Training Camp Day 3

Bodies all over the place for the tying goal

The big event for Day Three was the third and final Intra-Squad Game between Team Blue and Team White and true to my expectation, this game delivered!

The Training Camp this year was considered to be a small one with 38 players attending for the weekend. Many of the players were either returning players or players that had been carded in the off-season. The remainder of the camp consisted of players that were either looking for a chance to fill an available spot or knock someone out of contention. There were also a handful of players that are considered to be great prospects for the team but may be a season away from being ready to play Junior A hockey in the BCHL.

The teams were made up in advance by the Spruce Kings General Manager, Mike Hawes, who used his knowledge of the players coming in to make up two fairly balanced team. As the weekend progressed it is now safe to say that he nailed it as can be seen in the results of the three Intra-Squad games and even in the fitness testing and practice times.

On Friday night, Team Blue applied all the pressure early and only seemed to ease up when the game seemed to be well in hand. Final score in the first intra-squad game was 4-2 in favour of Team Blue. The following night was a completely different story with Team White applying all the pressure right to the final whistle. Although there was no scoring in the first period and Team Blue even scored the first goal early in the second, Team White won the game 4-1 on the strength of a three point night by Jeremiah Luedtke (2G, 1A).

With the three game series tied at a win a-piece, the game on Sunday had all the makings of a very competitive one. It was all that and more featuring some great goals, big saves, hard hits and a lot of fiestiness between the two teams.

Team White carried the momentum of the win the night before into this game and applied the pressure early with Liam Board getting the first really good scoring chance only to be turned aside by Liam McLeod. Moments later Skylar Pacheco carried the puck in feeding it up to Ryan Keis who in turn dropped it back from Pacheco. The shot from the right point was perfect finding the top corner on the short side at 4:36 of the first period.

Team White continued to carry the play and two minutes later Riley Hawes found himself crashing the net much to Rourke O'Briain's displeasure. The two were given coincidental minors for roughing. Team Blue started to rally shortly after this and caused some grieve for Team White who ended up taking a pair of penalties twenty seconds apart putting the Team Blue on a two man advantage.

Coltyn Hansen (9 Blue) tips in his first of three

The top line for Team Blue wasted little time in finding the open man on the right side of the crease with a perfect pass and perfect tip-in to tie the game up. The play was started by Lyndon Martell who left the puck in the corner for Cameron Lawson. From deep in the corner and through traffic, Lawson found the tape on Coltyn Hansen's stick at 10:49.

That's how the first period would end, tied 1-1 but with Team Blue coming on from the mid point of the period and it showed on the shot clock as they led that stat 12-6. The second period was another low scoring affair with teams trading goals before the goalie change. As they did in the first, Team White opened the scoring in the second period when Kirk Thompson saw nothing but white jerseys up the ice.

With Team Blue dumping the puck into the zone and going for wholesale changes, Thompson picked up the puck and quickly fed it up the ice to Chad Staley who in turn passed it up to wide open Jeremiah Luedtke as he crossed the opposition's blue line. The shot itself was nothing more than a quick snap shot that eluded Liam McLeod giving Team White their second lead of the game 2-1 at 5:28 of the second period.

Team Blue would answer back six minutes later with Rourke O'Briain's first of the weekend at 11:45 after Kirk Hards dished out a nice pass from behind the goal line. Cameron Lawson was also in on the play after keeping it in the zone knocking down the clearing attempt. Again the teams would head to their dressing rooms tied, this time 2-2 with Team Blue still leading on the shot clock 20-15.

I have to rewind here a bit to talk a little bit about a Prince George player that I can't wait to see in a Spruce Kings jersey full time. Kirk Hards is a small player that plays with a big edge and isn't afraid to cause a little commotion when he's on the ice. The agitator reminds me of a Zac Rasmussen with the buzzing capabilities of any one of the Fitzgerald triplets.

With about a minute and a half remaining in the second period, Hards followed the play into the crease and never let up getting in a little extra shot. As he skated away, the usually mild mannered Skylar Pacheco came over and grabbed Hards to let him know he can't do that. Unfortunately for Pacheco it cost him two minutes for unsportsmanlike conduct at 18:39.

