Series Is All Tied Up At One

Series Tied After a Parade to the Penalty Box

In the end it doesn't really matter what the score was as this series now shifts to Prince George and starts fresh as a best of three with the Spruce Kings having home ice advantage. To make it official though I will say that the Chilliwack Chiefs won big finishing with a total of ten goals to the Spruce Kings lone marker that came off the stick of Bryant Christian in the third period.

Perhaps there was some complacency issues early in the game but as the game progressed it got down right ugly with some not too pretty displays of unsportsmanlike behaviour from both sides. In my opinion, this is another area where the Chilliwack Chiefs were able to best the Spruce Kings and draw Prince George into a long series of penalties that started in the first period.

It isn't easy to pull out one moment in particular that can be considered the Studio Cuts Crowning Moment of the Game as everything seemed to favour the home team on this night. Some of those moments that stand out for me include the game's opening faceoff where Spencer Graboski and Chad Staley lined up against each other. Graboski had no intention of winning that faceoff and instead used his stick to push Staley down to the ice and held him there for a few extra seconds.

Credit where credit is due and the Chiefs are full value for forcing two early turnovers that both resulted in goals and swinging the momentum of the game for sure in favour of Chilliwack. The first turnover was some hard forecheck pressure that resulted in the Spruce Kings icing the puck and, with the new rules this year, unable to make any line changes.

Off the ensuing faceoff, Prince George did get possession of the puck but again an effective forecheck prevented them from getting the puck down the ice and caught two players in no-man's land trying to make a change. Luke Esposito came up with the puck and was able to feed it over to Austin Plevy on the weak side of the ice who let go a perfect shot from the far side of the left faceoff dot that beat Kirk Thompson. The Spruce Kings found themselves down 1-0 on just the Chiefs second shot and 3:03 into the game.

The next turnover came a minute later when Philip Zielonka closed off the lane twice and then took the puck away in the high slot. He too moved over to the left side and used a Spruce Kings defender as a screen getting the puck through both the defender and the goaltender to double Chilliwack's lead to 2-0 at 4:05 of the first period. Both those goals had to be perfect and they obviously were perfect and a sign of things to come.

Dave Dupas found himself using up his timeout after that second goal to try and calm the troops and get the Spruce Kings back on track. It seemed to worked as the Spruce Kings manufactured some chances and were getting shots on Mitch Gillam. In a reversal of the night before when the Spruce Kings kept the potent Chiefs offense to the outside and allowed Thompson to see everything, the Chiefs goaltender was having no difficulties tracking the puck and making the saves.

The physical play of the Chiefs started to become effective as the plays after the whistle and behind the play were allowed to go on. The officials did warn both benches that if the extra curricular activities continued they would start taking players out of the scrums and true to their word, they did. The first penalty was to Mark Begert who was called for roughing after the whistle after pushing back on a Chiefs player who was encroaching on Thompson's crease.

The Chiefs extended their lead with just five seconds remaining in their first powerplay on a hard seeing eye shot from Alexander Perron-Fontaine from the high slot just under the blue line. It was the third goal in a row for the home team that just seemed to find the perfect line through an opening to find the back of the net.

The Spruce Kings would get their first powerplay of the game in a similar fashion after Coltyn Hansen tried to get to the a loose puck in front of Gillam. Hansen was given a shot and in the melee he and Philip Zielonka were both given roughing minors while Spencer Graboski picked up a roughing after the whistle penalty. The Spruce Kings were able to work the puck around but without much luck, coming up empty with their man advantage.

The second period started with the Chiefs players starting to key on certain Spruce Kings, in particular it seemed they were highly interested in Chad Staley and Kevin Guiltinan. Prior to the game Dave Dupas mentioned that having Guiltinan in the lineup is a benefit to the Spruce Kings as it keeps the other team wary of the NHL Central Scouting ranked defenceman.

To me it seems like there might be a hidden motive here to get Guiltinan out of the rest of the series. With the Junior A supplement there has been a two year crackdown on a number of specific type penalties including dangerous hits, blows to the head and accumulated fighting majors. Guiltinan is currently at his maximum allowed fights for the season and another one will result in additional game suspensions. If you would like to read more about the Junior A supplement and the rules around it, CLICK HERE.

Early in the middle frame, Kevin Guiltinan was assessed a two minute minor for slashing that didn't result in a powerplay as the Chiefs Josh Hansen was also assessed a two minute minor for unsportsmanlike conduct. While those two sat in the penalty box another turning point in the came when David Stephens was hit from behind into the corner. Not only was there no call on the play, but as the Chiefs headed up the ice the other way, all four officials followed the play with nobody looking back to see Stephens struggling to get off the ice on all fours.

To add insult to injury, Trevor Hills was able to snap a wrist shot off the glove of Kirk Thompson that fluttered into the back net while Stephens was still making his way to the bench. From there things just seemed to go from bad to worse for the Spruce Kings and it became hard to keep track of everything that was going on in the game itself.

The Chilliwack Chiefs did get the next two penalties, the first was to Ben Masella who stuck a knee out on Chad Staley up ending the forward but fortunately not seriously hurting him and the other was Ryan Donohoe who was called for charging after running Staley moments later. Frustration was setting in for the Spruce Kings and was very evident when David Stephens took another hit from behind from Austin Plevy while Prince George was on that Donohoe powerplay. Stephens went after Plevy and ended up getting a high sticking call against him.

The Chiefs would add one more goal to make it 5-0 forcing Dupas to pull the Spruce Kings number one goaltender from the game and insert the sixteen year old rookie, Liam McLeod. McLeod made a great glove save for his first save of the night in time for the BCHL timeout and when play resumed, the proverbial wheels on the bus fell off and things deteriorated with a parade to the penalty box.

It started with Spencer Schoech getting called for cross checking when he came into the fray late with his stick elevated. Shortly after that, the Spruce Kings assistant coach, Brad Rihela was ejected from the game followed by Kevin Guiltinan who was given a ten minute misconduct for something he may have said on the ice. The Chiefs would take a minor of their own before the end of the second period but would hold onto their 5-0 lead heading to the dressing room.

