Who Will Win The Battle Of The Kings?

It's game day, and tonight the Spruce Kings continue their road trip as they visit the Kings of Powell River. Prince George visits the island after dropping a 4-3 decision to the Chilliwack Chiefs, a game that was decided by a penalty shot in double overtime. The Spruce Kings have had a tough go on the road this season, winning just 1 game away form the Castle. Can they change the tide tonight, let's preview the match up and see. It's The Powell River Kings taking on the Your Prince George Spruce Kings tonight.

The Break Down:

As mentioned, the Spruce Kings have had a rough go on the road, having won just one game out of six this season. They have lost two of those in overtime, but that doesn't make it any less sour for the boys. They played a dynamite 55 minutes against Vernon early in the season, but came away on the wrong side of things. Then last night, they tied it late against Chilliwack, but a penalty in double overtime gave the Chiefs a chance to capitalize, and they did just that. The only win on the road this year for the Spruce Kings was a mid week game in Salmon Arm, where they beat the Silverbacks 6-3. Prince George haven't faired very well though against Powell River the past few years. You have to go back to the 08/09 season to find the last time that the Spruce Kings have beaten the Kings of Powell River. It's the second game in as many nights for the Spruce Kings, and the second of three in a row.

The Powell River Kings also come into tonight having just played, a game that went into overtime as well, but they came away with the win. They defeated Cowichan Valley 3-2 at home, and will look to carry that momentum into tonight's match up. The Kings are off to another stellar start, sitting in second place with a record of 10-5-1 and are just 1 point out of first. The task of knocking off the Kings at home has been a hard one for every team this season, as they are a perfect 8-0 at the Hap.

The Stats:

Paul De jersey was back in full form last night, scoring twice and adding an assist on the only other goal. De Jersey once again has a hold of the most goals title with 16 on the year. Ben Woodley added an assist to his point total in last nights loss. The Ontario native sits in second for the most assist by a Defenceman this season.

Cohen Adair leads the charge for the Kings this season, leading in both the goals and points categories. Powell River also has a very talented defenceman who has been racking up point this season. Craig Dalrymple sits in third for scoring by a D-Man this year The Kings will be without talented youngster Evan Richardson and goaltender Sean Maguire for the next few games as they are with Spruce King Jujhar Khaira at the World Junior A Challenge.

Game Time:

This will be the only time this year that these two teams will square off, meaning we will unofficially dub this "The Battle For The Crown". Kirk Thompson is likely to get the start tonight as he had a fantastic performance against the Chiefs last night, making 42 saves in the loss. It's not known who will get the start tonight with Maguire away for the time being. Jamie Phillips started last night and got the win, but the back to back games could see former Spruce King Cameron Large start between the pipes for the PR Kings. Tonight's action takes place at the Hap Parker Arena with the puck dropping at 7:30pm. Former Cariboo Cougars play by play man Alex Rawnsley will call tonight's action on 95.7 Sun Fm. You can listen to the game live and free here, just click on the listen live link.

The Spruce Kings Take Game 1 Against The Rage

The Prince George Spruce Kings have their first win of the season! Alright, it was just a preseason game, but it is a great building block for what will be the 40th anniversary season.

The game started out fast paced, with both teams trying to find the right groove. The first period saw a ton of hits thrown by both teams, but it was the Spruce Kings who notched the only tally. A couple of new Spruce Kings opened the scoring as Cory Bardock found the back of the net, with some help from Paul De Jersey. The second period is where it got interesting as goals were coming fast and often. Ryan Matthews and Tyson McCallum helped the Rage take the lead with goals 1 minute and 20 seconds apart. The teams then traded goals a few minutes later before the Spruce Kings popped in three in a four minute span. Dylan Tappe, Trevor Esau, Paul De Jersey and Myles Fitzgerald helped Prince George go in to the dressing room with a 5-3 lead.

The third period saw more of the same with Prince George winning most of the offensive battles and both teams throwing their weight around. Connor Tiechko scored the eventual game winner - a highlight reel goal - to start the third period outburst, while Sean Landrey notched the insurance marker swiping a loose puck in the crease behind the netminder and Myles Fitzgerald salted away the win with his second of the game in to an empty net. Carter Page did his best to help the Rage pull within striking distance, notching a pair in the third. The Spruce Kings rotated goaltenders with Cameron Large getting the 1st and 1st half of the second period, and Prince George's local hockey product, Marcus Beesley finishing the rest. Large finished the game with 10 saves, while Beesley made 11.

Your 3 stars of the night:

• PG's Paul De Jersey 1 Goal and 3 Assists
• DC's Carter Page 2 Goals and 2 Assists
• PG's Myles Fitzgerald - 2 Goals

When it was all said and done the Spruce Kings offence showed up in a big way finding the back of the net on 8 of their 44 shots on goal while the Rage finished with 5 goals on 25 shots. The game was a physical one form start to finish with both teams landing some hard feel-it-in-the-morning hits. These two teams will have to turn it back on quickly as they will square off Saturday night in Dawson Creek to finish off the home-and-home series. The game unfortunately will not be broadcast, but look to the Spruce Kings twitter and Facebook feeds for out of town updates.

