"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)
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)
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)
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