In the third period, Bryant Christian ended the shutout bid for Gillam with a nice shot of his own that found the far side of the net. Shortly after this Harvey Smyl decided to pull his number one goaltender, leaving people to read into that move as a precautionary measure with the game heading south in a hurry.

In the end there were a total of 34 minutes in penalties (12 minors and 2 fighting majors) 2 ten minute misconducts and 2 game misconducts in the third period alone. Nine of those minors, one major, both ten minutes misconducts and both game misconducts were assessed to the Prince George Spruce Kings. In all Prince George received 33 minutes in penalties, 3 ten minute misconducts and 3 game misconducts resulting in nine times the Spruce Kings were shorthanded and five powerplay goals for the Chilliwack Chiefs.

Although the score and the game got out of hand Saturday night, the end result is that this series is all tied up at a game a-piece making this Mainland Divisional Semi-Final a best of three with Prince George having home ice advantage. The next game is Monday March 18th with puck drop at 7pm in the Prince George Coliseum. There will also be a game Tuesday night March 19th at 7pm also in the Castle with a deciding game scheduled for Wednesday night in Chilliwack if necessary.

Rivermen Double Up Spruce Kings

Stephen Penner (20) left a lasting impression in his first
BCHL game with a goal and an assist for the Spruce Kings

The Prince George Spruce Kings dug themselves a hole too deep to get out from Thursday night, dropping a 6-3 decision to the Langley Rivermen at the Castle.

The visitors built a 3-0 lead which they extended to 6-1 by the middle of the third before the Spruce Kings clawed back to make a game of it at the end. Despite the score, Prince George actually outshot Langley 49-22 - including 28-5 in the second period alone - but couldn't get enough pucks past James Barr.

The loss means the Spruce Kings were unable to make up ground on Chiliwack for second place in the Mainland Division, still trailing them by six points. Langley has now closed within six points of the Spruce Kings for third place.

Mario Puskarich, the leading scorer in the BCHL, did the most damage scoring three goals for Langley, all on the power play.

He opened the scoring at 3:23 of the first, splitting the Spruce Kings defence and getting to a loose puck in front just before Prince George goalie Kirk Thompson could cover it up. Mark Whiteley and Tanner Johnson got the helpers.

Puskarich had a great chance to add to that three minutes later, breaking in on a 2-on-0 short-handed break but this time it was Thompson who was quick enough to get across his crease and make a big pad save.

The sniper couldn't be contained for long as he scored his second power-play goal at 15:25 of the first after a weird bounce off the face-off went to him at the side of the net. Evan Campbell and James Robinson got the assists.

Mitch McLain made it 3-0 at 16:15, banging home a rebound off a Derek Sutliffe shot. Nathan Craft also got an assist.

Down 3-0, the Spruce Kings came out hard in the second, but it was Langley who scored first. Evan Campbell took a feed from Austin Azurdia, got past a defenceman and slid a puck five-hole on Thompson. That was it for the Spruce Kings starter, who was pulled after allowing four goals on 13 shots. Liam McLeod came on in relief.

Prince George finally got on the board at 12:20 as Bryant Christian scored from the slot just as a Langley penalty expired to make it 4-1. Mark Begert and Cameron Lawson got the assists.

Langley extended its lead in the third, first McLain from Sutliffe and Whitely at 5:18 and then Puskarich from Jakob Reichert and Whiteley at 9:13. Puskarich was named the game's first star with his three goals and Whiteley, who had three helpers was named the third star. Barr took second star honours after making 46 saves.

The Spruce Kings did score a pair late, first Cameron Lawson breaking down the right wing short-handed was able to get one past Barr at 12:17, with assists going to Coltyn Hansen and Stephen Penner.

Then Penner, an affiliate player, scored his first BCHL goal at 15:42 with a blast from the point. Shayne Morrissey and Trevor Esau got the assists.

Penner's strong play, especially in the second half of the game as he got more ice time earned him Dairy Queen player of the game honours. Fellow blue-liner Mark Begert was named the Fortis Energy player of the game.

The Spruce Kings and Rivermen play again Friday night as the Castle at 7 p.m.

Spruce Kings Grounded by the Eagles

Liam McLeod (35) robs Jordan Klimek in the third period

The Prince George Spruce Kings suffered their worst loss of the regular season to the Surrey Eagles on Friday night after the Birds handed the royal ones a 5-2 decision. It was the eighth and final meeting of the two teams and the Eagles were in no mood to let the Spruce Kings leave with even a single point this time. In the previous seven meetings, Prince George held a 4-0-0-3 record but couldn't keep that trend going on this night.

It started early for the Surrey Eagles, but as it had been in the previous seven meetings, Kirk Thompson was finding ways to turn aside the Eagles allowing Prince George to open the scoring. Jeremiah Luedtke picked up the puck from Chad Staley at the side of the net and pulled it to the slot before roofing a snapshot above the shoulder of Michael Santaguida. For Luedtke it was his seventh goal of the season, bur for the Spruce Kings it was a short lived lead.

On the ensuing faceoff at centre ice, the puck made its way into the Spruce Kings zone and a strong forecheck force a turnover that Joel Gaudet jumped all over. With the puck on his stick at the top of the faceoff circle, Gaudet wasted no time directing the puck on goal and he too found the top shelf to tie the game 14 seconds after Luedtke's goal.

From there special teams would be the undoing of the Spruce Kings as they gave the Surrey Eagles three powerplays to work with in the first period. The third man advantage would lead to a spectacular goal in the final minute of the first period. After dodging the full force of a Kevin Guiltinan hit in front of the Spruce Kings bench, Brady Shaw slid into the offensive zone and was able to fire a pass from his knees across the ice to Adam Tambellini. The newest member of the Eagles tapped in his 28th of the season to give Surrey a 2-1 lead heading to the dressing room.

To start the second period the Spruce Kings came hard at the Eagles and were outshooting them 5-0 through the first seven minutes of the middle frame before things changed in a dramatic fashion. On their second powerplay of the game, the Spruce Kings saw Brent Mulcahy find the puck and head in on Kirk Thompson on a shorthanded break away. Thompson was able to make the initial save with the paddle of his stick, directing the puck behind the net. Mulcahy stayed with the puck and recovered it from behind the goal line, brought it out front and then banked it into the net off a defender's skate.