To start the third period Team Blue were all standing at the bench rallying the players on the ice with the familiar stick slap on the boards. The rally cry worked and worked quickly as Coltyn Hansen scored his second goal of the night again on the powerplay and again on the nice pass from Lyndon Martell with Mitch Eden getting the other assist.

The goal seemed to rejuvenate Team Blue especially the top line when they came out for the second shift of the period. Hansen picked up his hat trick goal and again it was Martell with the first assist at 4:00. The goal took the wind out of the sails of Team White and the next ten minutes of the game didn't seem to generate too many chances until Tyson Witala was sprung on a breakaway. Witala had everything going for him but just couldn't tuck the puck under Adam Griffith.

To make matters worse for Team White, the top line for Team Blue came back out and again Lyndon Martell was the setup man this time for Cameron Lawson who scored his third of the weekend to put the game out of reach at 5-2. Did I say out of reach? Apparently nobody told Team White or at least Tyson Witala wasn't listening.

Witala who had been robbed on the breakaway just a shift earlier made no mistake with the pass from Pacheco to bury his first of the game at 16:13. Team White called their time out, drew up a play and left the Witala line out there and it resulted in a fourth goal for Team White just 35 seconds later. Witala found the loose puck on a goal mouth scramble and buried it with assists credited to Liam Board and Brad Ryan.

Jeremy Matte with the save of the game

If the time out wasn't the Studio Cuts Crowning Moment of the Game, the save Jeremy Matte made off Lyndon Martell was. The setup man on four of Team Blue's goals found himself streaking down the left side on an uncontested 2-on-1 only to have his shot stopped by Matte. Spencer Schoech picked up the puck for Team White and went the other way finding the man with the golden touch. Tyson Witala's bid at a hat trick was stopped but Chad Staley was right there to put in the tying goal at 18:25.

Both teams tried to end it in regulation but there was no denying this one going to a shootout to determine a winner. Team Blue went first electing to go with Lyndon Martell who tried to sneak the puck in on the far side but somehow Matte kept it in front of the goal post even as it came off it's moorings. Chad Staley was given the first shot for Team White and he too would be stopped.

The second shooter for Team Blue was Cameron Lawson who tried to pull Matte off the far post. For a 5' 8" goalie, Matte has pretty good leg extension and was able to get a toe on the shot sending it wide. Team White sent Jeremiah Luedtke up next who went right down the middle. When Adam Griffith wouldn't give up the five hole, Luedtke just picked the corner, putting the pressure on Team Blue to score with their third shooter.

Team Blue elected to go with the defenceman Mitch Eden who came in tight on the forehand and was poke checked before he could get the puck over to his backhand side. The save completed the comeback for Team White who were down by three goals with less than four minutes remaining in the game. As Todd Doherty (Team White coach) said in a tweet after the game, "#teameffort."

It was an entertaining game to watch and the 350 plus fans in attendance showed their appreciation throughout the game especially in those final minutes as they watched the comeback. Also on hand to watch all the games, practices and fitness testing were the coaches and scouts who had the unenviable task of informing players afterwards if they would be staying or not for the exhibition season.

At the time of this blog, I only have an unofficial list of players so I will leave it until tomorrow. The players that will be sticking around for at least a few more days will be practicing on Monday and then heading to Chase for a pair of preseason games against the Trail Smoke Eaters on Tuesday and Wednesday. The Spruce Kings will also play a home-and-home series against the Grande Prairie Storm of the Alberta Junior Hockey League on Friday in Grande Prairie and Saturday in Prince George at 7pm.

Training Camp Day 2

Chad Staley prepares to launch the medicine ball
during fitness testing

Day two of the Spruce Kings Training Camp was highlighted by the fitness testing at the Factory Hockey Training facility. The testing was based around what players went through at the NHL Draft Combine in Toronto featuring the beep test, medicine ball toss, lateral jump, pull ups and a mixture of other physical tests designed to measure the players overall strength and conditioning.

The standouts in the fitness testing included Jeremiah Luedtke who made it to level 13-4 in the very tough beep test. In this test the player has a measured length of time to go 20 meters. The time between beeps, when players have to reach the end of each length, is shorter as the test continues. The other big test was the 12 pound medicine ball test that saw Trevor Esau complete a toss of 42 feet, 7 inches.

