 McMasterville, PQ, CAN) (GP 35 G 0 A 0 Pts 0 06 PIMs)
41 Rhys Hadfield (G 6'00" 175 7/21/91 Edmonton, AB, CAN) (GP 9 G 0 A 0 Pts 0 00 PIMs)
61 Teal Burns (F 5'11" 190 10/10/92 Victoria, BC, CAN) (GP 44 G 17 A 27 Pts 44 72 PIMs)


Prince George Spruce Kings

4 Reid Blinkhorn (D 5'11" 170 12/23/91 Winfield, BC, CAN) (GP 2 G 1 A 0 Pts 1 02 PIMs)
5 Justin Fillion (D 5'11" 175 4/23/90 Prince George, BC, CAN) (GP 48 G 6 A 32 Pts 38 68 PIMs)
7 Jesse Scrimbit (D 6'01" 180 12/19/90 Sicamous, BC, CAN) (GP 43 G 0 A 5 Pts 5 33 PIMs)
8 Jonathan Gibson (D 6'01" 205 2/01/90 Prince George, BC, CAN) (GP 44 G 5 A 5 Pts 10 45 PIMs)
9 Nick DeSousa (F 6'00" 180 11/13/90 Fraser Lake, BC, CAN) (GP 44 G 20 A 14 Pts 34 27 PIMs)
10 Brad Bourke (D 6'01" 175 4/21/89 Onoway, AB, CAN) (GP 44 G 7 A 22 Pts 29 49 PIMs)
11 Kyle Manlow (F 5'10" 165 6/28/91 Murrieta, CA, USA) (GP 46 G 5 A 3 Pts 8 19 PIMs)
14 Lyndon Martell (F 6'01" 190 1/13/93 Prince George, BC, CAN) (GP 32 G 12 A 13 Pts 25 10 PIMs)
15 Luke Hannas (F 6'02" 185 9/09/91 Williams Lake, BC, CAN) (GP 42 G 2 A 6 Pts 8 105 PIMs)
16 Jeff Earnest (F 5'10" 175 2/08/91 Anchorage, AK, USA) (GP 40 G 9 A 11 Pts 20 58 PIMs)
18 Riley Spraggs (F 5'09" 175 11/23/91 Coldstream, BC, CAN) (GP 0 G 0 A 0 Pts 0 00 PIMs)
19 Joe Morgan (F 5'08" 180 4/07/89 Kitimat, BC, CAN) (GP 36 G 10 A 22 Pts 32 24 PIMs)
20 Jeff Datoff (D 5'10" 160 5/26/92 Nanaimo, BC, CAN) (GP 33 G 0 A 3 Pts 3 13 PIMs)
21 Stewart Lambert (F 6'00" 175 4/05/90 Prince George, BC, CAN) (GP 26 G 2 A 1 Pts 3 09 PIMs)
22 Jeremy Wiebe (F 6'00" 180 7/20/91 Vernon, BC, CAN) (GP 41 G 1 A 1 Pts 2 94 PIMs)
23 RJay Berra (F 6'00" 180 7/26/90 Prince George, BC, CAN) (GP 48 G 11 A 13 Pts 24 13 PIMs)
24 Jordan Bledsoe (F 5'09" 165 11/20/91 Costa Mesa, CA, USA) (GP 0 G 0 A 0 Pts 0 00 PIMs)
25 Zac Rasmussen (F 5'09" 178 5/08/89 Kamloops, BC, CAN) (GP 44 G 16 A 23 Pts 39 94 PIMs)
26 Sam Muchalla (F 5'08" 150 8/14/90 Prince George, BC, CAN) (GP 46 G 25 A 38 Pts 63 54 PIMs)
30 Andrew Walsh (G 6'02" 185 12/15/90 Dawson Creek, BC, CAN) (GP 32 G 0 A 0 Pts 0 24 PIMs)
35 Kyle Nielsen (G 5'10" 170 7/21/90 New Westminster, BC, CAN) (GP 19 G 0 A 0 Pts 0 00 PIMs)

Game 48 - vs Merritt Centennials

Pregame ...

"You have to beat those teams you're chasing whenever you get a chance to play them."

Pretty simple advice heading into tonight's game against the Merritt Centennials. The pivotal four point game looms for the Prince George Spruce Kings as they prepare to do battle against an Interior Division rival that is still very much in their sights when it comes to a playoff spot this post season. For the most part the Spruce Kings have been doing everything they can to get to a playoff spot, but it seems every time the dust settles they find themselves having taken another step backward. Last night was no exception after jumping out to an early 2-0 lead in the first period against the Penticton Vees.

Joe Morgan and Luke Hannas (his first of the season) tallied on both halves of a double minor to Vees defenceman Matt Paltridge but could not hold off the number two team in the Interior Conference. It was Denver Manderson, the league's goal scoring machine, that would eventually do in the Spruce Kings with a four point night (3 goals and 1 assist) including a pair of power play tallies. The six goals that did get through for the Penticton Vees weren't indicative of the play of Andrew Walsh who made his sixth consecutive start in goal for Prince George.

After the Spruce Kings jumped out to that 2-0 lead, the Vees started peppering shots at Walsh who turned aside 14 of 15 he faced in the opening period to give his team the lead in the dressing room. The second period saw more of the same from the Vees who built up a 4-2 lead after forty minutes of play. In the third the Spruce Kings got to within one off an offensive zone faceoff won by Zac Rasmussen back to Lyndon Martell who fired a laser beam into the top shelf beating Sean Bonar high above the glove. But it was Manderson that would stem the tide scoring his 36th and 37th of the season to hand the Spruce Kings their 6-3 loss.

In tonight's game, Prince George will have to build off of the positives seen in Friday's game including a solid performance from Brad Bourke on the blue line along with Justin Fillion and the AP Reid Blinkhorn. Playing defence with the Revelstoke Grizzlies of the KIJHL, Blinkhorn has 6 goals and 13 assists in 41 games. Zac Rasmussen played with his edge last night and caused a few turnovers in the offensive zone including a couple while killing penalties. Lyndon Martell picked up his 11th of the season from the high slot that was labelled for the top corner glove side. Joe Morgan opened the scoring in his first game back after missing three games and Sam Muchalla was flying although there was a reason for concern in the late stages of the first period when the speedy forward was hit into the back wall and struggled to get off the ice. Leaving straight for the dressing room, Muchalla did return for the second and played the remainder of the game.

The last time these two teams met was on December 20th in the Nicola Valley Arena in a game that saw three lead changes ending in a 6-4 victory for the Merritt Centennials. Dustin Johnson of the Cents had a career night scoring four goals but has been quiet since with only three goals in his last nine games. Still leading the Centennials scoring race, Johnson has to be considered a threat along with Derek Hills and Colton Sobchak; the trio has combined for over 120 points so far this season. Jordan Soquila who also has 40 points for Merritt, is scratched and will not be in the lineup due to an injury.

The Spruce Kings appear to be healthy and will have a full roster tonight with the addition of two APs. Max Mois, who played in both games last weekend against the Quesnel Millionaires makes his return to the lineup playing up front and Reid Blinkhorn will get his second game in a Spruce Kings jersey playing on the blue line.

Game time tonight is 7:00pm and will recognize Crime Stoppers month in Prince George with members of the Prince George Crime Stoppers in attendance. The pregame show and play-by-play can be heard on 93.1 CFIS-FM beginning at 6:40 and can also be heard online from the Spruce Kings website. Following the game, the Spruce Kings will prepare for their longest road trip of the year as they head out for a four game swing through Vancouver Island with stops in Nanaimo (Jan 27), Cowichan Valley (Jan 29), Alberni Valley (Jan 30) and Victoria (Jan 31).


Rosters ...

Merritt Centennials

1 Keith Hamilton (G 6'00" 175 3/01/92 Kelowna, BC, CAN) (GP 23 G 0 A 1 Pts 1 00 PIMs)
2 Matt Mazzarolo (D 6'03" 200 2/05/90 Surrey, BC, CAN) (GP 47 G 4 A 10 Pts 14 86 PIMs)
3 Jeff Zmurchyk (D 6'00" 175 1/06/90 Fernie, BC, CAN) (GP 43 G 4 A 13 Pts 17 23 PIMs)
4 Steve Tresierra (D 5'11" 180 4/17/90 Golden, BC, CAN) (GP 48 G 4 A 17 Pts 21 52 PIMs)
6 Austin Baecker (D 6'06 220 4/17/92 Kelowna, BC, CAN) (GP 23 G 0 A 2 Pts 2 27 PIMs)
7 Derek Hills (D 6'02" 205 12/05/90 Campbell River, BC, CAN) (GP 47 G 16 A 25 Pts 41 51 PIMs)
8 Ryne Bodger (D 6'00" 180 11/02/89 Duncan, BC, CAN) (GP 27 G 4 A 9 Pts 13 15 PIMs)
9 Colton Sobchak (F 5'10" 175 5/11/90 Kelowna, BC, CAN) (GP 43 G 13 A 27 Pts 40 43 PIMs)
11 Jeff Jones (F 5'09" 175 12/29/91 Revelstoke, BC, CAN) (GP 48 G 15 A 16 Pts 31 13 PIMs)
12 Jordan Soquila (F 6'00" 194 10/14/89 Maple Ridge, BC, CAN) (GP 46 G 15 A 25 Pts 40 40 PIMs)
14 Dustin Johnson (F 6'01" 190 4/05/90 Penticton, BC, CAN) (GP 40 G 27 A 19 Pts 46 72 PIMs)
15 Daniel Chang (F 5'11" 180 5/19/91 Woodland Hills, CA, USA) (GP 39 G 3 A 7 Pts 10 22 PIMs)
16 Alex Valenti (F 5'11" 185 8/29/89 St. Louis, MI, USA) (GP 31 G 11 A 12 Pts 23 22 PIMs)
17 David Sabey (F 6'03" 205 1/01/91 Kelowna, BC, CAN) (GP 46 G 7 A 11 Pts 18 39 PIMs)
19 Lucas Daoust (F 5'11" 190 2/01/89 Kamloops, BC, CAN) (GP 4 G 1 A 0 Pts 1 02 PIMs)
21 Sam Gemmell (F 5'09" 172 1/21/90 Alamo, CA, USA) (GP 6 G 1 A 2 Pts 3 00 PIMs)
22 Stephen Wall (F 6'01" 190 5/31/91 St. Albert, AB, CAN) (GP 43 G 6 A 10 Pts 16 25 PIMs)
24 Mitch Jones (D 6'02" 185 12/12/91 Delta, BC, CAN) (GP 45 G 5 A 19 Pts 24 66 PIMs)
26 Silvan Harper (F 5'10" 185 3/25/92 Coquitlam, BC, CAN) (GP 47 G 6 A 6 Pts 12 77 PIMs)
27 Alexander MacMillan (F 6'03" 200 3/29/90 Calgary, AB, CAN) (GP 32 G 8 A 9 Pts 17 23 PIMs)
28 Kameran Crawford (D 6'01" 190 12/03/91 Penticton, BC, CAN) (GP 30 G 0 A 5 Pts 5 36 PIMs)
35 Cole Holowenko (G 6'02" 190 1/05/93 Penticton, BC, CAN) (GP 25 G 0 A 0 Pts 0 00 PIMs)