The goal gave the Surrey Eagles a 3-1 lead but weren't done there. Minutes later the Surrey Eagles found themselves two men when Tommy Stipancik was called for boarding and then less than a minute later Michael Santaguida was called for delay of game after clearing the puck over the glass. The Eagles not only killed off those penalties but stuck a dagger into the heart of the Spruce Kings. As Stipancik's penalty expired the puck was cleared out to the neutral zone and found the released player who went in on Thompson. Stipancik went forehand backhand and snuck one through the Spruce Kings veteran netminder.

In an effort to spark the bench, Kirk Thompson was pulled bringing in the youngster - Liam McLeod. It didn't take long before McLeod was being tested and it was Tambellini that tried first only to be denied by the glove hand of the rookie netminder. McLeod would end up turning aside all 18 shots that he faced in relief earning himself the DQ Player of the Game.

Karan Toor had the best chance of the second period for the Spruce Kings jumping up on a rush with David Stephens and Lyndon Martell who fed the rookie defenceman the puck who found himself all alone on top of the crease but was turned aside by a sprawling Santaguida. The second period would end with the Surrey Eagles leading 4-1 and the Spruce Kings wondering what they needed to do to claw back into this one.

Coltyn Hansen was able to solve the riddle between the pipes for Surrey but scoring with 6:49 remaining proved to be too little too late. The Surrey Eagles solidified their win with an empty net goal from Brady Shaw. A player who has gambled and been rewarded is Shaw who once again waited in the neutral zone behind the Spruce Kings defender and was given the puck by Trevor Cameron who lobbed it up and over all the players on the ice. The empty net goal came a split second before the final buzzer giving the Surrey Eagles the lopesided win on the scoresheet and relief in the dressing room that they had excised the demon that was the Spruce Kings this season.

Prince George will now look to do the same thing to the Chilliwack Chiefs on Saturday night. In six meetings so far this season, the Spruce Kings have picked up only a single point in an overtime loss to the Chiefs. Chilliwack has a six point edge on the Spruce Kings and will be looking to spread that out some more while Prince George will be looking to pull away from the Langley Rivermen who have closed to within six after defeating the Victoria Grizzlies 6-3 on Friday night.

Spruce Kings' OT Woes Continue Against Express

Liam McLeod was at his best in the second period
when Coquitlam was forcing much of the play

The Spruce Kings got a great effort from a trio of rookies, but it wasn't enough on Sunday afternoon as they fell 4-3 in double overtime to the Coquitlam Express.

Former Spruce King defenceman Brad Ryan was the hero for the visitors, converting a 2-on-1 in the second overtime period to give the Express their first win against the Spruce Kings in six starts. Prince George had now dropped six straight overtime games after winning three of their first five to start the year.

Ryan's goal was set up by Adam Rossignol and came at 3:09 of the second OT session, with the two teams playing three-on-three.

Despite the loss, first-year netminder Liam McLeod was strong in net for Prince George. He turned aside 35 shots, including 18 in the second period, and was named the Treasure Cove Casino first star. Fellow rookie Jake LeBrun added two goals and affiliate player Kody Disher had a solid game and was named the Fortis Energy player of the game.

McLeod's counterpart Cole Huggins made 41 saves, with 17 coming in the third period, and was named second star. Spruce Kings defenceman Karan Toor picked up third star honours.

Dairy Queen player of the game Jace Hennig also scored for Prince George, getting a goal against his former team. Rossignol, Justin Georgeson and Ben Israel replied for the Express. Georgeson finished with a goal and two assists.

Disher, called up from Junior B as an affiliate player due to the absence of forwards Sean Landrey and Tyson Witala, made his presence felt early with a scoring chance on his first shift, a big hit on his second and a fight with Israel in the second period. Disher even earned ice time in the final minute of regulation with the score tied.

The Express got on the board first in what turned into a wild first period, when Rossignol beat McLeod with a shot to the five-hole at 9:04. Georgeson and Malcolm McKinney got the helpers seconds after a Trevor Esau penalty expired.

The Spruce Kings drew even on LeBrun's first of the night, the rookie took a feed from Shayne Morrissey and quickly released a wrist shot past Huggins. Cameron Lawson also picked up an assist at 11:39.

Hennig gave the home side its first lead of the game at 12:53 on a goal set up by Coltyn Hansen. After scoring a hat trick Saturday night, Hansen weaved through a pair of Express defenders right in front of the net, but couldn't get a good shot off. Instead he slid the puck back through the crease where Hennig banged it home. David Stephens also got an assist on the play.

The lead was short-lived as the Express drew even when Georgeson capitalized on a penalty shot. Using a dangling move made famous by Peter Forsberg, Georgeson drew McLeod to the goalie's left and at the last second reached around and slid the puck in on the right side at 13:32.

LeBrun put the Spruce Kings back in front at 17:03, tipping a Morrissey shot past Huggins moments after an Express penalty expired. Skylar Pacheco also got a helper. Israel had the lone goal of the second period, collecting his own rebound and lifting a shot over McLeod's shoulder. His power-play goal was assisted by Georgeson and Zack Pryzbek.

The Spruce Kings continue their homestand on Thursday night when they host the Surrey Eagles at the Castle.

Finding Positives

Coltyn Hansen (10) had a number of excellent chance
in Friday's game including two breakaways and two goal posts

The three game weekend didn't get started on the right foot for the Prince George Spruce Kings, in fact it didn't get started at all. The Spruce Kings couldn't find a way to beat the opposition goaltender or the red iron suffering a 7-0 loss to the Victoria Grizzlies on Friday night.

The Spruce Kings started out strong but couldn't find a way to beat Michael Stiliadis and when they did, they couldn't beat the iron. One of the first shots on goal was a Coltyn Hansen dinger that rang off the cross bar. Shortly after that Shayne Morrissey grazed the outside of the far post, not once but twice.