In all the physical testing took over an hour to complete right in the middle of the day after the morning practice and the evening intra-squad game. An interesting comment I overheard from one of the scouts in attendance spoke to how the fitness testing is becoming an important part of the whole process because of the importance put on off-season training. Kinda makes hockey a year round sport.

Day two finished off with the second intra-squad game with Team White knowing they had to do something after dropping a 4-2 decision the night before. A good sized crowd for an unadvertised game was on hand and were treated to highly entertaining contest with lots of shots, scoring chances, hits and hard work on display.

The game started with Team White setting the tone and tempo for the rest of the night getting three early scoring chances off some hard work. Team Blue was able to weather the early storm and come up with a few chances of their own. Really the story of the first half of the game was the goaltenders who both posted scoreless opening periods. Jeremy Matte turned aside 10 shots for Team White while Adam Griffith stood tall stopping an even dozen for Team Blue.

Jeremy Matte making one of his 18 saves on the night

The scoreless tie was broken 1:34 into the second period when Cameron Lawson tapped in his second of the training camp off a nice setup from Lyndon Martell and Sean Landrey. Team White kept up their pressure and were rewarded shortly after with the first of two on the night from Jeremiah Luedtke. In the right place at the right time, Luedtke was able to tap a loose puck into the open side of the net before being checked. Spencer Schoech (pronounced shook) took the original shot that deflected off a defenceman's skate.

That would be it for the goal scoring on the starting goaltenders with Matte stopping 18 of 19 shots during his time in net for Team White and Griffith making 21 saves for Team Blue. Shortly after the goaltending change, Team White was given their third power play chance and used up only 15 seconds to setup the eventual game winning goal - Ryan Keis from Alec Butcher and David London.

Less than two minutes later, Team White doubled their lead with Riley Hawes scoring the goal with helpers going to Chad Staley and Jeremiah Luedtke. Hawes was a last minute addition to the game after another player was unable to go. One player's misfortune becomes another's opportunity! The teams went to the dressing rooms with Team White leading on the scoreboard 3-1 and the shot clock 27-22.

For the longest time it looked like that would be it for scoring as neither team seemed to be able to create good enough chances. That led to some spirited play and few more odd-man situations. With less than three minutes to play a couple of returning players got caught up together and Landrey ended up with the worst of it after flipping Kirk Thompson's stick out to the blue line.

Jeremiah Luedtke had a great game
finishing with two goals and an assist

Landrey was assessed a double minor giving Team White an opportunity to finish the game with the man advantage. Less than 20 seconds into the powerplay Luedtke was again found to be in the right spot at the right time and able to snap home his second of the game with helpers going to Skylar Pacheco and Brad Ryan. The final shots were extremely close with Team Blue getting to within one (33-32) but unable to get anything past Thompson.

With the intra-squad series now tied at a win a-piece and Team White with a slight edge in the goals for and against category (6-5), this sets up for an interesting tiebreaker Sunday afternoon at 1:30pm in the Coliseum. Prior to the game both teams will have one more practice, Team Blue at 9:00am and Team White at 10:30am.

Following the game will come the difficult decision of deciding who and really how many players will stay on for the exhibition season that gets underway on Tuesday. The Spruce Kings are playing four preseason tuneups starting with a double header against the Trail Smoke Eaters in Chase on Tuesday and Wednesday night. Following a day off, the Spruce Kings will play the first half of a home-and-home series in Grand Prairie against the Storm of the Alberta Junior Hockey League. The lone home game in the preseason will go Saturday night in the Coliseum against the Storm.

Training Camp Day 1

Skylar Pacheo scores on this shot for Team White

The Prince George Spruce Kings opened their training camp today at the Coliseum with a total of 38 players (4 goaltenders, 12 defenceman and 22 forwards) in attendance. The numbers this year are a little lower than in past years but that has allowed for the camp to be broke into two teams immediately and pit the teams against each other in three intra-squad game.

After a first look at the players in team specific practices, the two teams reconvened at the Prince George Coliseum for the first of those intra-squad games. Early on Team Blue imposed their way keeping Team White pinned in their own end. Shots on goal prior to the first goal were 7-1 for Team Blue. Kirk Thompson got the start for Team White showing good positioning with the opposition getting some good shots.