Prince George Spruce Kings

4 Reid Blinkhorn (D 5'11" 170 12/23/91 Winfield, BC, CAN) (GP 1 G 0 A 0 Pts 0 02 PIMs)
5 Justin Fillion (D 5'11" 175 4/23/90 Prince George, BC, CAN) (GP 47 G 6 A 28 Pts 34 68 PIMs)
7 Jesse Scrimbit (D 6'01" 180 12/19/90 Sicamous, BC, CAN) (GP 42 G 0 A 4 Pts 4 33 PIMs)
8 Jonathan Gibson (D 6'01" 205 2/01/90 Prince George, BC, CAN) (GP 43 G 4 A 5 Pts 9 45 PIMs)
9 Nick DeSousa (F 6'00" 180 11/13/90 Fraser Lake, BC, CAN) (GP 43 G 20 A 12 Pts 32 27 PIMs)
10 Brad Bourke (D 6'01" 175 4/21/89 Onoway, AB, CAN) (GP 43 G 6 A 19 Pts 25 47 PIMs)
11 Kyle Manlow (F 5'10" 165 6/28/91 Murrieta, CA, USA) (GP 45 G 5 A 2 Pts 7 19 PIMs)
12 Max Mois (F 5'11" 165 1/27/93 Prince George, BC, CAN) (GP 2 G 0 A 0 Pts 0 00 PIMs)
14 Lyndon Martell (F 6'01" 190 1/13/93 Prince George, BC, CAN) (GP 31 G 11 A 13 Pts 24 10 PIMs)
15 Luke Hannas (F 6'02" 185 9/09/91 Williams Lake, BC, CAN) (GP 41 G 1 A 5 Pts 6 103 PIMs)
16 Jeff Earnest (F 5'10" 175 2/08/91 Anchorage, AK, USA) (GP 39 G 8 A 11 Pts 19 53 PIMs)
19 Joe Morgan (F 5'08" 180 4/07/89 Kitimat, BC, CAN) (GP 35 G 9 A 22 Pts 31 24 PIMs)
20 Jeff Datoff (D 5'10" 160 5/26/92 Nanaimo, BC, CAN) (GP 32 G 0 A 2 Pts 2 13 PIMs)
21 Stewart Lambert (F 6'00" 175 4/05/90 Prince George, BC, CAN) (GP 25 G 2 A 1 Pts 3 09 PIMs)
22 Jeremy Wiebe (F 6'00" 180 7/20/91 Vernon, BC, CAN) (GP 40 G 1 A 1 Pts 2 89 PIMs)
23 RJay Berra (F 6'00" 180 7/26/90 Prince George, BC, CAN) (GP 47 G 10 A 11 Pts 21 13 PIMs)
25 Zac Rasmussen (F 5'09" 178 5/08/89 Kamloops, BC, CAN) (GP 43 G 15 A 21 Pts 36 94 PIMs)
26 Sam Muchalla (F 5'08" 150 8/14/90 Prince George, BC, CAN) (GP 45 G 23 A 36 Pts 59 54 PIMs)
30 Andrew Walsh (G 6'02" 185 12/15/90 Dawson Creek, BC, CAN) (GP 32 G 0 A 0 Pts 0 24 PIMs)
35 Kyle Nielsen (G 5'10" 170 7/21/90 New Westminster, BC, CAN) (GP 18 G 0 A 0 Pts 0 00 PIMs)

Game 47 - vs Penticton Vees

Rosters ...

Penticton Vees

1 Sean Bonar (G 6'01" 170 2/12/91 Delta, BC, CAN) (GP 28 G 0 A 0 Pts 0 02 PIMs)
6 Derik Johnson (D 5'11" 180 2/01/90 Scottsdale, AZ, USA) (GP 44 G 1 A 9 Pts 10 64 PIMs)
7 Byron Sorensen (D 5'10" 170 1/25/91 Kyle, BC, CAN) (GP 43 G 1 A 6 Pts 7 06 PIMs)
8 Bo Dolan (D 5'11" 185 3/26/90 St. Paul, MN, USA) (GP 25 G 6 A 9 Pts 15 28 PIMs)
9 Ryan Viselli (F 5'10" 175 4/19/89 Windsor, ON, CAN) (GP 40 G 9 A 17 Pts 26 41 PIMs)
10 Eric Filiou (F 5'11" 178 10/05/89 Vaudreuil, PQ, CAN) (GP 39 G 10 A 13 Pts 23 34 PIMs)
11 Denver Manderson (F 5'10" 175 4/22/89 Fergus, ON, CAN) (GP 46 G 34 A 68 Pts 102 16 PIMs)
14 Alex Szczechura (F 5'09" 175 5/01/90 Brantford, ON, CAN) (GP 44 G 23 A 28 Pts 51 21 PIMs)
15 Stefan Nicholishen (F 6'02" 215 4/30/93 Tottenham, ON, CAN) (GP 41 G 2 A 4 Pts 6 10 PIMs)
17 Joey Laleggia (D 5'10" 170 6/24/92 Burnaby, BC, CAN) (GP 40 G 7 A 35 Pts 42 17 PIMs)
18 Isaac MacLeod (D 6'04" 205 2/22/92 Nelson, BC, CAN) (GP 42 G 1 A 19 Pts 20 35 PIMs)
19 Joey Holka (F 6'03" 182 6/05/90 Phoenix, AZ, USA) (GP 46 G 22 A 14 Pts 36 66 PIMs)
21 Logan Johnston (F 6'00" 200 6/28/91 Penticton, BC, CAN) (GP 46 G 12 A 14 Pts 26 87 PIMs)
22 Garrett Milan (F 5'08" 150 4/05/91 Vancouver, BC, CAN) (GP 43 G 23 A 19 Pts 42 09 PIMs)
23 Ben Sexton (F 6'00" 193 6/06/91 Kanata, ON, CAN) (GP 36 G 6 A 20 Pts 26 62 PIMs)
26 Hayden Trupp (F 5'07" 152 6/08/92 Penticton, BC, CAN) (GP 23 G 1 A 2 Pts 3 08 PIMs)
27 Jake Johnson (F 5'08" 160 6/27/89 Duluth, MN, USA) (GP 34 G 7 A 13 Pts 20 12 PIMs)
28 Andrew Pickering (F 5'10" 175 6/02/89 West Vancouver, BC, CAN) (GP 44 G 11 A 25 Pts 36 49 PIMs)
33 Joel Rumpel (G 6'03" 175 3/14/91 Swift Current, SK, CAN) (GP 20 G 0 A 0 Pts 0 00 PIMs)
43 Luke Curadi (D 6'05" 255 5/14/91 Cheshire, NY, USA) (GP 44 G 5 A 8 Pts 13 82 PIMs)
44 Matt Paltridge (D 5'11" 165 8/11/89 Tecumseh, ON, CAN) (GP 46 G 10 A 17 Pts 27 34 PIMs)
78 Beau Bennett (F 6'01" 180 11/27/91 Gardena, ON, CAN) (GP 42 G 29 A 53 Pts 82 12 PIMs)


Prince George Spruce Kings

3 Jordan Duncan (F 5'09" 180 1/28/92 Prince George, BC, CAN) (GP 1 G 0 A 0 Pts 0 00 PIMs)
4 Reid Blinkhorn (D 5'11" 170 12/23/91 Winfield, BC, CAN) (GP 0 G 0 A 0 Pts 0 00 PIMs)
5 Justin Fillion (D 5'11" 175 4/23/90 Prince George, BC, CAN) (GP 46 G 6 A 28 Pts 34 64 PIMs)
7 Jesse Scrimbit (D 6'01" 180 12/19/90 Sicamous, BC, CAN) (GP 41 G 0 A 4 Pts 4 31 PIMs)
8 Jonathan Gibson (D 6'01" 205 2/01/90 Prince George, BC, CAN) (GP 42 G 4 A 5 Pts 9 45 PIMs)
9 Nick DeSousa (F 6'00" 180 11/13/90 Fraser Lake, BC, CAN) (GP 42 G 20 A 12 Pts 32 25 PIMs)
10 Brad Bourke (D 6'01" 175 4/21/89 Onoway, AB, CAN) (GP 42 G 6 A 18 Pts 24 47 PIMs)
11 Kyle Manlow (F 5'10" 165 6/28/91 Murrieta, CA, USA) (GP 44 G 5 A 2 Pts 7 19 PIMs)
12 Tyson McCallum (F 6'04" 170 6/21/93 Prince George, BC, CAN) (GP 0 G 0 A 0 Pts 0 00 PIMs)
14 Lyndon Martell (F 6'01" 190 1/13/93 Prince George, BC, CAN) (GP 30 G 10 A 13 Pts 23 10 PIMs)
15 Luke Hannas (F 6'02" 185 9/09/91 Williams Lake, BC, CAN) (GP 40 G 0 A 5 Pts 5 103 PIMs)
16 Jeff Earnest (F 5'10" 175 2/08/91 Anchorage, AK, USA) (GP 38 G 8 A 10 Pts 18 53 PIMs)
19 Joe Morgan (F 5'08" 180 4/07/89 Kitimat, BC, CAN) (GP 34 G 8 A 22 Pts 30 22 PIMs)
20 Jeff Datoff (D 5'10" 160 5/26/92 Nanaimo, BC, CAN) (GP 31 G 0 A 2 Pts 2 13 PIMs)
21 Stewart Lambert (F 6'00" 175 4/05/90 Prince George, BC, CAN) (GP 24 G 2 A 1 Pts 3 09 PIMs)
22 Jeremy Wiebe (F 6'00" 180 7/20/91 Vernon, BC, CAN) (GP 40 G 1 A 1 Pts 2 89 PIMs)
23 RJay Berra (F 6'00" 180 7/26/90 Prince George, BC, CAN) (GP 46 G 10 A 11 Pts 21 13 PIMs)
25 Zac Rasmussen (F 5'09" 178 5/08/89 Kamloops, BC, CAN) (GP 42 G 15 A 20 Pts 35 94 PIMs)
26 Sam Muchalla (F 5'08" 150 8/14/90 Prince George, BC, CAN) (GP 44 G 23 A 34 Pts 57 54 PIMs)
30 Andrew Walsh (G 6'02" 185 12/15/90 Dawson Creek, BC, CAN) (GP 31 G 0 A 0 Pts 0 22 PIMs)
35 Kyle Nielsen (G 5'10" 170 7/21/90 New Westminster, BC, CAN) (GP 18 G 0 A 0 Pts 0 00 PIMs)