Meanwhile the Victoria Grizzlies found a way to create a bounce that worked to their favour to open the scoring. Off a faceoff win in the Spruce Kings end, Nolan DeJong's point shot got tipped on its way to Liam McLeod who made the save but left a loose puck sitting just out of his reach in the blue paint. David Mazurek was able to pounce on the loose puck beyond an outstretched McLeod and put the puck into the back of the net.

The Grizzlies would add another before the end of the first period while enjoying a man advantage. Zach Urban started the play from the high slot feeding the puck over to the right point to Jaden Schmeisser who looked off the defenders and spotted Mazurek standing all alone in the far faceoff circle. Mazurek had no problems with the perfect pass and the wide open net on the far side making it a 2-0 game. The unfortunate part of that goal was that it came just seconds after Coltyn Hansen had a short handed breakaway chance that was swept off the goal line by the trailing Victoria defenceman.

The Spruce Kings didn't fare much better in the second period despite starting with two early powerplays. On the second man advantage, Skylar Pacheco stepped into a shot on the top of the right faceoff circle and rang a shot off the far goal post. The Victoria Grizzlies then started to put the game out of reach when Zach Urban broke up a Spruce Kings rush and was able to spring Gerry Fitzgerald on a breakaway of his own who scored high glove side to make the game 3-0.

It was 4-0 shortly after another faceoff in the Spruce Kings end. Myles Fitzgerald was able to get the puck onto the stick of Gerry who was given too much time in front of the net. Gerry walked through the blue paint before squeezing the puck between the goal post and McLeod. The Spruce Kings didn't go away and continued to mount chances but still nothing to show for their effort.

The third period started with a forgettable first half marked by a trio of Victoria goals. The first one came after a huge open ice hit at centre ice that saw Mark McLellan hit the deck. The play continued down the ice and resulted in a couple of chances that McLeod turned aside until McLellan came back into the play and was able to drop in a wrap around to give Victoria a 5-0 lead.

Three minutes later with the Spruce Kings pressing with another man advantage opportunity, the Victoria Grizzlies jumped on a shorthanded chance of their own. Chase Kaiser was able to get the puck through the middle and into the Spruce Kings end, letting go a shot that McLeod turned aside. The rebound was picked up by DJ Jones who rung one of the iron himself. The puck came out to Stefan Nicholishen who was trailing the play and able to bury his shot.

Not done just yet, the Victoria Grizzlies had one more goal in them and it would be the Fitzgerald triplets adding the insult to injury. Gerry Fitzgerald picked up his hat trick goal at 6:37 of the third after being set up by Myles. The Spruce Kings would again get a couple more chances with the best going to Coltyn Hansen who was sprung on a breakaway down the left side only to be turned aside by the toe of Stiliadis.

The common consensus after the game, especially after the second period, was that this game appeared to be more lopsided on the scoresheet then it should have been given the quality of chances. No less than four goal posts, two breakaways and a handful of excellent scoring chances but still that is all that the Spruce Kings will have heading into their second game of the weekend.

The Spruce Kings will be looking to rebound as they head up the Island Highway to Duncan and the Cowichan Valley Capitals. Game time is 7pm from the Island Savings Centre and broadcast on 93.1 CFIS-FM and Fasthockey.com.

Movember Campaign

Kirk Thompson was a leader off the ice
with the Movember Campaign

November was an interesting month for the Prince George Spruce Kings, especially off the ice where members of the team participated in the Annual Movember campaign for men's health. The month became a learning exercise for these young men in more ways than one as some discovered they could grow a moustache and others realized that they were maybe another year away from sporting a Burt Reynolds or Magnum P.I. look on the ice.

Third year veteran, Kirk Thompson spearheaded the campaign from the dressing room where he enlisted the participation of all players. The campaign was seen as a success for the players who were looking for a team bonding exercise after it exceeded all expectations raising just shy of $2400.

"I couldn't believe it," said Spruce Kings goaltender, Kirk Thompson. "We thought maybe we would see a couple of hundred dollars total. We never thought we would raise almost $2400 and (Liam) McLeod didn't either, that's why he's going bald."

Apparently a few players made friendly wagers about what would be raised and it seems that the younger goaltender's family found out and made sure that certain benchmarks were met. McLeod is now the subject of debate as to whether his head will be shaved.

When asked about some of the funnier moments surrounding the Movember campaign, Thompson recounted a story of another rookie who forgot and shaved off a strip of his moustache before remembering. Missing a good chunk of his mo, Jake LeBrun was let off the hook and allowed to shave off the mustache after coming forward.

"It was funny to be able to bug him about it," said Thompson with a smirk on his own clean shaven face. "There were a few guys we thought had also shaved until we realized that they just couldn't muster up anything."

The whole purpose of the campaign was to raise funds and awareness of men's health issues and Thompson admits there were a few guys that were a little naive to some of the issues. With the new found knowledge around the health issues and the fun that the guys had during the month, Thompson believes that next year will be even better than this year.

"I won't be here to see it next year," stated Thompson. "But knowing the guys on the team, it will carry on."

As for the winner of the 'stach, there is a little controversy in the dressing room after Mark Begert showed up late in the month sporting an envious top hat for his upper lip. Adding to the controversy was the use of products like Just For Men, that is widely known to have increased sales during the month of November.

So unofficially, the holder of the title Mr. Movember is Sean Landrey. The Prince George hockey product entered the month sporting a noticeable tuft and proceeded to groom out a respectable Hulk Hogan - even if it was a little darker than one would expect.

True Character Win

Jeremiah Luedtke scores the game's pretties goal
and gets the game winner as the Spruce Kings overcome all odds

The term "character win" has been overused and should now be filed away after the Spruce Kings provide the definitive definition of the term in a 4-3 win over the West Kelowna Warriors on Saturday night. The team was ravaged by the flu just prior to and even during the game to the point they were down to 10 forwards, 4 defencemen and only 1 goaltender for the better part of the game.

Just hours before the game Trevor Esau, Brad Ryan and Tyson Witala found themselves dealing with severe upset stomach aches and pains and had to be scratched for the game along with Justin Rai who remains out of the lineup with an unrelated injury. During the pregame skate three more players felt nauseous but still started the game. Liam McLeod was given the start between the pipes and was absolutely stellar in the first period.