Alex Bartel was the first to solve Thompson getting Team Blue on the board at 11:12 of the first period after he found the rebound off a Mitch Eden point shot. Team Blue would go up 2-0 five minutes later when Bryant Christian (yes the younger brother of Spruce Kings alumni Jordy Christian) converted on a play set up by Lydon Martell and Jake LeBrun. That's how the first period would end with Team Blue leading 2-0 on the scoreboard and 17-6 on the shot clock.

Already with three penalties in the first period including one that spilled over into the second, Team White found themselves down in that stat category as well but did a perfect job on the penalty kill. That perfect job went one step farther when Team White found themselves short handed again. Skylar Pacheco was given a gift tip into the neutral zone and wasted no time turning it into a break away. Looking once into the middle for some help and finding none, Pacheco took the shot beating Liam McLeod with the unassisted short handed goal at 5:24.

Before the midway mark of the second period Cameron Lawson made his presence noticed in the game turning on the jets a couple of times. At 9:50 Lawson broke in untouched and snapped a quick wrister that fooled Thompson sneaking in under the goaltenders arm. It was a sour note to end on, but that goal marked the goalie change bringing in Jeremy Matte for Team White and Adam Griffith for Team Blue.

As if the dirty little wrister wasn't enough, Lawson danced around a couple of defenders deep inside the zone and dangled out in front of the net. A quick pull of the puck slid just into the toe of Matte and no further. Matte looked good for his time behind the pipes and was beaten only once by arguably the best line on the ice especially for Team Blue.

Karan Toor got the play started with a point shot from the left side that ended up on the stick of Bryant Christian. Christian was stopped but a juicy rebound in the slot with Lyndon Martell cruising through quickly found the back of the net making it a 4-1 lead for Team Blue.

The third period seemed to be a little more intense with a few big hits and some extended gatherings around the net, but not much on the scoreclock. Chad Staley was the only one to register a goal in the final frame but perhaps it was too little too late as Team White just couldn't seem to fully recover offensively. Staley's goal (assists to David London and Liam Board) would come with 1:38 remaining in the third period and that's how the game would end with Team Blue winning 4-2.

Final shots on goal were 39-30 for Team Blue. Kirk Thompson made 20 saves and Jeremy Matte stopped 15 shots in the loss, Liam McLeod had 11 and Adam Griffith turned aside 17 of 18 shots. Team White was penalized four times while Team Blue received two minor infractions. Neither team was able to capitalize on the man advantage but Team White did have that short handed marker.

The officials went with the four man system, Brendon Creyke and Bill Hudyma wore the red stripes while Nick Albinati and Ritchie Rodgers worked the lines. The officials introduced the full set of BCHL rules into the intra-squad game including the no change icing and no change for clearing the puck out of play from the defensive zone.

Tomorrow morning the players will report back to the Coliseum for team practices where they will go over some of the things the coaching and scouting staff picked up in the first game. After the practices, the teams will head over to the Factory Hockey Training facility for some off-ice fitness testing. After the dinner break, the teams will drop the puck for their second intra-squad game beginning at 8pm in the Prince George Coliseum.

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

Intrasquad Game Notes

The Prince George Spruce Kings Intrasquad game saw 42 players don the Blue and White team jerseys for the opportunity to wear the crown for the 2010-11 season. The two teams consisted of three goaltenders, six defenceman and twelve forwards each. Nine vets played in the game alongside another ten that had been in at least one game in the BCHL last year. The bulk of the players were new to the Junior A game and wanted to leave a big enough impact on the scouts and coaching staff to earn another look at filling one of the 23 spots on the regular season roster.

After a series of practices, fitness testing and four scrimmages through the weekend, the players named to play in the Intrasquad game were still ready to go and didn't disappoint the fans and family members that came out to get a sneak peak at the 2010 edition of the team. With some skill and grit on display the teams skated to a 2-2 tie through forty minutes before Team White took over in the third period to win it 6-4 with an empty netter to seal the deal.

Team White opened the scoring when Faiz Khan was able to swat an errant puck out of the air from the side of the net. The thigh high shot was the only one to escape Prince George goaltender Bowman Rutledge during his stay between the pipes. At the other end of the ice, Cameron Large of Nanaimo was perfect on the ten shots directed his way and escaped unscathed after twenty minutes - the only goaltender to do so.