Game 46 - vs Quesnel Millionaires

Well if you want a story line or two ... you have them with tonight's game. For the tenth time this season the Spruce Kings will faceoff against the Quesnel Millionaires as the CNC Challenge Cup series will come to an end with what really comes down to a winner-takes-all nail-biter. With the 6-4 win last night in Quesnel, the Spruce Kings have a slim 10-9 lead over the Millionaires for points towards the CNC Challenge Cup.

The other story line comes as a result of some late game antics in last night's game played in the Vault in Quesnel. After Zac Rasmussen added an insurance marker with just over five minutes remaining in the third and the Spruce Kings held the Millionaires without anymore really scoring chances, the first signs of frustration starting coming through.

After scoring two goals for the Millionaires, Joshua Desmarais was noticeably fiesty and after jawing with Rasmussen, took some frustrations out with a two-handed slash on the back of Stewart Lambert's legs. Luke Hannas held Desmarais accountable for his actions and the two dropped the gloves in a spirited tilt that saw Desmarais go down hard to the ice. With the Millionaires already shorthanded, the slashing penalty gave Prince George a two man advantage with less than twenty seconds remaining in the game.

Off the next faceoff, Mitch Galbraith went to straight out to the right point to challenge Justin Fillion while the puck was deep in the right corner. Fillion chose not to engage Galbraith and instead tried to duck out of the way with the bigger Galbraith still trying to get to him. Brad Bourke then came in and engaged Galbraith followed by Rylan Stanyer of Quesnel and Kyle Manlow of PG while Stewart Lambert had his hands full with Anderson White. Justin Fillion and Max Mois were left on the ice to survey the situation.

The referee allowed time to expiry giving the Spruce Kings their 6-4 victory, but the game was far from over as the penalties had to be sorted out. After the dust settled there was an instigator penalty to Galbraith, a high sticking call to Stanyer and fighting majors to those on the ice as well as game misconducts. After reviewing the game tape, the league executive handed down their punishments suspending a total of six players for tonight's rematch. Gone for Prince George is Brad Bourke, Kyle Manlow and Stewart Lambert while the Millionaires will be without Mitch Galbraith, Rylan Stanyer and Anderson White.

All that aside, this will be an interesting game as the Spruce Kings already have two APs in the lineup with Max Mois and Jordan Cool. The two youngters looked good last night and Cool actually scored the game winning goal in the second period as a result of a nice three-way passing play with Nick DeSousa feeding RJay Berra on the right side and Berra spotting and finding Cool on the left wing. Cool saw the opening and buried his first in the BCHL at 9:37 of the second.

The win brought the Spruce Kings to within four points of the Quesnel Millionaires and fifth place in the Interior Conference and more importantly injected the team with some much needed confidence that should be on full display tonight in the Coliseum. Game time tonight is 7:00 in the Prince George Coliseum, the first game in a month for home town fans. Those unable to attend the game can still catch all the action on 93.1 CFIS-FM and online from the Spruce Kings website. Following the game, the CNC Challenge Cup will be presented to the winner of the CNC Challenge Cup series.

Rosters ...

Quesnel Millionaires

3 Anderson White (D 6'04" 205 8/16/91 Caledon, ON, CAN) (GP 21 G 0 A 1 Pts 1 18 PIMs)
4 Jacob Verheyden (F 5'10" 186 1/11/89 Vancouver, BC, CAN) (GP 15 G 7 A 8 Pts 15 17 PIMs)
5 Sam Higgins (D 5'10" 165 3/23/90 Calgary, AB, CAN) (GP 40 G 3 A 20 Pts 23 33 PIMs)
6 Spencer Graboski (F 6'02" 170 1/06/93 Quesnel, BC, CAN) (GP 36 G 7 A 7 Pts 14 08 PIMs)
8 Tyson Price (F 5'11" 178 8/18/91 Slave Lake, BC, CAN) (GP 26 G 1 A 3 Pts 4 18 PIMs)
9 Marley Keca (D 6'00" 170 3/08/93 Kelowna, BC, CAN) (GP 5 G 0 A 1 Pts 1 06 PIMs)
14 Skyler Smutek (D 6'00" 175 5/07/90 Seattle, WA, USA) (GP 43 G 8 A 17 Pts 25 90 PIMs)
16 Trevor Hertz (F 6'00" 189 10/11/89 Jaffray, BC, CAN) (GP 44 G 27 A 26 Pts 53 17 PIMs)
17 Taylor Holst (F 6'01" 185 4/24/89 Kelowna, BC, CAN) (GP 44 G 22 A 24 Pts 46 80 PIMs)
18 Joshua Desmarais (F 6'00" 250 1/15/89 St. Laurent, PQ, CAN) (GP 12 G 12 A 8 Pts 20 34 PIMs)
19 Justin Hogan (F 5'11" 185 8/28/90 Val Therese, PQ, CAN) (GP 40 G 9 A 21 Pts 30 57 PIMs)
20 Darick Ste-Marie (F 5'11" 195 9/19/89 St-Bruno, PQ, CAN) (GP 44 G 11 A 24 Pts 35 33 PIMs)
21 Tyler French (F 5'07" 165 9/15/90 Westside, BC, CAN) (GP 38 G 8 A 13 Pts 21 21 PIMs)
22 Mitch Galbraith (F 6'02" 183 4/21/90 Quesnel, BC, CAN) (GP 30 G 5 A 3 Pts 8 41 PIMs)
24 Brandon Watson (F 5'11" 173 2/24/92 Keremeos, BC, CAN) (GP 29 G 1 A 2 Pts 3 43 PIMs)
25 Rylan Stanyer (D 6'02" 210 4/19/90 Burns Lake, BC, CAN) (GP 21 G 0 A 4 Pts 4 29 PIMs)
26 Chris Kerr (F 6'00" 175 10/22/92 Penticton, BC, CAN) (GP 38 G 3 A 2 Pts 5 14 PIMs)
27 Eliot Raibl (D 5'11" 184 3/28/89 Vancouver, BC, CAN) (GP 44 G 5 A 27 Pts 32 57 PIMs)
28 Tyler Billon (D 6'02" 190 7/18/92 Chilliwack, BC, CAN) (GP 31 G 0 A 4 Pts 4 16 PIMs)
29 Clayton Chessa (F 5'10" 185 4/22/91 Surrey, BC, CAN) (GP 31 G 2 A 10 Pts 12 32 PIMs)
31 Kirby Halcrow (G 6'02" 218 3/13/91 Grande Prairie, AB, CAN) (GP 32 G 0 A 3 Pts 3 08 PIMs)
35 Luke Siemens (G 5'11" 165 11/06/92 Delta, BC, CAN) (GP 17 G 0 A 0 Pts 0 00 PIMs)


Prince George Spruce Kings

5 Justin Fillion (D 5'11" 175 4/23/90 Prince George, BC, CAN) (GP 45 G 6 A 28 Pts 34 64 PIMs)
7 Jesse Scrimbit (D 6'01" 180 12/19/90 Sicamous, BC, CAN) (GP 40 G 0 A 4 Pts 4 31 PIMs)
8 Jonathan Gibson (D 6'01" 205 2/01/90 Prince George, BC, CAN) (GP 41 G 4 A 5 Pts 9 43 PIMs)
9 Nick DeSousa (F 6'00" 180 11/13/90 Fraser Lake, BC, CAN) (GP 41 G 20 A 12 Pts 32 22 PIMs)
10 Brad Bourke (D 6'01" 175 4/21/89 Onoway, AB, CAN) (GP 42 G 6 A 18 Pts 24 47 PIMs)
11 Kyle Manlow (F 5'10" 165 6/28/91 Murrieta, CA, USA) (GP 44 G 5 A 2 Pts 7 19 PIMs)
12 Max Mois (F 5'11" 165 1/27/93 Prince George, BC, CAN) (GP 1 G 0 A 0 Pts 0 00 PIMs)
14 Lyndon Martell (F 6'01" 190 1/13/93 Prince George, BC, CAN) (GP 29 G 9 A 12 Pts 21 10 PIMs)
15 Luke Hannas (F 6'02" 185 9/09/91 Williams Lake, BC, CAN) (GP 39 G 0 A 5 Pts 5 103 PIMs)
16 Jeff Earnest (F 5'10" 175 2/08/91 Anchorage, AK, USA) (GP 37 G 8 A 9 Pts 17 53 PIMs)
17 Jordie Cool (F 5'10" 165 4/16/92 Tumbler Ridge, BC, CAN) (GP 1 G 1 A 0 Pts 1 00 PIMs)
19 Joe Morgan (F 5'08" 180 4/07/89 Kitimat, BC, CAN) (GP 34 G 8 A 22 Pts 30 22 PIMs)
20 Jeff Datoff (D 5'10" 160 5/26/92 Nanaimo, BC, CAN) (GP 30 G 0 A 1 Pts 1 07 PIMs)
21 Stewart Lambert (F 6'00" 175 4/05/90 Prince George, BC, CAN) (GP 24 G 2 A 1 Pts 3 09 PIMs)
22 Jeremy Wiebe (F 6'00" 180 7/20/91 Vernon, BC, CAN) (GP 39 G 1 A 1 Pts 2 87 PIMs)
23 RJay Berra (F 6'00" 180 7/26/90 Prince George, BC, CAN) (GP 45 G 10 A 11 Pts 21 13 PIMs)
25 Zac Rasmussen (F 5'09" 178 5/08/89 Kamloops, BC, CAN) (GP 41 G 14 A 20 Pts 34 88 PIMs)
26 Sam Muchalla (F 5'08" 150 8/14/90 Prince George, BC, CAN) (GP 43 G 23 A 34 Pts 57 50 PIMs)
30 Andrew Walsh (G 6'02" 185 12/15/90 Dawson Creek, BC, CAN) (GP 30 G 0 A 0 Pts 0 18 PIMs)
35 Kyle Nielsen (G 5'10" 170 7/21/90 New Westminster, BC, CAN) (GP 18 G 0 A 0 Pts 0 00 PIMs)

Game 45 - at Quesnel Millionaires

Pregame Notes ...