The youngster played a perfect game along with the rest of the team who were on a mission to keep things as simple as possible. In the first period the Spruce Kings were outshot 11-2 but nothing got past McLeod who remained square to every shot and frustrated the offensive threats for the Warriors. Unfortunately for the rookie goaltender the flu bug had other plans for McLeod, leaving him suffering from the same symptoms as the others and unable to return to finish the game.

Shayne Morrissey and Coltyn Hansen also fell to the flu bug in the first intermission staking the odds even higher against the Prince George Spruce Kings. The home town team had a full roster at their disposal and the confidence to go along with that after posting a come-from-behind win over the Merritt Centennials. The Warriors did everything but score the opening goal in the game - that honour was saved for Ryan Keis.

The rookie forward who has spent his fair share of time in the stands watching the game below made the most of his additional time in this game and scored the game's first goal from the slot. Chad Staley and Jeremiah Luedtke had been cycling the puck below the goal line looking for an opportunity to create a scoring chance when they got it to Keis in the slot. Keis didn't hesitate and fired a harmless looking shot on net that found its way over the goal line at 5:49 of the second period for his first BCHL career goal.

The Warriors started to turn it on again and would turn to the team's leading scorer. In the first period Marcus Basara was denied three times by McLeod leaving the 19 year old forward from Port Moody wondering what he would have to do. Well he would have to be perfect and at 13:53 he was as came in off the left wing and from the top of the faceoff circle fired a high hard shot that found just enough room under the cross bar to put the Warriors on the board.

After holding off the Warriors on two man advantages, Prince George would get their first powerplay of the game in the late stages of the second period. With Dustin Cave in the penalty box, the Spruce Kings went to work with their man advantage. Mitch Eden started the play from the left point, carrying the puck down to the faceoff circle before taking a shot on goal. The rebound came back to Bryant Christian who was turned around in the slot and unable to get a shot off, so instead he passed out to Skylar Pacheco on the top of the right side faceoff circle. Pacheco scored his first of the season as he stepped into a wrister and found the hole low on the far blocker side with 8.8 seconds remaining in the period.

The Spruce Kings headed to the dressing room with their second lead of the game, a 2-1 lead built on just 12 shots while giving up twice as many through forty minutes. To start the third period, the Spruce Kings found themselves hemmed inside their own zone still trying to play it safe and protect the one goal lead.

From the right point Braxton Bilous tried to force another shot through on Thompson that was knocked down by Chad Staley who fed it off the wall for Sean Landrey. The imposing forward for the Spruce Kings won the puck battle over Bilous and broke free through the neutral zone. Skating down the left wing wall, Landrey waited until he crossed the blue line before letting go an offspeed shot that handcuffed Garrett Rockafellow. The goal, Landrey's third of the season, came against the flow of play at 7:04 of the third period.

The West Kelowna Warriors would get another two back-to-back powerplays beginning with Skylar Pacheco who was called for tripping after trying to play the puck and having a Warrior fall down after stepping on the defenceman's stick. The Spruce Kings were able to kill of the penalty clearing the zone just a second or two before Pacheco was released. As Pacheco stepped back on the ice, the puck was fired up to Marcus Basara who was able to pick it up behind the Spruce Kings defender and entered the Spruce Kings zone letting another riser that found that top corner on Thompson again.

Just a few minutes later Lyndon Martell was called for hooking as he went in on the forecheck and was called for the reach around trying to knock the puck off of the defender's stick. Without a powerplay goal in their previous three chances, the Warriors would tie the game up on this man advantage. From his own zone, Adam Plant carried the puck through the neutral zone stopping just inside the Spruce Kings blue line before giving to Basara who stopped off the half way and spotted Josh Monk in the high slot. Monk gathered in the puck and went straight down the pipe to the hash marks before letting go his shot tying the game 3-3 at 12:29 of the third.

The Spruce Kings would get one more powerplay before the end of regulation time and it would turn into the game winning goal. Simply put the prettiest goal I have seen in some time. One night early Jeremiah Luedtke was accused of scoring an ugly goal as he tried to center the puck and was able to celebrate a goal instead after it careened off the goaltender's skate and into the back of the net. This night his goal would become a thing of beauty.

With the puck on the left point, Mitch Eden got the puck down to Luedtke who stopped up on the half way and dished off to Chad Staley who was on his way around the net. With everybody heading to the opposite, Staley dropped the puck back to Luedtke who followed Staley to the net and found himself with the puck on his stick and a wide open short side of the net. Luedtke made no mistake and deposited his third of the season and second in as many nights with 4:15 remaining.

Both teams would use up their timeouts in the remaining minutes and the West Kelowna Warriors would pull their goaltender but the Spruce Kings stood tall blocking shots and forcing the Warriors to the outside. The final play saw the puck slide through the blue paint and diving Skylar Pacheco able to get the puck to the blue line and just over resulting in an offside whistle with just .9 of a second remaining.

The win was absolutely a character win with smart plays being made all around and sacrifices to keep the Spruce Kings in the lead the entire game. Following the game some emotions boiled over as a frustrated Warriors squad showed that frustration and the Spruce Kings showed their obvious emotion from the win. The Spruce Kings are expected to get some reinforcements in time for Sunday's game against the Salmon Arm Silverbacks.

There is also a feeling that some of those players that missed out on Saturday's win will be able to play. Expect an update prior to Sunday's 3pm afternoon game in Salmon Arm. By the way the game won't be on 93.1 CFIS-FM but will be available on a new ad free website called MIXLR.com and of course the game will be available on FASTHOCKEY.com pay-per-view.

Spruce Kings Extend Winning Streak To Five

Liam McLeod (35) was instrumental in the Spruce Kings win
Friday night and picked up his first win in the BCHL
(photo courtesy LG Photography)

Even by Latrell Charleson's strict definition, the Prince George Spruce Kings are on a winning streak.

The Spruce Kings won their fifth straight game Friday night, downing the visiting Alberni Valley Bulldogs 6-3 at the Coliseum. Prior to the game Charleson, a Spruce Kings defencemen tweeted that four wins could be a fluke, but five is a streak.