If the first period was a goaltender's duel, the second period was one highlighted by some physical play. Although new rules coming into affect for the 2010-11 season will see a marked reduction in fights, that didn't stop Scott Mackey and Trevor Esau from dropping the mitts at centre ice. Esau, who signed with the Spruce Kings in the off season after playing for the Revelstoke Grizzlies championship team, used his four inch height advantage to gain the decision and appreciation of the fans in attendance.

Team White took a two goal lead after an aggressive forecheck from Jordan Duncan on Justin Fillion that saw the three year vet take a spill and fall awkwardly into the end boards. Tanner Fjellstom was able to pick up the loose puck and deposit it into the net through Corey Koop of Squamish. At the other end of the ice Jeff Earnest banged in a rebound off a point shot from rearguard Isaac Davies. The younger brother of former Spruce Kings captain Zac Davies has been itching to follow in the skate blades of his older sibling since first giving it a try in the team's Spring Camp.

Earnest, who is a NCAA Division I committed player to the University of Alaska Fairbanks for the 2011-12 season, was just getting started with that shot as he would add another before the end of the second period to tie the game at two. Between the pipes, Corey Koop allowed one goal on ten shots while his counterpart in the second period, Kirk Thompson from Surrey, was beaten by Earnest twice while stopping the other nine Team Blue shots.

The third period was highlighted by speed, finesse and goal scoring with a total of six goals scored in the final twenty minutes. It started early when the Spruce Kings highly touted recruit, Chris Bodo stole the puck in the defensive zone and carried it the length of the ice down the right side wall before cutting hard to the net. Bodo's shot was stopped by Chris Solecki but he couldn't contain the rebound that went straight over to Nicolas DeSousa, restoring Team White's lead just 1:20 into the third period.

Defenceman were active throughout this game getting in on half of the goals with four assists and one goal. That goal came off the stick of returning player Jeff Datoff's stick to give Team White a 4-2 lead. Again it was Jeff Earnest that stepped up for Team Blue and was able to get his stick on the puck two more times including one on the powerplay to tie the game at 4 with less than five minutes to go in regulation time. Like his predecessor, Hunter Wiebe of Chilliwack was burned twice by Earnest but able to stop the rest of Team Blue during his tour of duty between the pipes earning the win.


It was in the third period that Chris Bodo's internal clock finally clicked in on his new time zone with the high flying forward from Ontario showing off his speed, stick handling skills, play making abilities, defensive awareness and touch around the net. Unfortunately for Chris Solecki of Burns Lake, it was his turn to be in net when Bodo took over the game for Team White scoring the first of his two on the night and the eventual game winner. Bodo's second goal displayed the sportsmanlike character of this nineteen year old after he stole the puck in the defensive zone and took the length of the ice where he simply set it into the empty net and skated away with no celebration.

Top producers in the game were Jeff Earnest (4-0), Chris Bodo (2-1) and Nicolas DeSousa (1-2) with Faiz Khan, Tanner Fjellstrom and Jeff Datoff picking up a goal each. In Cameron Large was perfect while Bowman Rutledge and Corey Koop each allowed one goal against, Kirk Thompson and Hunter Wiebe were each beat twice and Chris Solecki had three get behind him. There was also an empty-netter for Team White. Ryan Benitez, who is expected to be the team’s number one, sat out the Intrasquad game.

With main camp now over, the focus shifts to getting the squad down to a manageable size for preseason play that starts on Tuesday and will feature five games in three rinks against three teams from three different leagues. First up will be the Quesnel Millionaires on Tuesday night at 7:00pm in the Prince George Coliseum. On the following night the two teams will play a neutral site game at the South Cariboo Recreation Centre in 100 Mile House. The Spruce Kings will then head north for a pair of games in the "Faceoff Fever II" weekend event at the Encana Events Centre in Dawson Creek.

On Friday September 3rd, the Spruce Kings are listed as the home team when they faceoff against the Grande Prairie Storm of the Alberta Junior Hockey League in a 3:00pm matinee game. On Saturday night, the Spruce Kings will be up against one of the newest teams in the North American Hockey League (NAHL) as the Dawson Creek Rage prepare for their inaugural season. Prince George fans will get to see the Rage on Tuesday September 7th in the Spruce Kings final preseason primer at 7:00pm in the Coliseum.

