Thompson, Spruce Kings Blank Eagles

Kirk Thompson was sharp in net
picking up his second BCHL career shutout

Kirk Thompson made 18 of his 38 saves in the third period to back stop the Prince George Spruce Kings to a 3-0 win Saturday night over the Surrey Eagles at the Coliseum.

The veteran Spruce Kings netminder came up big early in the final stanza, making 12 saves in the first 10 minutes to preserve a second straight home-ice win for Prince George. Perhaps his biggest stop came off the stick of Trevor Cameron early in the period, making a pair of saves down low and preserving the momentum for the Spruce Kings.

As good as he was, Thompson also got some help from his goal posts a couple of times - first off a Thompson deflection in the first period and again in the second when Brandon Morley jumped on a turnover deep in the Spruce Kings end and rung one off the iron. Thompson had to react quickly on the latter play and Morley collected the rebound off the crossbar and fired another shot, but the Spruce Kings goalie shut the door.

The Spruce Kings got all their offence in the first two periods, with the top line accounting for all three goals. Cameron Lawson opened the scoring with his first of two in the first period, converting a perfectly executed two-on-one with Shayne Morrissey. Morrissey waited for the Eagles defender to commit then slid the puck to Lawson who let Eagles goalie Michael Santaguida slide cross-crease before firing a shot back the other way.

Morrissey scored his first BCHL goal in the second period, corralling a puck at the side of the net and firing it past Santaguida for a power-play tally. The Spruce Kings scored just 16 seconds into the man advantage as Mitch Eden's point shot went over the net, but Morrissey nabbed the rebound.

The Spruce Kings extended their lead late in the period as Skyler Pacheco kept the puck in at the blue-line against the run of play and found Lawson in the high slot and his low shot beat Santaguida.

Lawson finished the game with two goals and an assist, while Morrissey had a goal and an assist.

The Eagles outshot the Spruce Kings 38-37, including 18-13 in the final 20 minutes.

The Spruce Kings head on the road next weekend, with divisional games in Langley and Coquitlam. They're next on home ice on Oct. 26 when the Alberni Valley Bulldogs visit the Castle.