The fifth straight win came thanks to what's become a staple of the 2012-13 Spruce Kings - offence from up and down the lineup and excellent goaltending. The six goals came from five different players on three different lines and with Kirk Thompson getting a well deserved night off between the pipes rookie Liam McLeod recorded his first BCHL win with a 34-save effort and was named Treasure Cove Casino first star.

The Spruce Kings scored within the first three minutes of each period and never trailed during the game.

Alberni Valley was actually taking the play to the Spruce Kings in the early going of the first period but Bryant Christian opened the scoring for Prince George at 2:34 - albeit against the run of play. He took a feed from FortisBC Energy Player of the Game Sean Landrey and bolted down the wing firing a shot over the glove of Bulldogs starter Brad Rebagliati. Brad Ryan also picked up an assist.

The lead was shortlived as just 50 seconds later Jared Wilson's long shot beat a screened McLeod to even the score at 1-1.

The Spruce Kings took the lead for good late in the first as Cameron Lawson tipped in Brad Ryan's point shot on the power play at 18:05. Lawson was a game time decision with a lower-body injury, but it didn't seem to slow him down as he was force all three periods and garnered second star honours.

The Spruce Kings added to their lead early in the second as Shayne Morrissey used his great hands to bang home a shot from a sharp angle at the side of the net at 2:23. Liam Board and Skylar Pacheco provided the assists.

The 3-1 lead held through two periods, but just 1:09 into the third Tyson Witala made it a three-goal lead with a controversial tally. After a shot by Lyndon Martell was stopped and juggled by Rebagliati, Witala crashed the crease, found the loose puck and deposited it past the goalie just as he was deposited on top of the goalie.

The goal was immediately ruled good by the official behind the net, but it took a lengthy discussion by the four men in stripped shirts to confirm it would stand. Martell and Coltyn Hansen got the helpers.

The Bulldogs rallied in the middle stages of the third, scoring twice in a three-minute period to get back within a goal. First the game's third star Ryan Lough beat McLeod with a power-play goal the Prince George netminder didn't have a chance on at 6:13. Then at 9:05, McLeod got a piece - but not a big enough piece - of Evan Tironese's shot as the puck trickled in.

The rookie netminder shut the door from there and got a pair of insurance markers from Hansen, the College Heights Dairy Queen player of the game.

Hansen made a nice individual effort at 12:33, cutting out from the corner, beating a defenceman and Rebagliati to restore the two-goal cushion. Rebagliati finished the night with 30 saves.

Hansen added another goal into an empty net at 19:09.

With the win the Spruce Kings improved to 10-4-1-1 and kept pace with Chilliwack for first place in the Mainland Division.

The Spruce Kings are back in action on Saturday night when the West Kelowna Warriors visit the Castle.

Buzzer Beater Stings Spruce Kings

Kirk Thompson (1) talks to Liam McLeod (35)
during a timeout in the game against Langley

In the return to the Langley Events Centre the Spruce Kings came up .3 of a second from picking up any points suffering a 4-3 loss in regulation time to the Langley Rivermen. The game was played on Thanksgiving afternoon, the third game in as many days and the second in a row against the Rivermen.

After allowing three goals in the third period on Saturday night, the Spruce Kings found themselves in the same hole in the first period Sunday afternoon. Going with Liam McLeod between the pipes wasn't a bad decision as the youngster has earned his time between the pipes for the Spruce Kings, but a trio of unfortunate goals made it a short outing for the rookie.

The Rivermen picked up where they left off on Saturday night, coming hard at the Spruce Kings. Early on the visitors seemed to be okay, playing defensively good positional hockey and forcing their opponents to take low percentage shots while making sure their netminder could see the puck.

Coming up with three big glove saves, Liam McLeod was seen with a big smile on his face, but an unfortunate bounce on the very next play would take that smile away and change the complexion of the game. The faceoff would come to the left of the goaltender, Langley would win the draw back to the defenceman on the right point.

Logan Smith fired the point shot in on goal, McLeod made the initial save and as the bodies moved across the top of the crease the puck would come loose. Trevor Cope poked it through the top of the crease sliding it past McLeod where it deflected off the inside of Brad Ryan's skate and into the net. The Rivermen were credited with a fifth shot on goal and a 1-0 lead 2:01 into the first period.

To try and find some chemistry, the Spruce Kings had changed up some of the lines heading into the game. As luck would have it, a miscommunication at the Spruce Kings bench would lead to an extra player on the ice and a bench minor for too many men. The Langley Rivermen would make short order of the man advantage and open a 2-0 lead at 6:16, just 13 seconds after the powerplay started.

Off the ensuing faceoff, Jakob Reichert would work the puck back to the right point for Logan Smith. Again the point man would take a big shot on goal and again McLeod would come up with the save while looking around the screen setup in front. The puck bounced off the netminder landing on Matt Ustaski's stick who wasted no time putting it back into McLeod finding the five hole in the process.

The Spruce Kings called a time out to settle down the troops and it looked like it may have worked with Tyson Witala finding Coltyn Hansen in the middle sending the Spruce Kings leading scorer in on a break away. Logan Smith upended Hansen leading to a penalty shot opportunity.

Hansen picked up the puck at centre ice and carried it in on Hogg and try to pull it away from the goaltender only to have slip off the stick. Hogg got a piece of it before Hansen could recover and even though the puck went into the net the score remained 2-0 in favour of the Langley Rivermen.

The Spruce Kings would get more chances starting with a powerplay when Ustaski was called for charging. The man advantage turned into a two man advantage when Jeremiah Luedtke was caught with a high stick sending Troy Nitsche to the penalty box with a double minor. The two man advantage would be a short one of only 19 seconds with the Spruce Kings getting two shots through on Hogg before the first penalty expired.

The Studio Cuts Crowning Moment of the Game on Saturday night came at the 39 second mark of the third period when Austin Azurdia picked up a puck and broke in all alone while shorthanded. On this night that moment would contain many of the same elements being Azurdia and shorthanded goal as a result of an aggressive penalty kill leading to a break down the ice.