The Spruce Kings are one game away from being back on home ice after being away for a month and it is an important game as the royal ones go looking for the elusive two points. It is the first half of a home-and-home series with the Quesnel Millionaires, a team that the Spruce Kings have played eight times already. The two games this weekend marks the end of the regular season series between the two long-time rivals and one team will stand tall as champions of the CNC Challenge Cup.

Through those eight games the two teams have remained fairly evenly matched with each claiming four victories over the other; the Millionaires do have an extra point as a result of an overtime loss. Each team has also won twice in the other's building and twice in their own. Goals for and against are just as close with the Spruce Kings outscoring the Millionaires 30-28. That stat could have been even closer or gone the other way too had it not been for an 11-4 victory for the Spruce Kings back on November 21st. The last time these two teams met was on Coliseum ice on December 15th in a game that saw the Millionaires come from behind to take away two points and the series lead.

It's hard to say just how much those games will linger in the memories of the players as the teams have undergone some roster changes since they last saw each other. Most notable roster change for the Quesnel Millionaires is the abscence of Catlin Bigsnake who was cut from the team. The Millionaires also added a couple of players from the Williams Lake Timberwolves in Justin Hogan and Darren Tarasoff. Of course for Prince George there are five players missing as a result of trade deals made at the trading deadline. Gone are Wes McLeod, Brooks Robinson, Marcus Watson, Josh Pineiro and Steve Papciak. The Spruce Kings roster tonight will see three new names that weren`t there a month ago with goaltender Andrew Walsh acquired from the Langley Chiefs on January 4th and a pair of affiliate players in Max Mois and Jordan Cool.

With the departure of the five players on January 10th, the Spruce Kings roster was also cut down to 18 players leaving two holes that will need to be filled with APs for the remainder of the season. Talking with the hockey operations staff, this is an excellent opportunity for prospects of the team to come in a play a few games. Getting an opportunity to play in the BCHL and experience hockey game at the Junior 'A' is an important in the development of all players and the long term success of a team; Cool and Mois will get that chance this weekend. Jordan Cool plays for the Chase Chiefs of the KIJHL and was just named the player of the week after netting two goals in two games. Cool is third among goal scorers and fourth for points. Mois has only been in Prince George for a month and has played four games at the AAA level after coming over from Germany where he was playing hockey for the Rosehiem Starbulls of the DNL.

Sixteen games remain in the regular season for the Spruce Kings and, with four teams (five with the Williams Lake schedule taken into consideration) for the bottom three playoff spots, every game against those teams has the ability to shift the balance of power and change the standings. It all starts with these next two games against the Quesnel Millionaires and a chance to move to within two points of that team and hold onto the CNC Challenge Cup for seventh consecutive year. Game time tonight is 7:30 with the game broadcast on 93.1 CFIS-FM and online from the Spruce Kings website beginning with a pregame show at 7:10pm. As well as the play-by-play of the game, Ron Gallo will be talking with both AP's, Brad Bourke and the coaches before the game.


Rosters ...

Quesnel Millionaires

3 Anderson White (D 6'04" 205 8/16/91 Caledon, ON, CAN) (GP 20 G 0 A 1 Pts 1 11 PIMs)
4 Darren Tarasoff (D 6'01" 195 3/10/90 Castlegar, BC, CAN) (GP 36 G 3 A 8 Pts 11 33 PIMs)
4 Jacob Verheyden (F 5'10" 186 1/11/89 Vancouver, BC, CAN) (GP 14 G 6 A 8 Pts 14 17 PIMs)
5 Sam Higgins (D 5'10" 165 3/23/90 Calgary, AB, CAN) (GP 39 G 3 A 18 Pts 21 33 PIMs)
6 Spencer Graboski (F 6'02" 170 1/06/93 Quesnel, BC, CAN) (GP 35 G 7 A 7 Pts 14 08 PIMs)
8 Tyson Price (F 5'11" 178 8/18/91 Slave Lake, BC, CAN) (GP 26 G 1 A 3 Pts 4 18 PIMs)
9 Marley Keca (D 6'00" 170 3/08/93 Kelowna, BC, CAN) (GP 4 G 0 A 1 Pts 1 06 PIMs)
14 Skyler Smutek (D 6'00" 175 5/07/90 Seattle, WA, USA) (GP 42 G 6 A 17 Pts 23 90 PIMs)
16 Trevor Hertz (F 6'00" 189 10/11/89 Jaffray, BC, CAN) (GP 43 G 27 A 25 Pts 52 17 PIMs)
17 Taylor Holst (F 6'01" 185 4/24/89 Kelowna, BC, CAN) (GP 43 G 22 A 24 Pts 46 78 PIMs)
18 Joshua Desmarais (F 6'00" 250 1/15/89 St. Laurent, PQ, CAN) (GP 11 G 10 A 6 Pts 16 23 PIMs)
19 Justin Hogan (F 5'11" 185 8/28/90 Val Therese, PQ, CAN) (GP 39 G 9 A 21 Pts 30 57 PIMs)
20 Darick Ste-Marie (F 5'11" 195 9/19/89 St-Bruno, PQ, CAN) (GP 43 G 11 A 22 Pts 33 31 PIMs)
21 Tyler French (F 5'07" 165 9/15/90 Westside, BC, CAN) (GP 37 G 8 A 13 Pts 21 19 PIMs)
22 Mitch Galbraith (F 6'02" 183 4/21/90 Quesnel, BC, CAN) (GP 29 G 5 A 3 Pts 8 34 PIMs)
24 Brandon Watson (F 5'11" 173 2/24/92 Keremeos, BC, CAN) (GP 28 G 1 A 2 Pts 3 43 PIMs)
25 Rylan Stanyer (D 6'02" 210 4/19/90 Burns Lake, BC, CAN) (GP 20 G 0 A 4 Pts 4 24 PIMs)
26 Chris Kerr (F 6'00" 175 10/22/92 Penticton, BC, CAN) (GP 37 G 3 A 2 Pts 5 14 PIMs)
27 Eliot Raibl (D 5'11" 184 3/28/89 Vancouver, BC, CAN) (GP 43 G 5 A 26 Pts 31 57 PIMs)
28 Tyler Billon (D 6'02" 190 7/18/92 Chilliwack, BC, CAN) (GP 31 G 0 A 4 Pts 4 16 PIMs)
29 Clayton Chessa (F 5'10" 185 4/22/91 Surrey, BC, CAN) (GP 30 G 2 A 10 Pts 12 32 PIMs)
31 Kirby Halcrow (G 6'02" 218 3/13/91 Grande Prairie, AB, CAN) (GP 31 G 0 A 3 Pts 3 08 PIMs)
35 Luke Siemens (G 5'11" 165 11/06/92 Delta, BC, CAN) (GP 16 G 0 A 0 Pts 0 00 PIMs)


Prince George Spruce Kings

5 Justin Fillion (D 5'11" 175 4/23/90 Prince George, BC, CAN) (GP 44 G 5 A 27 Pts 32 62 PIMs)
7 Jesse Scrimbit (D 6'01" 180 12/19/90 Sicamous, BC, CAN) (GP 39 G 0 A 4 Pts 4 29 PIMs)
8 Jonathan Gibson (D 6'01" 205 2/01/90 Prince George, BC, CAN) (GP 40 G 4 A 5 Pts 9 41 PIMs)
9 Nick DeSousa (F 6'00" 180 11/13/90 Fraser Lake, BC, CAN) (GP 40 G 19 A 9 Pts 28 22 PIMs)
10 Brad Bourke (D 6'01" 175 4/21/89 Onoway, AB, CAN) (GP 41 G 5 A 17 Pts 22 40 PIMs)
11 Kyle Manlow (F 5'10" 165 6/28/91 Murrieta, CA, USA) (GP 43 G 5 A 2 Pts 7 14 PIMs)
12 Max Mois (F 5'11" 165 1/27/93 Prince George, BC, CAN) (GP 0 G 0 A 0 Pts 0 00 PIMs)
14 Lyndon Martell (F 6'01" 190 1/13/93 Prince George, BC, CAN) (GP 28 G 9 A 12 Pts 21 10 PIMs)
15 Luke Hannas (F 6'02" 185 9/09/91 Williams Lake, BC, CAN) (GP 38 G 0 A 3 Pts 3 98 PIMs)
16 Jeff Earnest (F 5'10" 175 2/08/91 Anchorage, AK, USA) (GP 36 G 8 A 8 Pts 16 53 PIMs)
17 Jordie Cool (F 5'10" 165 4/16/92 Tumbler Ridge, BC, CAN) (GP 0 G 0 A 0 Pts 0 00 PIMs)
19 Joe Morgan (F 5'08" 180 4/07/89 Kitimat, BC, CAN) (GP 34 G 8 A 22 Pts 30 22 PIMs)
20 Jeff Datoff (D 5'10" 160 5/26/92 Nanaimo, BC, CAN) (GP 29 G 0 A 1 Pts 1 07 PIMs)
21 Stewart Lambert (F 6'00" 175 4/05/90 Prince George, BC, CAN) (GP 23 G 1 A 1 Pts 2 04 PIMs)
22 Jeremy Wiebe (F 6'00" 180 7/20/91 Vernon, BC, CAN) (GP 38 G 1 A 1 Pts 2 87 PIMs)
23 RJay Berra (F 6'00" 180 7/26/90 Prince George, BC, CAN) (GP 44 G 10 A 10 Pts 20 13 PIMs)
25 Zac Rasmussen (F 5'09" 178 5/08/89 Kamloops, BC, CAN) (GP 40 G 13 A 20 Pts 33 88 PIMs)
26 Sam Muchalla (F 5'08" 150 8/14/90 Prince George, BC, CAN) (GP 42 G 23 A 32 Pts 55 46 PIMs)
30 Andrew Walsh (G 6'02" 185 12/15/90 Dawson Creek, BC, CAN) (GP 29 G 0 A 0 Pts 0 18 PIMs)
35 Kyle Nielsen (G 5'10" 170 7/21/90 New Westminster, BC, CAN) (GP 18 G 0 A 0 Pts 0 00 PIMs)

CNC Challenge Cup, the Playoff Race and Magic Numbers

It comes down to this weekend to crown a champion in the CNC Challenge Cup Series between the Quesnel Millionaires and the Prince George Spruce Kings. Over the course of the nine year history of the championship between these two long-time rivals, it is the Spruce Kings that have enjoyed the bragging rights seven times including the last six in a row. Seventh heaven hasn't been nearly as easy to secure as the early championships and it could very well come down to the final game and some quick tie-breaking calculations.

