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)
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