After a Mitch Eden shot from the high slot and a Brad Ryan shot from the top of the faceoff circle, the Rivermen recovered the puck getting it to Austin Azurdia as he moved through the middle of the ice. Azurdia was able to gain the Spruce Kings zone with only one man back. Eden did a good job of taking away the far side of the net, but Azurdia saw just enough daylight on the short side and whistled his fifth of the season past McLeod from the faceoff dot.

The goal put the Spruce Kings down 3-0 with the Rivermen's eleventh shot on McLeod spelling the end of netminder's third start in the BCHL. The Spruce Kings still had 3:30 to work with on the double minor and would end up with yet another two man advantage after Trevor Esau was slashed. The Spruce Kings would work the puck around the Rivermen zone for a full thirty seconds without a shot before the whistle.

It would take a little more patience but finally the Spruce Kings would be able to tee one up and get a shot through on Darren Hogg. From the corner Bryant Christian was able to win a puck battle along the boards getting the puck to Mitch Eden on the top of the right side faceoff circle. Faking the shot and then dishing off to Brad Ryan on the left faceoff circle, the play saw Hogg slide too far off the back post giving Ryan the room he needed for his third of the season.

The goal came at 14:59 of the first period with 37 seconds still remaining in the two man advantage. Unfortunately the Spruce Kings would not get another shot on goal and neither would the Rivermen with both teams finishing the first period with 11 shots each. The second period was more of the same defensive battle with teams struggling for shots early in the period.

In that second period, the Spruce Kings looked to have cut the lead to one with a shot from Tyson Witala that turned on the goal light but left the referee signalling no goal. Collecting a pass from Justin Rai off the boards, Witala was able to skate through the faceoff circle before wristing one on net that deflected off a stick and looked to hit the netting just inside the goal post and fall in the blue paint behind Hogg before being cleared out of the crease.

With the goal light on, the play was allowed to carry on for almost a minute until the next whistle. During that time the Rivermen had a glorious scoring opportunity only to be robbed by the glove of Kirk Thompson who swatted the puck out of mid-air before it could cross the goal line. After the whistle the referee went talk to everybody but the goal judge sticking to his original call of no-goal.

In the third period the Spruce Kings seemed to be gaining momentum in large part from the play from the line combination of Chad Staley, Jeremiah Luedtke and Shayne Morrissey. Add in a high flying Justin Rai, hard working effort from Jake LeBrun and the chances created by Cameron Lawson and the Spruce Kings would find the recipe for a comeback.

From a neutral zone faceoff win, the Spruce Kings would gain the offensive zone on a bit of a broken play that started with Hansen having to fish the puck out of a sticks at the top of the left faceoff circle. The puck would come back to Esau on the left point who would dump it in for Cameron Lawson. The puck would then come to Justin Rai who skated straight to the net.

After an outstanding few games as an AP with the Spruce Kings that earned the Surrey hockey product a full roster spot, Rai had struggled to find his touch around the net. And on his first shot, Hogg was able to get enough of it to deflect behind the net. Rai stayed with the puck and with speed picked it up intent on finding the back of the net which he did with the wrap around attempt at 17:55 of the third period.

Dave Dupas would stay with the line that just scored for the next shift and that move would pay off less than a minute later. On another broken play, Esau was finally able to settle down the puck and carry it in just onside. The Spruce Kings captain would get the puck to Lawson who would take it to the net. This time the puck would come out in front of the crease where Rai was waiting for it to poke it under Hogg.

The Spruce Kings had finally erased that two goal deficit that had been haunting them since the first period. With two minutes remaining and time ticking down fast, it certainly seemed like these two teams were destined for overtime but that would not be the case.

In a bizarre sequence of events with less than twenty seconds remaining, Austin Azurdia and James Robinson would collide with each other just inside the Rivermen's blue line with the puck rolling out into centre ice. The Spruce Kings would fire it deep inside the zone as if resigned to the notion that this game was headed to overtime.

With eleven seconds showing on the clock, Bo Pellah would find the puck behind his own goal line feeding a stretch pass up to Azurdia going through the middle again. With 3.7 seconds showing on the clock, Azurdia crossed the blue line heading down the right side lane. with a flick of the wrist, he was able to sneak the puck through the legs of the Spruce Kings defender picking it up on the other side with time running out.

The Spruce King killer this weekend would have just enough time to collect the puck, regain his balance and flip a snap shot up and over Kirk Thompson's shoulder below the cross bar. The puck would actually cross the plane of the goal line with 1.1 seconds showing on the clock but reaction time from the off ice officials brought the clock down to 0.3 seconds.

Either way the damage was done and the Spruce Kings were robbed of even a single point. Perhaps even more unfortunate for Kirk Thompson was the fact that he gets saddled with the loss allowing one goal against on 19 shots. The Spruce Kings will now head back home to finish out the Thanksgiving weekend before getting back on the ice to prepare for the other royalty in the BCHL - the Powell River Kings - on Friday night and rematch on Saturday with the Surrey Eagles.

Preseason Game #1

Liam McLeod gets a little breather in his first
BCHL preseason game and first BCHL preseason win

The Prince George Spruce Kings opened up their preseason schedule with a 2-1 win over the Trail Smoke Eaters on Tuesday night in Chase, BC. The two teams started their preseason schedule by driving some eight hours each to meet in a central location for a pair of games. The first one on Tuesday night and a second one Wednesday night at the Art Holding Memorial Arena in Chase, BC ... home to the Chase Heat of the KIJHL.

Following the team's training camp, the Spruce Kings preseason roster was cut down to 28 players with twenty getting the nod for Tuesday night's game. All of the young prospects were a given their first taste of hockey in the BCHL and didn't disappoint with the chance to leave an impression. (preseason roster at the end of this post)

Early in the contest the Spruce Kings were generating offensive zone chances and getting the puck to the net but it would be the Trail Smoke Eaters that opened the scoring at 5:47 when Brent Baltus converted on an odd man rush that was started by his teammate Scott Davidson. After getting the pass from Davidson, Baltus found the sweet spot above the right arm of Liam McLeod.