This season the CNC Challenge Cup Series is based on the ten regular season matchups between the two teams. Through eight games, the Quesnel Millionaires have a slight 9-8 lead in points awarded through head-to-head wins. The Spruce Kings have a record of 4 wins and 4 losses with one of those wins coming in overtime which gave the Millionaires the one extra point with a record of 4-3-0-1.

The simple scenarios is a pair of regulation time games where four points would be split up. If the Millionaires split a pair of regulation time games, they will hoist the Cup at centre ice in the Coliseum on Saturday night. For Prince George to hold onto their title and extend it to an unprecedented seventh consecutive time, they have to pick up a minimum of one more point than Quesnel.

The scenarios of overtime, including a no-decision tie, could leave both teams with the same amount of points leading to the first tie breaker of goals for and goals against. The Spruce Kings have the edge in that stat heading into the weekend thanks to one game in particular that saw the royal ones break the bank with an 11-4 victory back on November 21st. Hang on though, don't get ahead of yourself as the differential is closer than you might think. The Spruce Kings have scored 30 goals through the eight games while the Millionaires have tallied 28 times.

Should make for an interesting couple of games from a couple of teams that have everything to gain at the other's expense. Of course there is the CNC Challenge Cup itself, but there is also the points in the Interior Conference where four teams are battling for three playoff spots. The Quesnel Millionaires head into the weekend with 17 games remaining sitting in fifth spot with 34 points. The Merritt Centennials have a share of that fifth spot with 34 points, but only have 16 games remaining. The Trail Smoke Eaters are right behind those two with 33 points and a game in hand on the Spruce Kings.

The Quesnel Millionaires and the Prince George Spruce Kings have almost identical schedules to the end of the regular season with both teams still to make the Island road trip as well as host Nanaimo, Victoria and Burnaby. Both teams have a pair of games against the Penticton Vees and a single with the Merritt Centenials. The only difference is that the Millionaires have to play the Westside Warriors, while the Spruce Kings have to go into Vernon still to play the Vipers. The extra game for Quesnel will be against Williams Lake as they still have four games remaining against the Timberwolves while the Spruce Kings only have three.

The Trail Smoke Eaters have arguable the toughest remaining schedule with a total of eight games against the top five Coastal Conference teams including two against each of the top three teams from the other division. The Smokies also have to contend with the Penticton Vees four times before the end of the season as well as a pair of meetings with both the Salmon Arm Silverbacks and the Westside Warriors. There is also a single against the Merritt Centennials that could become the decisive game for a playoff position.

The Merritt Centennials don't have a much easier schedule with the exception of not having any real Coastal Conference road trips remaining. The Centennials will play in Surrey and will host Nanaimo and Cowichan Valley. Where it becomes tough for Merritt is their three game sets against Penticton and Salmon Arm. The Cents also have a pair against Vernon and singles against Westside, Quesnel, Prince George, Williams Lake and that season ending home date with Trail.

It isn't fair to completely rule out the Williams Lake Timberwolves in all of this either as they have the most games remaining at twenty. The T'wolves do have one four game Coastal Conference road trip with two on the island and two in the Lower Mainland. The remaining sixteen games feature three against Coastal teams and four against the upper Interior Conference teams. It's the other nine games that are the most interesting as the Timberwolves could play the role of spoiler or even propel themselves into the hunt for one of the bottom three playoff spots.

It's still too early to be counting magic numbers but if you are wondering, the Spruce Kings magic number against the Quesnel Millionaires is 41. That's any combination of points gained by the Spruce Kings and lost by the Millionaires. It is that magic number that puts so much importance on the games this weekend as the magic number has the potential to change by eight points. The other magic numbers are 40 against Trail, 39 against Merritt and 32 against Williams Lake.

Do You Have Your Ticket?

Yeah I know it isn't a flashy title (not that I've ever been guilty of that anyways), but it really is all that matters as the Spruce Kings Show Home Lottery starts to wind down ... or wind up. After spending so much time with the Show Home Lottery over the months of Novemeber and Decemeber, today was my first real chance to check in on it again. All I can say is wow!

This year there were a total of 7,500 tickets printed for the Show Home Lottery and they went on sale in the middle of October. I remember promoting when it was 20% and 25% and 30% and 40% sold out; then it was how many tickets were left to be purchased. Well that particular number is now under 700 ... that's right, less than 700 tickets are available for purchase as over 6,800 have already been claimed.

Now Prince George is well known for being a last minute city and I'm not positive, but this sure feels like it is getting down to the last ticks of the clock. Looking back over some of my tweets and posts, I have done a rough calculation that the Lottery has been averaging somewhere close to 500 tickets a week. Well another quick calcuation has to suggest that the available tickets could all be gone in less than two weeks.

If you are sitting on the fence or wondering if you should wait just a little bit longer ... let me throw this out to you. Every Sunday for the next five Sundays there will be a draw made in the Show Home Lottery. There are four remaining early bird prizes and then the grand prize of the Show Home itself. The four early bird prizes have a combined total value of $16,412; add in the value of the house ($376,000) and the prize jackpot sits at almost four hundred thousand dollars still to be won.

On Sunday January 17th, the early bird draw is for a $3200 gift card from RONA and the next three Sundays all feature trips from Japatedon Travel & Cruises in Prince George. Sunday January 24th is the Las Vegas Get-Away valued at $2723, January 31st is the the Mexican Riveria Cruise valued at $4696 and February 7th is the Disney Family Vacation valued at $5793.

Those are great prizes in themselves and they all lead up to the grand prize draw on Sunday February 14th of the custom built 1501 square foot home located in the Aberdeen Glen Golf Course subdivision. The house is a modest three bedroom rancher with an inviting warm and friendly feel to it with its open design. It has some rich, deep, dark, yet soft earthy colours and textures. As a rancher, it doesn't have an upstairs but it does have a full basement that is semi-finished waiting for the owner(s) to add their design touches to it.

It is true that six previous early bird prizes have already been awarded, but a chance to get in on the remaining prizes is not something that should be missed out on. The odds of winning the Spruce Kings Show Home are nothing short of exceptional with every ticket having a 1 in 7500 chance of winning the grand prize. Those odds are of course based on a sellout - which I fully expect - the only question is when will it be sold out.

If you are looking for Show Home Lottery tickets, there are a few retailers that can sell them to you such as Spruceland News, the Northern, Evergreen Pharmacy, Hart Drugs and the customer service kiosk in the Pine Centre Mall. Tickets can also be purchased from the Spruce Kings office located in the Prince George Coliseum, the Show Home at 2638 Links Drive and Canadian Tire. All of those locations are only good if you can get there during business hours; but there is a 24 hour option as well. The Show Home Lottery phone line is 250-962-I-WIN (4946) for callers from inside the Prince George area or 1.888,962.4946 from anywhere inside the Province of British Columbia.

The Spruce Kings Show Home Lottery is into it's 28th year and it has been around long enough that it has actually helped to fine tune rules surrounding these types of lotteries for other charitable organizations. I recently was given clarification that the Spruce Kings Show Home Lottery is licensed, monitored, and regulated by the Gaming Policy and Enforcement Branch of the Province of British Columbia who also regulate and monitor BCLC.

BC Gaming Event Licence #18865 ... know your limit, play within it ... must be 19+ to play.


Please click on the image to enlargen it ...

Spruce Kings Looked to the Future at the Trade Deadline

It is never easy at this time of the year with player's playing lives hanging in the balance while the powers that be discuss possible scenarios to make their teams better. Some want to be better right away and find that one piece that can complete the puzzle and compliment their core while others have to look to next season and beyond. For the Spruce Kings, they were the latter but with a condition that they don't want to completely give up on the current season and that was evident by the final moves on trade deadline day.

Widely rumoured to be going, Wes McLeod ended up proving all the arm chair general managers correct, but who would have expected the Spruce Grove Saints to win this lottery. The Saints are leading the Alberta Junior Hockey League and are ranked second in the country with an impressive record of 37 wins, 3 losses, 1 tie and 3 overtime losses for a total of 78 points. Not a shoe-in to win the league championship but well on their way, the Saints are 15 points up on their next closest competitor - the Grande Prairie Storm - with sixteen games remaining in their regular season.

The addition of Wes McLeod gives the Spruce Grove Saints the most NCAA committed players on an Alberta Junior Hockey League roster with five. Perhaps best of all for McLeod, who has only played for the Spruce Kings in his Junior A career, there are two other players committed to his school - the University of Alaska Anchorage. Brett Cameron is another 19 year old that will be moving on in the fall of 2010 with Wes to play for the Seawolves. Scott Allen is also 19 years old but has an option to play one more year of junior before moving up to the college level.

