Chiefs Rule Over Kings

VS
1                                        Final Score                                        4
Epp	Goal Scorers	Kawaguchi (2), Adam, Skapski
14	Total Shots	35
4	1st Period Shots	8
5	2nd Period Shots	16
5	3rd Period Shots	22
0 for 0	Power Play	0 for 2
	3rd Star	Austin Adam
	2nd Star	Eric Benshadle
	1st Star	Jordan Kawaguchi
5-16-0-2	Current Record	15-5-1-2

If first impressions matter, the Spruce Kings didn’t make a strong one against the Chilliwack Chiefs. They were held to five shots or less each period, and weren’t able to draw a single penalty.

The first was pretty close between the two teams, and PG led in shots until Ryan Frtiz took an extra penalty following a fight, and the Chiefs earned a five minute power play with about four minutes left. That got the Chiefs rolling, and they weren’t able to score, but generated energy to get the second period going.

The second was where the wheels began to fall off the bus, which started with a Matt Stief giveaway. He took a hit while in the corner, and tried to push the puck back around the net, but didn’t get enough power on it. Jordan Kawaguchi raced down, and snared the puck away before wrapping it around the unsuspecting Tanguay.

A few minutes later the Chiefs drive the puck down the ice again, and Austin Adam was the trialing player who picked up a slick pass from Jesse Lansdell, and made a perfect shot to pick the top left corner, and double the Chilliwack lead.

For the second time in as many games the Spruce Kings allowed a goal in the final minute of the second. Darien Craighead stole the puck, and drove down the left side where he fed the puck across beautifully to Kawaguchi who knocked in his second goal of the game with 17.5 seconds left in the frame.

The third featured a lot of aggressive play between the two teams. In his first shift Braiden Epp got rocked by Kawaguchi, and the Nic Ponak got drilled into the Chilliwack bench. Epp skated slowly to the bench, and took a while to return. In his first shift back he made a difference though. Bryan Basilico won the faceoff to Stief who floated to the middle of the blue line, and launched a shot through some bodies. It was tipped in by Epp, and the Spruce Kings got on the board for the first time in the game.

That’s as close as they would get though, as Mitch Skapski took the puck off a faceoff, and fired the puck into the open cage while Tanguay was pulled. That iced the final score at 4-1, and PG has still yet to win or lose a game this season by two goals.

Turning Point:

Prince George was able to draw the energy of the building in the first, but the late Ryan Fritz fight changed that. Him and Eric Benshandle dropped the gloves, and Fritz won the fight, but it got the arena buzzing to finish the first, and start the second while the Chiefs had a five minute power play.

Prince George is back in action Sunday when they take on the Surrey Eagles at 4pm at the South Surrey Arena, and they’ll look to break a five game losing streak against the Eagles who sit last in the Mainland division. Surrey is currently on a 10 game losing streak, with their most recent defeat coming on Friday against the Chilliwack Chiefs.