-No cuts were made to the roster after the game and won't likely happen until after the weekend.

-Note for parents and fans who were asking, there will be a live broadcast of the next home exhibition game on Thursday September 15th when the Spruce Kings host the Westside Warriors in a final preseason tuneup.

As always, hope to see you at the rink very soon.

Intra Squad Recap

And it officially begins!! Today was the annual Blue vs White Intra-Squad game at the Coliseum and the final chance for some of these guys to show the coaching staff what they've got. The game itself was a fast paced one with little interruption through the first period as the players got used to being back on the ice. (Click here to download the game roster).

Kirk Thompson (1) makes one of his toughest saves
of the games, kicking out a screened point shot

The first two periods of play left no tallies on the board as Marcus Beesley made 12 saves in period one for Team White and Robert Freisen made 10 in period two. Both Kirk Thompson and Jacob Mattes made 7 saves a piece in the first two periods for Team Blue. Fans in attendance had to wait until 6:21 of the third period for the first goal to hit the score sheet.

Local Prince George product Sean Landrey notched the first marker, firing a wrister from the top of the right circle. Spruce Kings returnee Connor Tiechko had an assist on the goal as did defenceman Skylar Pacheco. It only took five more minutes for Team White to add to their lead as Eric Chore put one past Cameron Large. Chore's goal was assisted on the play by his brother Patrick Chore and once again Connor Tiechko. That is where the scoring ended, but not before Team Blue had a couple of nice chances, including a shorthanded breakaway opportunity for Myles Fitzgerald. Cameron Large ended the third period making 11 saves and Jacob Mattes was perfect with 9.

A few players did not suit up in the Blue VS White game as a precaution due to injury. Jeff Earnest, Leo Fitzgerald, Ben Woodley and Paul Dejersey all watched from the stands today.

There were a lot of good things to take away from this Intra Squad game as the Spruce Kings move forward into the Exhibition Season. The two Fitzgerald triplets who played (Myles and Gerry) showed some amazing offensive potential, and all though they didn't score, they were all over the ice. The defence is absolutely massive, and will be the leading force for the Spruce Kings this year. All the defenceman who did play in the scrimmage today showed the strength required to be an elite player. After last season, General Manager Mike Hawes needed to address this position, and it looks like he did just that. The goaltending today was also a big bright spot, as all six goalies showed promise and many made spectacular saves. So although only 2 goals were scored, this was due more to great defensive play rather than a lack of offence. But perhaps the biggest note to take away from today's game, this team really looks like they are having fun on the ice, which is never a bad thing.

Now the coaching staff will decide who will go forward and play for the team during Exhibition. It all starts on September 2nd as the Spruce Kings and the Merritt Centennials will travel to 100 Mile House to square off. As always keep it locked to the blog, twitter and the facebook page for all the roster updates, exhibition action and news leading into the start of the season on September 23rd

Matt Anthony

Dave Dupas Speaks to the Trades

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Hockey can be a fun sport to both play and watch, but sometimes the realty of the game sinks in and that realty isn't always kind. Such was the case following the December 1st player card cut-down date. On this day every junior hockey team is limited to twenty-five player cards for the remainder of the season.

December 1st becomes one of those days when you come to expect trades to be made as teams try and sure up their 23 man roster. The inner office becomes a buzz of activity with members of the hockey operations staff manning the phones and trying to get players that will strengthen the team. In all of this, some hard decisions have to be made that will impact the makeup of the dressing rooms.

Following the December 1st deadline, the Spruce Kings were a team that saw some players moved out and new players named to come in. Released from the team were Brendon Fornwald ('91 F), Riley Spraggs ('91 F) and twenty year old goaltender Alex Wright. None were the subject of a trade but were given their release as the Spruce Kings brought in two players from the Junior B ranks in Cameron Large and Brandon Watson.

Cameron Large is no stranger to the Prince George Spruce Kings having attended camps over the past two years here and battling hard enough to earn the respect of the scouts and coaches. This respect was well deserved with the right handed goaltender showing great numbers in the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League with an 11-2 record and a 2.45 goals against average and 92.3 save percentage.

Brandon Watson is familiar with the Spruce Kings having played against Prince George last season as a member of the Quesnel Millionaires. This season with the Osoyoos Coyotes of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League, Watson has an impressive 15 goals and 13 assists through 24 games. Impressive because he has also handed 106 minutes in penalties showing that he can be a fierce competitor and willing to battle in the dirty areas.

One trade was made and that was for Mike Puddifant in exchange for future considerations with the Nanaimo Clippers of the BCHL. Puddifant is solid defenceman that can be tough to play against. As I found out from Dave Dupas, the head coach of the Spruce Kings, Puddifant can help to fill a need on the blue line and make the team stronger defensively.

I spoke with Dave Dupas after the dust had settled on the changes and went through the player moves and took a brief look ahead to this weekend's pair of games against the Cowichan Valley Capitals (Friday at 7pm) and the Victoria Grizzlies (Saturday at 7pm).


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