Wes McLeod spent the better part of three seasons with the Spruce Kings and became the centre of attention because of his play and skating style. Selected twice to represent the Prince George Spruce Kings at the BCHL All Star game, McLeod has also played in the CJAHL Prospects Game and represented Team Canada West at the World Junior A Challenge. Wes is a soft spoken and unassuming individual off the ice but a fierce competitor on the ice.

The only other 19 year old player to be moved off the Spruce Kings roster as part of a trade deadline deal saw goaltender Steve Papciak head to the AJHL with the Canmore Eagles. After Alex Wright was acquired by the Prince George Cougars of the WHL, the Spruce Kings struck a deal with the Okotoks Oilers of the AJHL that brought Papciak over the Rockies to play in the BCHL. Papciak played in eight games with the Spruce Kings compiling a record of 4 wins, 2 losses and 1 tie before missing a handful of games due to an injury.

Three twenty year old players were also dealt on this day with Josh Pineiro being the only player to be traded within the BCHL; Brooks Robinson was traded to the Fort McMurray Oil Barons and Marcus Watson to the Grande Prairie Storm. Pineiro was a mid-season acquisition from the Alberni Valley Bulldogs last year and has played in 70 games for the Spruce Kings. During his stay with Prince George, Pineiro scored 9 goals and added 27 assists.

Perhaps his biggest goal was scored in overtime on October 6th to give the Spruce Kings a 2-1 win over the Millionaires. Pineiro's goal celebration saw him slide through centre ice banging on an imaginary drum for members of the Blue Man Group to see. The musical group was so impressed with the game and the goal celebration that they requested a dressing room visit and gave the entire team tickets to their show the following night.

For the second consecutive trade deadline, Brooks Robinson is heading from a royal family in the BCHL to a team in the northern division of the Alberta Junior Hockey League. Last year at this time saw Robinson dealt from the Powell River Kings to Grande Prairie where he eventually helped the Storm win the league championship, this year Robinson will be leaving the Spruce Kings to head farther north in Alberta to play for the Fort McMurray Oil Barons.

Robinson led the Spruce Kings with points from the beginning of the season, finishing with 18 goals and 40 assists. His 58 points was good enough to put him in the top ten among the league leaders tied for ninth spot with Mark McMillian of the Alberni Valley Bulldogs. Robinson's gift was in the faceoff circle and finding the open man as evident by the number of assists he tallied over 44 games. The forty helpers he tallied with the Prince George Spruce Kings is fifth among the league leaders this season.

Marcus Watson was the only other player traded before the trade deadline going to the Grande Prairie Storm. Watson only played in eleven games with the Spruce Kings, but in that short time managed to average better than a point a game finishing with 3 goals and 11 assists. Watson was no stranger to Prince George having played here with the Cougars before being sent to the Langley Chiefs.

In his final game with the Spruce Kings, Watson was able to play against his former team. Although he recieved a warm welcome on the video screen, the same couldn't be said about the reception he recieved from his former teammates. On one rush around the Chiefs net, Watson was caught with a clean hip check that put the speedy forward horizontal to the ice surface level with the dasher. The check was hard enough to dislodge the glass behind the goal resulting in a ten minute stoppage in play.

All five deals were made with the Spruce Kings getting future considerations in return for the players. It will be interesting to see what players the Spruce Kings will get next year to compliment their roster as they will now finish out the season with still a strong core of players. I expect to be seeing a few of the holes filled for the remaining games with at least a couple of the players that the team has listed as their affiliate players or APs.

The core that remains are still confident that they can make a push for the playoffs as one of the four teams vying for the three bottom playoff spots. That core includes Sam Muchalla, Zac Rasmussen, Joe Morgan and Brad Bourke who will all finish their Junior A careers with Prince George. Justin Fillion, RJay Berra and Nick DeSousa are second season veterans that will also be called upon to fill leadership roles. The departure of the five players will provide a great opportunity for the rookies and younger players to elevate their game, push for a playoff spot and gain some much needed experience for seasons to come.

Trade deadline day is never easy for the players or those that try so hard to make sure they do the absolute best they can for the player and for the team. Perhaps lost in all of this is the thanks that needs to be given to Ed Dempsey and Mike Hawes who worked very hard over the past few days to make sure the best interests of all the players was taken into consideration before any trade was made. I wish only the best for Wes McLeod, Steve Papciak, Josh Pineiro, Brooks Robinson and Marcus Watson. I also firmly believe the players that remain have what it takes to make it to the playoffs and once the second season starts anything is possible.

Game 44 - at Langley Chiefs

Pregame Notes ...

Apparently when things go bad for the Spruce Kings, they go really bad. After a series of hard fought games that have resulted in disappointing losses, the team found out that things can be worse with a 6-0 shutout loss to the Burnaby Express. It was the team's first shutout loss of the season and happened after a string of one goal losses for the Spruce Kings dating back to before the Christmas break. For the most part, the Spruce Kings had their chances to bury a few and received goaltending through the first half that kept the team to within a goal of tieing up the game.

After allowing a bad goal against early in the first period, a result of bad communication in the defensive zone, the team looked like they were right in this one. A number of players had chances including Kyle Manlow, RJay Berra, Zac Rasmussen, Joe Morgan and Lyndon Martell. Andrew Walsh made some unbelievable saves to keep the game to within a goal, including a few saves from point blank off some Express snipers. Both Brad Reid and Simon Denis were robbed in close as was James Bettauer, Zac Ashdown and Garrick Perry.

At the other end, Nick Enegren was not really tested in the first period and only had to make eight saves to keep the Spruce Kings off the board through the opening twenty minutes. The second period was a different story as the Spruce Kings came in waves but could not get anything to go for them. Andrew Walsh had to be sharp when called upon early in the second as the Express themselves got a number of scoring chances but Walsh was able to turn those aside.

The Express built up a 3-0 lead before the end of the second on a pair of odd man rushes converting on both of them. The first was a give-and-go two-on-one finished off by garrick Perry, giving the Express a 2-0 lead and some breathing room at 13:26 of the second. The Express followed that one up with a late period goal on a play that started with a slew-foot on Lyndon Martell resulting in a turnover in the Burnaby end that was quickly fed up the ice.

Malcolm McKinney found himself on a rush with Perry and the two-on-one turned in to a three-on-two with Simon Denis in a few strides behind the pair. Perry dropped the puck to Denis and kept going towards the net and actually crashed into Walsh as the shot from Denis was enroute to the net. Walsh, Perry and the puck all ended up in the back of the net and the referee called it a good goal giving the Express a 3-0 lead with a 1:06 remaining in the second period. That goal was the "Crowning Moment" of the game as the teams went to the dressing rooms.

In the third period, the Spruce Kings tried to get back into the game and had a few more chances including a cross bar and a couple of odd man rushes themselves. Josh Pineiro found himself up on the rush with Zac Rasmussen to his left, Pineiro faked a pass to Rasmussen and then took the shot but Enegren hadn't bit on the fake and the shot hit him in the logo. Joe Morgan rang one off the cross bar and Kyle Manlow, who made a nice backhand forehand move, had the goaltender beat but was all tied up and never got the shot away cleanly and never drew a penalty either.

At 5:56 of the third period, Andrew Walsh was chased from the net after Brodie Jamieson was able to come around the net and score only his second of the season on a wrap-around. Steve Papciak didn't fare much better giving up two goals on eleven shots in ten minutes, the first of which was a rebound that caught the goaltender out of position and the other just a lucky bounce for Denis. While on the powerplay, the Express forward took a shot towards the net from deep inside the faceoff circle, Pineiro blocked the shot but the rebound went right back to Denis. Before Papciak could get reset in the net and tight to the shortside post, Denis had the puck into the top shelf and his second on the night.

Walsh finished out the game after that goal and the Spruce Kings tried to solve Enegren for the remaining minutes of the game. Although the Spruce Kings had great pressure through big portions of the game; after the outcome wasn't in doubt, the best chance to ruin the shutout bid for the Express came from a head's up play by Lyndon Martell. The youngster that has been impressing since joining the Spruce Kings in late October, found himself behind the net and spotted Luke Hannas all alone in front of the net. Enegren had gone to his right and Hannas was parked on the left, Martell gave the perfect pass to Hannas who looked at the opening and watched it disappear as he shot the puck. Enegren made his 26th save of the game and for the remaining moments of the game the Express players played keep-away, handing the Spruce Kings their first shutout loss of the season.

Still searching for their first points of this Coastal Conference road trip, the Spruce Kings won't have it any easier tonight as they take on the Langley Chiefs in the new Langley Events Centre. The Chiefs are riding a nine game winning streak including a 3-2 win over the Surrey Eagles last night that moves the Chiefs back to within one point of third place and three points of second place in the Coastal Conference. All nine wins have come with Mark Friesen in net for the Chiefs. Friessen is expected to get his tenth consecutive start tonight as Langley goes looking for their tenth consecutive win as well.

Friessen is one player that the Spruce Kings will have to solve as he comes in to the game with a record of 9 wins, 2 losses, a goals against average of 2.88 and a 90.91 save percentage. Other players to watch from the Langley roster include two time BCHL Player of the Week, Colten Beck who is tied in fifth place for the most points in the league at 65. In the Chiefs current nine game win streak, Beck has 12 goals and 11 assists including a hat trick and three two goal games. Next up on the Chiefs leader board is Brandon Thompson who has collected 12 helpers and chipped in with four goals in the past nine games.

As a team, the Langley Chiefs share the Coastal Conference lead for average goals scored with the Alberni Valley Bulldogs at 3.90, their goals against average is 3.40. Their 9-1 record in the last ten games has improved both their home record (13-9-1-0) and road record (11-7-0-2) that were both hovering around the .500 mark before December 11 ... their last loss that came against the Powell River Kings.

For the Spruce Kings, there is still a believe that they are right in the thick of things and a few bounces their way will go a long way to getting them right back in to the playoff race. Currently the Spruce Kings sit three points out of the last playoff spot and have played one more game then the Trail Smoke Eaters who sit in seventh place in the Interior Conference. The players are also aware that they are only three games back of both the Merritt Centennials and the Quesnel Millionaires and have a home-and-home with the Mills next weekend. It makes for an interesting few games over the next few days and weeks.

