Game Day vs Langley Rivermen

Sean Landrey and the Spruce Kings face off against
the top team in the BCHL Mainland Division tonight

Without question, tonight’s game is arguably the most anticipated matchup in the BCHL since the Christmas Break. These two teams have had their share of top spot in the Mainland Division with the Langley Rivermen refusing to give it up since they claimed it in December.

The Spruce Kings host the Rivermen tonight in the first half of a double-header. It is also the first of a five game series that will see these two teams play four times in Prince George and once in Langley over the span of sixteen days. The points possible from this matchup could see the Langley Rivermen take a commanding lead in the Mainland Division and challenge for top spot overall in the League.

Those points are also very appealing for the Spruce Kings who are eight points behind with a game in hand on the Rivermen. A sweep of the double dip would leave Prince George just four points back setting up a huge final weekend in the regular season.

Again not to get ahead of themselves will be the key; the Langley Rivermen sit in top spot for a reason … they are a good team. The Rivermen are coming off a weekend sweep of the Vernon Vipers and have points in their last twelve games (10-0-1-1). In fact Langley has not suffered a regulation time lost yet in the 2014 calendar year; meaning the team comes in to Prince George exuding confidence.

The Prince George Spruce Kings have played some of their toughest hockey in 2014 and have managed to maintain pace in the race for top spot. They have a record of 6-3-1-0 in their last ten games and are 4-1-1-0 playing in front of their fans during the first six games of their nine game home stand.

The Spruce Kings are as close to healthy as they have been in awhile with the return of Mitch Eden and Danny Kiraly tonight. Cooper Rush is the only player out with an injury but is expected to join the Spruce Kings as early as next weekend.

Kiraly suffered a concussion three weeks ago and has been practicing with the team symptom free for over a week now. Eden will also play in his first game back since being sidelined with a lower body injury and missing out on last weekend’s games. All of that is a welcome relieve to the coaching staff and especially to Karan Toor, Christian Weidauer and Skylar Pacheco who were called upon to log a lot of minutes in the last few games.

Tonight's game is also the Spruce Kings Amnesty Game. All fans are encouraged to bring any unused tickets they have from this season and redeem them for a seat at tonight's game with no additional service charges or fees. Spruce Kings Communications Director, Ron Gallo, said that this is an opportunity for all fans to enjoy a game when they might not have been otherwise able to or previously and not be out of pocket for the hottest ticket in town.

If you are still unable to attend the game in person tonight, it will be broadcast live online with the pay-per-view feed available through Fasthockey.com and a free audio only webcast on the Spruce Kings Mixlr Channel beginning with a pregame show at 6:40pm. Join Ron St. Clair, Thomas Bohmer and Ron Gallo for all the play-by-play and analysis of the most anticipated game of the season!