The Spruce Kings are currently looking for volunteers to help out in all areas of game day operations as well as billet homes for out-of-town players. Criminal Record checks are required and the Spruce Kings provide financial compensation for those who open their home for a player during the 2010-11 season. For tickets and more information, please contact the Prince George Spruce Kings at 250.564.1747

Intra Squad Game - Period Summaries

Third Period - The final period started quickly with a tilt featuring two players that were on the same team during the round robin scrimmages this weekend. Clayton McEwan of Kelowna and Jeremy Wiebe of Vernon traded a few in a no-decision battle that went on for a good 30 seconds and then some. Once play resumed, Team Blue stayed on task looking to mount a comeback but again came up empty on their sixteen shots on goal.

Team White on the other hand just kept rolling and playing it safe and still managed to squeak in a lucky one at 16:39 when Dylan DeSousa of Fraser Lake kept slapping at the loose puck against the goal post and finally squeezed it past Cameron Large of Nanaimo. The only helper on the goal scored by Nick DeSousa's younger brother went to Travis Flaherty of Williams Lake.

Besides the offsetting fighting majors, there were five minors also handed out in the third period. Oliver Holt of Vernon was assessed a high sticking penalty at 1:26 for Team White. At 4:32 Adrian Moyls of Nelson from Team Blue got caught with the hooking infraction and Lambert was assessed a roughing minor in retaliation. At 8:30 Spencer Doduk of Mission put Team Blue down a man for the fourth time in the game with a roughing call and the final penalty of the game came at 10:42 when Colten Derickson from Team White got his stick up too high.

Following the game the players shook hands at centre ice knowing that this might be the last time they seem some of the other guys for awhile. The Spruce Kings coaching and scouting staff will start the process of pairing down the camp roster to approximately 30 players that will be carried into the exhibition season. Preseason play starts on Tuesday night with a game against the Quesnel Millionaires at 7:00pm in the Coliseum.

Second Period - Well this period definitely had a little more of everything including intensity. Team White picked up where they left off in the second half of the first period by continuing to get shots through. The victim would be Team Blue's second goaltender, Ryley Carter from Dawson Creek who was scored on a total of four times. Team White scored a pair of goals 36 seconds apart thanks in part to Stewart Lambert of Prince George.

At 14:08 Lambert's shot found the back of the net after Colten Derickson and RJay Berra worked the give and go to gain the offensive zone, Berra then got the puck out to Lambert in front of the net who let go a quick one-timer. At 4:44 it was Lambert's turn to play the role of setup man after his shot on goal came back to the defenceman Jonathan Gibson of Prince George. The second assist on the goal went to sixteen year old Tyson Witala of Prince George.

Team White would take a 3-1 lead at the 8:25 mark with a goal from Jeremy Wiebe of Vernon who was able to knock in a rebound. Helpers on the third goal went to Chris Allbee of Prince George and Brady Fuller of Williams Lake. A series of penalties would follow including a chance with a two man advantage that Team Blue could not capitalize on.

Ryley Muise from Team Blue was first into the penalty box with a elbowing call at 9:34. Jesse Scrimbit from Team White followed less than two minutes later with a hooking call at 11:04. Tim Martens of Burns Lake joined his White team mate in the penalty box with a high sticking call. At 12:47, Dmetri Culker put Team Blue down a man with his holding the stick call.

Although no power play goals were scored, Team White did make it 4-1 just six seconds after Culker's penalty expired. Tyson Witala picked up his second point of the game with assists going to Scrimbit and Berra. Ryan Wilson from Grande Prairie turned aside all 14 shots he faced while in net for Team White. At the other end it wasn't as pleasant for Wilson who faced a total of nine shots.

First Period - Thirty nine players are in the Intra Squad game: three goaltenders, six defenceman and ten forwards on each team. From the view I have in the press box, it looked like the 35 plus players with no previous Junior A experience were tentative at best in getting started. Some good end to end rushes and chances by both squads. Just past the mid-way mark of the first period, Team Blue had a 6-4 shots on goal lead.

The first goal of the game and the only one of the first period was the result of missed opportunity to get the puck deep by Team White that resulted in a turnover. Riley Muise of Tumbler Ridge fed Luke Hannas of Williams Lake who skated it in to the top of the right side faceoff circle and let an off-speed shot go that fooled Team White's starting goaltender, Evan Smith from Penticton.