Game time tonight from the Langley Events Centre is 7:00pm with a live broadcast available from 93.1 CFIS-FM and also online from the Spruce Kings website (click on the CFIS-FM Listen Live link). Pregame show with player and coaches interviews can be heard beginning at 6:40pm. Following the game the Spruce Kings will head home and are expected to arrive in Prince George around 7:00am at the Coliseum. Their next game will be in Quesnel against the Millionaires on Friday January 15 and on Saturday January 16, the Spruce Kings will host the Millionaires in the final game of the CNC Challenge Cup at 7:00pm.


Rosters ...

Langley Chiefs

1 Mark Friesen (G 6'00" 185 3/29/89 Calgary, AB, CAN) (GP 12 G 0 A 0 Pts 0 00 PIMs)
3 Tyler Miller (D 6'03" 210 1/01/91 Prince George, BC, CAN) (GP 27 G 0 A 4 Pts 4 55 PIMs)
4 Brad Bakken (D 6'03" 197 2/14/89 Langley, BC, CAN) (GP 40 G 2 A 7 Pts 9 47 PIMs)
5 Dennis Robertson (D 6'00" 195 5/24/91 Fort St. John, BC, CAN) (GP 36 G 7 A 17 Pts 24 65 PIMs)
6 Ryan Bakken (D 6'01" 180 4/08/91 Langley, BC, CAN) (GP 35 G 1 A 9 Pts 10 30 PIMs)
7 Matt Cronin (D 6'02" 185 5/21/92 Langley, BC, CAN) (GP 41 G 3 A 2 Pts 5 80 PIMs)
8 Tim Daly (D 5'11" 165 2/01/92 Maple Ridge, BC, CAN) (GP 42 G 9 A 22 Pts 31 61 PIMs)
10 Brad Goss (F 6'01" 175 7/19/89 Smithers, BC, CAN) (GP 38 G 10 A 13 Pts 23 44 PIMs)
11 Mitch Pacey (F 6'03" 195 11/10/91 Richmond, BC, CAN) (GP 30 G 3 A 2 Pts 5 89 PIMs)
12 Mac Roy (F 5'11" 175 4/20/89 Chilliwack, BC, CAN) (GP 43 G 19 A 22 Pts 41 75 PIMs)
16 Kody Dhaliwal (F 5'11" 175 4/24/91 Surrey, BC, CAN) (GP 36 G 2 A 2 Pts 4 16 PIMs)
17 Max Fiedler (F 5'10" 190 4/07/93 Vancouver, BC, CAN) (GP 25 G 3 A 1 Pts 4 12 PIMs)
18 Trevor Gerling (F 5'11" 180 6/30/90 Seattle, WA, USA) (GP 43 G 10 A 24 Pts 34 46 PIMs)
19 Colton Beck (F 5'10" 175 6/10/90 Langley, BC, CAN) (GP 43 G 31 A 34 Pts 65 34 PIMs)
20 Jordan Sims (F 5'11" 190 12/28/89 Fort Wayne, SK, CAN) (GP 41 G 8 A 10 Pts 18 35 PIMs)
21 Brad McBride (F 6'00" 193 1/08/91 Denver, CO, USA) (GP 24 G 2 A 7 Pts 9 40 PIMs)
22 Kevin Tuohy (D 5'07" 160 6/04/91 Salisbury Mills, ON, CAN) (GP 39 G 2 A 14 Pts 16 13 PIMs)
23 Josh Myers (F 5'11" 180 9/26/90 Colorado Springs, CO, USA) (GP 33 G 17 A 13 Pts 30 54 PIMs)
24 Colten Hayes (D 6'02" 190 1/31/90 Maple Ridge, BC, CAN) (GP 28 G 4 A 13 Pts 17 41 PIMs)
25 Justin Lachance (F 6'01" 175 4/30/92 Coquitlam, BC, CAN) (GP 1 G 0 A 0 Pts 0 00 PIMs)
27 Ryan Hankin (F 6'00" 187 4/27/91 Surrey, BC, CAN) (GP 10 G 1 A 2 Pts 3 04 PIMs)
28 Brandon Thompson (F 5'11" 165 11/10/90 North Vancouver, BC, CAN) (GP 40 G 13 A 30 Pts 43 46 PIMs)
33 Wyatt Galley (G 6'00" 170 12/17/91 Boston, MA, USA) (GP 0 G 0 A 0 Pts 0 00 PIMs)


Prince George Spruce Kings

1 Steve Papciak (G 5'11" 185 4/26/90 Des Plaines, IL, USA) (GP 9 G 0 A 0 Pts 0 00 PIMs)
3 Wes McLeod (D 6'02" 185 9/30/90 Kamloops, BC, CAN) (GP 36 G 9 A 27 Pts 36 63 PIMs)
5 Justin Fillion (D 5'11" 175 4/23/90 Prince George, BC, CAN) (GP 43 G 5 A 27 Pts 32 60 PIMs)
7 Jesse Scrimbit (D 6'01" 180 12/19/90 Sicamous, BC, CAN) (GP 38 G 0 A 4 Pts 4 27 PIMs)
8 Jonathan Gibson (D 6'01" 205 2/01/90 Prince George, BC, CAN) (GP 40 G 4 A 5 Pts 9 41 PIMs)
9 Nick DeSousa (F 6'00" 180 11/13/90 Fraser Lake, BC, CAN) (GP 39 G 19 A 7 Pts 26 22 PIMs)
10 Brad Bourke (D 6'01" 175 4/21/89 Onoway, AB, CAN) (GP 40 G 5 A 17 Pts 22 40 PIMs)
11 Kyle Manlow (F 5'10" 165 6/28/91 Murrieta, CA, USA) (GP 42 G 5 A 2 Pts 7 14 PIMs)
12 Marcus Watson (F 6'03" 198 1/17/89 San Jose, CA, USA) (GP 39 G 13 A 22 Pts 35 32 PIMs)
14 Lyndon Martell (F 6'01" 190 1/13/93 Prince George, BC, CAN) (GP 27 G 9 A 12 Pts 21 08 PIMs)
15 Luke Hannas (F 6'02" 185 9/09/91 Williams Lake, BC, CAN) (GP 37 G 0 A 3 Pts 3 88 PIMs)
16 Jeff Earnest (F 5'10" 175 2/08/91 Anchorage, AK, USA) (GP 35 G 8 A 8 Pts 16 48 PIMs)
17 Brooks Robinson (F 5'11" 180 8/18/89 Duncan, BC, CAN) (GP 43 G 18 A 40 Pts 58 20 PIMs)
19 Joe Morgan (F 5'08" 180 4/07/89 Kitimat, BC, CAN) (GP 34 G 8 A 22 Pts 30 22 PIMs)
20 Jeff Datoff (D 5'10" 160 5/26/92 Nanaimo, BC, CAN) (GP 28 G 0 A 1 Pts 1 07 PIMs)
21 Stewart Lambert (F 6'00" 175 4/05/90 Prince George, BC, CAN) (GP 22 G 1 A 1 Pts 2 04 PIMs)
22 Jeremy Wiebe (F 6'00" 180 7/20/91 Vernon, BC, CAN) (GP 37 G 1 A 1 Pts 2 85 PIMs)
23 RJay Berra (F 6'00" 180 7/26/90 Prince George, BC, CAN) (GP 43 G 8 A 10 Pts 18 13 PIMs)
24 Josh Pineiro (D 5'10" 211 8/25/89 Huntington Beach, CA, USA) (GP 37 G 7 A 19 Pts 26 34 PIMs)
25 Zac Rasmussen (F 5'09" 178 5/08/89 Kamloops, BC, CAN) (GP 39 G 13 A 20 Pts 33 81 PIMs)
26 Sam Muchalla (F 5'08" 150 8/14/90 Prince George, BC, CAN) (GP 41 G 23 A 30 Pts 53 44 PIMs)
30 Andrew Walsh (G 6'02" 185 12/15/90 Dawson Creek, BC, CAN) (GP 28 G 0 A 0 Pts 0 16 PIMs)
35 Kyle Nielsen (G 5'10" 170 7/21/90 New Westminster, BC, CAN) (GP 18 G 0 A 0 Pts 0 00 PIMs)

Game 43 - at Burnaby Express

Pregame Notes ...

Spruce Kings had a day off from their four game Coastal Conference road trip after dropping another close contest on Wednesday night to the Surrey Eagles. In that game Prince George had to respond to being down 2-0 early in the first, but were able to tie it up 2-2 on the strength of a pair of goals from Brooks Robinson before heading to the dressing room. In the second period, Sam Muchalla scored to give the Spruce Kings a 3-2 lead, but that would be taken back by the Eagles on a powerplay goal of their own and they would add another and take a 4-3 lead before the end of the second.

In the third period, the Spruce Kings tied up the game again with a great end to end rush by Brad Bourke who squeezed through no less than three checks to get into the Eagles zone before saucering a nice pass to an open Nick DeSousa on the other side of the net. After that things started conspiring against the Spruce Kings as highlighted by a controversial delay of game penalty being made against the newest member of the Spruce Kings, goaltender Andrew Walsh.

The nets in the South Surrey Arena are not secured in place with the typical plastic pegs found in most other rinks but instead are just set in place on a divet in the ice. The natural movements of a goaltender and even pressure by the offense at the side of the net resulted in the net coming dislodged no less than seven times in the game prior to the one that resulted in the penalty call. With the Eagles pressing and trying to get Walsh to move side-to-side, the big goaltender kicked out his right leg to make a skate save and hit the net knocking it off its moorings. The referee made the call putting the Spruce Kings down a man with Josh Pineiro serving the penalty for Walsh.

On the ensuing penalty kill, Wes McLeod was called for a slash after he turned to force his man into the corner and his stick hit the stick of Andrew Wallace. On the delayed penalty call it appeared that at least one member of the Spruce Kings squad touched the puck but the whistle never sounded. Wallace used the confusion to take a shot on goal that Walsh stopped but the rebound was picked up by Wallace and fired into the back of the net. At the end of the play McLeod took some frustration out on Wallace and the check put the Eagles forward into the net; the hit drew a five minute major and a game misconduct to go along with the two minute minor.

Killing off the seven minute penalty successfully still proved costly for the Spruce Kings as they spent a good portion of that time in their own zone and were tired afterwards, never able to really get any good pressure in the Eagles zone. In the last minute and some odd seconds, Andrew Walsh was pulled from the goal for the extra attacker and for the second consecutive night gave up an empty net goal in the dying seconds of the game. Wallace eventually got the goal although it took him three tries to do it after missing the first one wide and having the second attempt deflected away by the good stick work of Marcus Watson.