As the game played out that would be the only blemish on the 16 year old's debut in his BCHL preseason debut. In fact as the game went on, Liam McLeod looked to be gaining confidence, playing with poise and focus. In the early goings of the game, McLeod wasn't tested much as the team kept the puck on the opposite side of center much of the time and were finally rewarded for their work.

At 14:26 of the first period the Trail Smoke Eaters found themselves down a man when Dan Holland was called for holding in the offensive zone. Less than a minute later Kody Disher's hard work at the side of the net looking for a loose puck resulted in another Smokie penalty when Wayland Williams was called for roughing for a tackle on Disher.

That penalty gave the Spruce Kings a 1:13 to work with on the two man advantage. Early on in the power play Jeremiah Luedtke and Chad Staley tried to convert on a cross crease pass only to have Lyndon Stanwood come across and rob Staley of a sure goal with a kick safe. On the next shift it was Bryant Christian that got the play started from the left corner carrying the puck behind the net before getting it to Spencer Schoech. Once Schoech had the puck he made no mistake getting it to Kody Disher in front who was able to tap home the tying goal at 15:51.

Not for a lack of trying but that would be it for the goal scoring in the first period and also in the second period despite the number of shots and chances being created. After the first period of play the Spruce Kings led on the shot clock 21-10 and at the mid way mark of the second period when Trail opted to change out netminders, the shots were still well in favour of Prince George 27-14. The total shots after two periods were 31-17 Prince George but the score remained tied at a goal a-piece.

For much of the third period not much changed until the late stages of the game. While on a power play with about 5 minutes remaining, the Smoke Eaters were that close to taking back the lead with Bryce Knapp standing on the top of the crease with a wide open net. Liam McLeod was able to swing around and coral the puck with his left hand and keep the score tied ... easily the Studio Cuts Crowning Moment of the Game.

The save of the game by the sixteen year old sparked the Spruce Kings and just as the broadcast crew was contemplating what would happen if the game remained tied through sixty minutes, the Spruce Kings turned something out of nothing. With the top line on the ice, Chad Staley and Alec Butcher both had a couple of chances at a loose puck in skates that was too far away for Boeckman to grab and was also too much of a hot potatoe for the Trail Smoke Eaters defenders to get a stick on and clear.

Jeremiah Luedtke was finally the person to find the puck and got two chances at stuffing it in the net which is where it finally ended up giving the Spruce Kings their first lead of the game with 1:22 remaining in the third period. On the next rush up the ice by the Smoke Eaters they pulled their goaltender for an extra attacker but just couldn't find the equalizer although their best chance came after a Spruce Kings miss on the empty net.

One thing players learn and learn quickly about the BCHL is that everything happens a little faster. Just when you think you have lots of time and space, someone from the opposition is on you and taking the puck away. That is basically what happened to Liam Board when he found himself staring down an empty net while cruising through the neutral zone with the puck. Opting to go in for the sure insurance marker, Board was caught from the side and had the puck checked off his stick into the corner, allowing the Smokies to head up the ice the other direction.

Unfortunately for Trail, time would run out on their night allowing the Spruce Kings to lay claim to their first win of the preseason. At the end of the game Trevor Esau was seen collecting the puck presumably to give to Liam McLeod to commemorate his first win in the BCHL. The rookie goaltender ended up making 23 of 24 saves for the win while the team in front of him scored twice on the 39 shots they had on goal.

The Spruce Kings will practice tomorrow morning at the arena before playing the Trail Smoke Eaters in a preseason rematch at the Art Holding Memorial Arena in Chase. Game time is scheduled for 7:00pm and is expected to be broadcasted on the Spruce Kings Ustream channel.

It should be noted that there were some technical issues with the broadcast on Tuesday, the biggest being the lack of internet to allow for two broadcasts of the game. Instead Ron Gallo and Chris Wahl of the Trail Smoke Eaters shared the duties on a tandem broadcast. It is not known at this time if the internet issue or any of the other technical issues can be resolved prior to the drop of the puck but here's hoping as the broadcasters need the preseason tuneup as well as the players.

Preseason Roster

G - Liam McLeod (96)
G - Kirk Thompson (92)
D - Keith Bendall (94)
D - Latrell Charleson (95)
D - Robson Cramer (94)
D - Mitch Eden (94)
D - Trevor Esau (92)
D - David London (93)
D - Skylar Pacehco (94)
D - Brad Ryan (92)
D - Spencer Schoech (93)
D - Karan Toor (94)
F - Liam Board (93)
F - Alec Butcher (94)
F - Bryant Christian (93)
F - Kody Disher (95)
F - Tanner Fjellstrom (94)
F - Coltyn Hansen (92)
F - Kirk Hards (95)
F - Ryan Keis (94)
F - Sean Landrey (93)
F - Cam Lawson (93)
F - Jake LeBrun (95)
F - Jeremiah Luedtke (94)
F - Lyndon Martell (93)
F - Rourke O'Briain (95)
F - Chad Staley (94)
F - Tyson Witala (93)

Player Commitments

The largest ever Spring Camp has come and gone, leaving in its wake a list of players that are now working at getting ready for main camp and the start of the 2012-13 season. According to Mike Hawes, Spruce Kings General Manager, the number of players that came to the camp is a testament to what everybody is working towards with this team in Prince George and not just from within the team itself but also from the fans and corporate community as well.

Almost 170 players took to the ice at the Coliseum making the work of the coaches, scouts and management team that much more difficult. As Mike put it, the talent pool was very high at the camp making it that much more difficult to short list players for the Top Prospects game. That list was created and following the game a number of players were informed that they remained high on the Spruce Kings list and would be back for main camp.

A few other players were informed that they were ready to make the next step in their hockey careers and suit up for the Spruce Kings next season. I sat down and talked to Mike Hawes about all of these players and what they showed the Spruce Kings starting with a player that has already suited up twelve times during the 2011-12 season.

Karan Toor

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Tanner Fjellstrom

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Ryan Keis

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Liam McLeod

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Bryant Christian

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Alec Butcher

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Jeremiah Luedtke

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Chad Staley

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