The goal fired up the home bench who then started peppering Team Blue's starting goaltender, Tim Zwiers of Williams Lake. Zwiers was solid in net and turned aside all fifteen shots he faced during his tour of duty between the pipes. Under the pressure applied by the home team, Team Blue was only able to get one more shot on goal before the end of the period.

There was only one penalty called in the opening and that went to Team Blue. Tyson Young from Prince George drew a slashing call at 18:07.

Intra Squad Game

Over the past week or so I have fielded a few calls down at the Spruce Kings office asking when main camp is, when and where are the exhibition games as well as a few other scheduling type questions. Obviously there is a feeling that summer has come to an end or at least is quickly on its way out and it is time to start thinking about hockey. The Spruce Kings have been making news over the summer and the stories worth mentioning are escalating, but I just want to give you some dates and times and - in at least one circumstance - a location to help you make the transition from summer.

First of all, look who's back in town ... Joe Morgan, Tyson Hall and Nick DeSousa are already here as is Sam Muchalla and RJay Berra who is back from the Lower Mainland. I spoke with Wes McLeod today who let me know that he will be in Sunday afternoon and Colten Derickson is thinking he will arrive Monday afternoon. The rest of the players will be in town in the first few days of this last full week of August.

As for action on the ice, the players are going to start skating at the Coliseum on Tuesday; although, many of them have had ice whether it be at the Elks Centre and the Coliseum for the local boys or other rinks around the province for those out-of-towners. The ice times will be fairly free flowing with the players themselves pushing each other to be ready for Friday and the start of the team's main camp.

Registration for the main camp begins at noon with the players being assigned to one of four teams. The first two teams will hit the ice for a controlled practice headed up by Ed Dempsey at 2:00 and the rest will run through their drills beginning around 4. In a round-robin style format, there will be scrimmages throughout the weekend beginning with the first two teams meeting at 6:00 Friday night.

Saturday will feature a pair of scrimmages in the morning with the first one at 9:00am and two more in the evening beginning at 6:30pm. In the afternoon all players will go through an intense fitness testing with the team's official trainers from X-Conditioning. The fitness testing will be tough and will include sprinting, the beep test, pro agility test and other strength tests.

Now Sunday might be a day you want to mark down as it will feature the annual Intra Squad Game or Blue and White Game. The day will start with the final two scrimmages of the main camp followed by the Intra Squad Game that gets started at 3:00pm at the Coliseum. This will be a full game with 20 minute periods, floods and all the bells and whistles that you would expect at a regular season game. Admission will be cheap, it's not confirmed yet but it is expected to be just a toonie.

That will then lead into the start of the pre season and the Spruce Kings first test as a team when they play host to the Quesnel Millionaires on Tuesday night at 7:00pm in the Prince George Coliseum. The second game of the exhibition schedule will be played on Wednesday night as the back half of a home-at-home series with the Millionaires in the Smithers Civic Centre. Smithers has been abuzz with the rumours of this event for about a month, but it was only just made official last week and I'm told that more than half the tickets have already been sold.

After a day off, the Spruce Kings will be back at it on Friday night with the three hour bus ride to Williams Lake to welcome the Timberwolves back into the BCHL. After going dark for two seasons, the Cariboo Community Complex will once again be lit up for a Junior 'A' hockey game. The drop of the puck on Friday night in Williams Lake is scheduled for 7:00pm and then the two teams will travel back to Prince George and the final game of the preseason on Saturday night, 7:00pm in the Coliseum.

The following week marks the unofficial end of summer with Labour Day and the return to school, it will also be the first full week of practice for the Spruce Kings in preparation for their first regular season game. The Spruce Kings will open their 14th season in the BCHL at home with a game against the Westside Warriors on Friday September 11th and then Saturday night the Penticton Vees will be in the Castle to meet the royal ones.

It is pretty exciting stuff and the great news is that the ticket prices haven't increased from last year and, in some cases, ticket prices have gone down with the different ticket packages available. One in particular that has come back this year and will provide great value for a family of four is the Family Pack that features game tickets, popcorn and pop for all four people for a cost of $35 ... that's not even $9 a person!

Okay well there you have the schedule of events for the next couple of weeks ... if you would like more, the full schedule is posted on the Spruce Kings website ... or you can CLICK HERE for a printable version (you will need Adobe's Acrobat Reader).