During the day off, the Spruce Kings did get some ice time at the Langley Events Centre with an hour long practice in the newest building in the BCHL. The practice was intense and gave the boys a good feel for the ice and the building for their game against the Langley Chiefs on Saturday. Before Langley though it is the Burnaby Express and a team that finds itself in the same place as the Spruce Kings - on the outside looking in at a playoff spot.

The Burnaby Express who have a game in hand on the Prince George Spruce Kings are two points back of the Cowichan Valley Capitals and desperate for some wins to try and cover some of that gap. The Express have played four games since the Christmas break and three points as a result of two of those games going to overtime. The Express haven't played since Sunday afternoon when they lost 5-2 to the Alberni Valley Bulldogs.

This is the first of the two meetings between the Express and the Spruce Kings, the second will be the Spruce Kings final regular season game of the season in the Coliseum on Saturday February 20th. By the numbers the Express have struggled offensively this year scoring the league's second lowest number of goals and averaging 2.80 goal per game compared to the Spruce Kings 3.50 average a game. Defensively the Express have slightly better numbers allowing 4.20 goals against per game while Prince George has been known this year to allow 4.40 against every game.

The top three forwards for Burnaby are 19 year old Brad Reid (18-21), 20 year old import Rich Manley (16-22) and 19 year old Garrick Perry (17-14). Four year vet of the BCHL, Dylan Herold has 15 goals on the season and is the team's fourth point getter with 23 points. Former Penticton Vees players, James Bettauer and Jimmy Geerin, are among the team's leading setup guys with a combined 30 assists.

This game has an interesting twist to it with RJay Berra getting a chance to play against the team that held his rights during the summer months but eventually traded them back to Prince George just before the start of training camp. Berra hasn't thought too much about it until recently and would like to use the game as a chance to show the Express what he is capable of doing. Another player that will be in the spotlight tonight will be Sam Muchalla; the spotlight will start shining on Muchalla before the first puck drops when Bernie Pascall will interview Muchalla for an upcoming Inside BCHL video feature for the league's website.

Game time tonight is 7:30 with game audio available on 93.1 CFIS-FM and online from the Spruce Kings website (click on the CFIS-FM Listen Live link) beginning at 7:20pm. The Spruce Kings will wrap up their four game Coastal Conference road trip on Saturday night in Langley against the Chiefs before returning home to Prince George for a few days and then a home-and-home against the Quesnel Millionaires starting in Quesnel on Friday January 15th.

Rosters ...

Burnaby Express

1 Scott Ismond (G 6'00" 185 5/05/89 Victoria, BC, CAN) (GP 0 G 0 A 0 Pts 0 00 PIMs)
2 Stefan Gonzales (D 6'02" 175 5/07/92 Surrey, BC, CAN) (GP 38 G 0 A 2 Pts 2 28 PIMs)
7 Alex Petan (F 5'08" 155 5/02/92 Delta, BC, CAN) (GP 30 G 1 A 1 Pts 2 22 PIMs)
8 Malcom McKinney (F 5'08" 150 9/27/92 West Vancouver, BC, CAN) (GP 13 G 1 A 0 Pts 1 06 PIMs)
9 James Bettauer (D 6'01" 180 3/19/91 Burnaby, BC, CAN) (GP 16 G 5 A 12 Pts 17 45 PIMs)
10 Sean Dinsmore (F 6'01" 190 11/07/91 Coquitlam, BC, CAN) (GP 27 G 0 A 1 Pts 1 42 PIMs)
11 Rich Manley (F 6'05" 228 12/22/89 Buffalo, NY, USA) (GP 36 G 16 A 22 Pts 38 51 PIMs)
12 Dylan Herold (F 6'00" 185 2/17/89 Tsawwassen, BC, CAN) (GP 39 G 15 A 8 Pts 23 57 PIMs)
14 Garrick Perry (F 6'01" 186 5/14/90 Apple Valley, MN, USA) (GP 41 G 17 A 14 Pts 31 43 PIMs)
15 Jimmy Geerin (D 6'01" 185 12/28/89 Anchorage, AK, USA) (GP 41 G 4 A 18 Pts 22 32 PIMs)
16 Luke Challier (F 6'00" 184 5/29/90 Surrey, BC, CAN) (GP 36 G 5 A 12 Pts 17 115 PIMs)
17 Brodie Jamieson (F 5'10" 170 9/01/92 North Vancouver, BC, CAN) (GP 38 G 3 A 5 Pts 8 22 PIMs)
18 Zac Ashdown (F 6'01" 190 9/07/91 Campbell River, BC, CAN) (GP 9 G 1 A 6 Pts 7 14 PIMs)
20 Konrad Sander (F 6'01" 195 10/18/90 Squamish, BC, CAN) (GP 34 G 3 A 5 Pts 8 32 PIMs)
21 David Dotan (D 6'04" 218 6/18/91 Richmond, BC, CAN) (GP 30 G 1 A 3 Pts 4 22 PIMs)
24 Michael Mackie-Kwist (F 6'02" 195 1/01/91 Clevland, OH, USA) (GP 4 G 0 A 0 Pts 0 00 PIMs)
25 Paul de Jersey (F 6'02" 185 1/01/92 West Vancouver, BC, CAN) (GP 27 G 0 A 1 Pts 1 15 PIMs)
30 Nick Enegren (G 5'08" 150 10/08/92 New Westminster, BC, CAN) (GP 17 G 0 A 0 Pts 0 00 PIMs)
31 Harrison May (G 6'03" 175 1/15/89 Vancouver, BC, CAN) (GP 29 G 0 A 0 Pts 0 10 PIMs)
44 Chris Van Duynhoven (D 6'05" 230 2/15/89 Burnaby, BC, CAN) (GP 24 G 0 A 7 Pts 7 47 PIMs)
77 Simon Denis (D 5'10" 160 8/20/91 Burnaby, BC, CAN) (GP 41 G 4 A 7 Pts 11 22 PIMs)
83 Brad Reid (F 6'01" 174 6/20/90 Delta, BC, CAN) (GP 41 G 18 A 21 Pts 39 28 PIMs)
91 Colby Kulhanek (F 6'01" 195 8/11/89 Port Coquitlam, BC, CAN) (GP 19 G 2 A 12 Pts 14 26 PIMs)


Prince George Spruce Kings

1 Steve Papciak (G 5'11" 185 4/26/90 Des Plaines, IL, USA) (GP 8 G 0 A 0 Pts 0 00 PIMs)
3 Wes McLeod (D 6'02" 185 9/30/90 Kamloops, BC, CAN) (GP 35 G 9 A 27 Pts 36 63 PIMs)
5 Justin Fillion (D 5'11" 175 4/23/90 Prince George, BC, CAN) (GP 42 G 5 A 27 Pts 32 60 PIMs)
7 Jesse Scrimbit (D 6'01" 180 12/19/90 Sicamous, BC, CAN) (GP 37 G 0 A 4 Pts 4 27 PIMs)
8 Jonathan Gibson (D 6'01" 205 2/01/90 Prince George, BC, CAN) (GP 39 G 4 A 5 Pts 9 41 PIMs)
9 Nick DeSousa (F 6'00" 180 11/13/90 Fraser Lake, BC, CAN) (GP 38 G 19 A 7 Pts 26 22 PIMs)
10 Brad Bourke (D 6'01" 175 4/21/89 Onoway, AB, CAN) (GP 39 G 5 A 17 Pts 22 40 PIMs)
11 Kyle Manlow (F 5'10" 165 6/28/91 Murrieta, CA, USA) (GP 41 G 5 A 2 Pts 7 14 PIMs)
12 Marcus Watson (F 6'03" 198 1/17/89 San Jose, CA, USA) (GP 38 G 13 A 22 Pts 35 32 PIMs)
14 Lyndon Martell (F 6'01" 190 1/13/93 Prince George, BC, CAN) (GP 26 G 9 A 12 Pts 21 08 PIMs)
15 Luke Hannas (F 6'02" 185 9/09/91 Williams Lake, BC, CAN) (GP 36 G 0 A 3 Pts 3 88 PIMs)
16 Jeff Earnest (F 5'10" 175 2/08/91 Anchorage, AK, USA) (GP 34 G 8 A 8 Pts 16 48 PIMs)
17 Brooks Robinson (F 5'11" 180 8/18/89 Duncan, BC, CAN) (GP 42 G 18 A 40 Pts 58 20 PIMs)
19 Joe Morgan (F 5'08" 180 4/07/89 Kitimat, BC, CAN) (GP 33 G 8 A 22 Pts 30 22 PIMs)
20 Jeff Datoff (D 5'10" 160 5/26/92 Nanaimo, BC, CAN) (GP 28 G 0 A 1 Pts 1 07 PIMs)
21 Stewart Lambert (F 6'00" 175 4/05/90 Prince George, BC, CAN) (GP 22 G 1 A 1 Pts 2 04 PIMs)
22 Jeremy Wiebe (F 6'00" 180 7/20/91 Vernon, BC, CAN) (GP 36 G 1 A 1 Pts 2 85 PIMs)
23 RJay Berra (F 6'00" 180 7/26/90 Prince George, BC, CAN) (GP 42 G 8 A 10 Pts 18 13 PIMs)
24 Josh Pineiro (D 5'10" 211 8/25/89 Huntington Beach, CA, USA) (GP 36 G 7 A 19 Pts 26 34 PIMs)
25 Zac Rasmussen (F 5'09" 178 5/08/89 Kamloops, BC, CAN) (GP 38 G 13 A 20 Pts 33 81 PIMs)
26 Sam Muchalla (F 5'08" 150 8/14/90 Prince George, BC, CAN) (GP 40 G 23 A 30 Pts 53 44 PIMs)
30 Andrew Walsh (G 6'02" 185 12/15/90 Dawson Creek, BC, CAN) (GP 27 G 0 A 0 Pts 0 16 PIMs)
35 Kyle Nielsen (G 5'10" 170 7/21/90 New Westminster, BC, CAN) (GP 18 G 0 A 0 Pts 0 00 PIMs)