Allan Bristowe Perspective

The Spruce Kings took a little time to get off the ice
to reflect on their season as it all came to an end

A day after the Spruce Kings season came to an end, Allan Bristowe of CKPG TV Sports aired a story to wrap up the season and look ahead to next year. What follows is a replication of that story that is available from the CKPG website.

Even though the season came to an end Tuesday night, it was a special year for the Spruce Kings. The team turned it around on the ice, getting back in the playoffs and creating a long lost buzz in the community about the team this season.

With the final buzzer on Tuesday March 20th an exciting season of Spruce Kings hockey came to an end. The Spruce Kings finished third in the Interior Conference, making it back to the playoffs for the first time in three years and they had the League's leading scorer in Paul De Jersey. But there were more than just on-ice successes this year at the Coliseum.

"The guys turned the City around," said Spruce Kings Head Coach, Dave Dupas. "We had packed houses here, people got behind us and they seemed invested in the team. Sometimes you would get crowds in here and they would come just to come, but these people were behind us all the way. They were cheering for us and they kind of took ownership of the team and the guys felt it."

"The community and everything was great this year," said Spruce Kings sophomore forward, Jujhar Khaira. "We're lucky to have a community like this to support us."

Even though the Spruce Kings were swept in their playoff series with the Merritt Centennials, they will try to build on that outcome.

"You know we've learned a few things from this series," stated Dupas. "We have to probably get a little bit grittier and get guys that are going to want to go to the net a little bit more. We built our team on speed and skill and it served us well. We have some very good players and we won a lot of games like that. In order to beat teams like (Merritt) we are probably going to have to change up a little bit."

The Spruce Kings will lose six players but are excited about the core of individuals who will be coming back.

"The Fitzgeralds are going to be point-a-game type guys and first line type guys in this League," added Dupas. "They will have big years, all three of them. We're excited to see those guys come back."

"I think we're going to be the go-to guys," said returning forward, Leo Fitzgerald. "We're going to have a lot of weight on our shoulders, but I think we can handle it."

The next step to keeping the Spruce Kings competitive will happen during the weekend of April 12th to 15th when the team will host its annual Spring Camp at the Coliseum.