It comes down to this weekend to crown a champion in the CNC Challenge Cup Series between the Quesnel Millionaires and the Prince George Spruce Kings. Over the course of the nine year history of the championship between these two long-time rivals, it is the Spruce Kings that have enjoyed the bragging rights seven times including the last six in a row. Seventh heaven hasn't been nearly as easy to secure as the early championships and it could very well come down to the final game and some quick tie-breaking calculations.
This season the CNC Challenge Cup Series is based on the ten regular season matchups between the two teams. Through eight games, the Quesnel Millionaires have a slight 9-8 lead in points awarded through head-to-head wins. The Spruce Kings have a record of 4 wins and 4 losses with one of those wins coming in overtime which gave the Millionaires the one extra point with a record of 4-3-0-1.
The simple scenarios is a pair of regulation time games where four points would be split up. If the Millionaires split a pair of regulation time games, they will hoist the Cup at centre ice in the Coliseum on Saturday night. For Prince George to hold onto their title and extend it to an unprecedented seventh consecutive time, they have to pick up a minimum of one more point than Quesnel.
The scenarios of overtime, including a no-decision tie, could leave both teams with the same amount of points leading to the first tie breaker of goals for and goals against. The Spruce Kings have the edge in that stat heading into the weekend thanks to one game in particular that saw the royal ones break the bank with an 11-4 victory back on November 21st. Hang on though, don't get ahead of yourself as the differential is closer than you might think. The Spruce Kings have scored 30 goals through the eight games while the Millionaires have tallied 28 times.
Should make for an interesting couple of games from a couple of teams that have everything to gain at the other's expense. Of course there is the CNC Challenge Cup itself, but there is also the points in the Interior Conference where four teams are battling for three playoff spots. The Quesnel Millionaires head into the weekend with 17 games remaining sitting in fifth spot with 34 points. The Merritt Centennials have a share of that fifth spot with 34 points, but only have 16 games remaining. The Trail Smoke Eaters are right behind those two with 33 points and a game in hand on the Spruce Kings.
The Quesnel Millionaires and the Prince George Spruce Kings have almost identical schedules to the end of the regular season with both teams still to make the Island road trip as well as host Nanaimo, Victoria and Burnaby. Both teams have a pair of games against the Penticton Vees and a single with the Merritt Centenials. The only difference is that the Millionaires have to play the Westside Warriors, while the Spruce Kings have to go into Vernon still to play the Vipers. The extra game for Quesnel will be against Williams Lake as they still have four games remaining against the Timberwolves while the Spruce Kings only have three.
The Trail Smoke Eaters have arguable the toughest remaining schedule with a total of eight games against the top five Coastal Conference teams including two against each of the top three teams from the other division. The Smokies also have to contend with the Penticton Vees four times before the end of the season as well as a pair of meetings with both the Salmon Arm Silverbacks and the Westside Warriors. There is also a single against the Merritt Centennials that could become the decisive game for a playoff position.
The Merritt Centennials don't have a much easier schedule with the exception of not having any real Coastal Conference road trips remaining. The Centennials will play in Surrey and will host Nanaimo and Cowichan Valley. Where it becomes tough for Merritt is their three game sets against Penticton and Salmon Arm. The Cents also have a pair against Vernon and singles against Westside, Quesnel, Prince George, Williams Lake and that season ending home date with Trail.
It isn't fair to completely rule out the Williams Lake Timberwolves in all of this either as they have the most games remaining at twenty. The T'wolves do have one four game Coastal Conference road trip with two on the island and two in the Lower Mainland. The remaining sixteen games feature three against Coastal teams and four against the upper Interior Conference teams. It's the other nine games that are the most interesting as the Timberwolves could play the role of spoiler or even propel themselves into the hunt for one of the bottom three playoff spots.
It's still too early to be counting magic numbers but if you are wondering, the Spruce Kings magic number against the Quesnel Millionaires is 41. That's any combination of points gained by the Spruce Kings and lost by the Millionaires. It is that magic number that puts so much importance on the games this weekend as the magic number has the potential to change by eight points. The other magic numbers are 40 against Trail, 39 against Merritt and 32 against Williams Lake.
Showing posts with label Quesnel Millionaires. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Quesnel Millionaires. Show all posts
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Saturday, September 12, 2009
The Sun Came Up
Forgive me for bringing up that old cliché, but I couldn't resist after the gorgeous start to the day on the heels of what can only be described as a meltdown from the previous night. The Spruce Kings opened their 2009/10 season with great promise and were greeted by cheers and rounds of applause by the nearly 1,500 in attendance for the home opener. Unfortunately the newest incarnation of the Spruce Kings were shown just how important it is to play a complete 60 minutes in the British Columbia Hockey League.
After the opening roster introductions and national anthem was sung, the puck dropped to open the 2009/10 season. The visiting Westside Warriors went on the attack early, but some good defensive zone coverage and some early saves got the fans into the game and allowed the momentum to shift in favour of the home team. Prince George was awarded consecutive powerplays and while up a man on a 4-on-3 situation, Nick DeSousa found himself at the right spot and the right time to open the scoring and give the Spruce Kings a 1-0 lead.
Penalty troubles continued for the visiting Westside Warriors to the point where the Spruce Kings actually had a two man advantage with a third penalized player sitting in the box waiting for his penalty time to start. The Spruce Kings were able to test out their power play with the extended two-man advantage and it was during this sustained pressure that a high shot found the newly strung (tightly strung, I might add) twine just under the cross bar and inside the goal post. Unfortunately it was ruled at the time a save because of how quickly the puck came back out into the play. Maybe that was a sign of things to come ...
After a long run with no whistles, the Spruce Kings players and coaching staff had a chance to call over the referee to plead their case, but to no avail. As the play resumed, the Westside Warriors took advantage of the seemingly confused Spruce Kings and tied the score up at one. The Spruce Kings would get that one back on a nice shot by off-season acquisition Brooks Robinson and took a 2-1 lead to the dressing room after the first period.
The Spruce Kings came out strong in the second period and drew two more consecutive penalties against the Warriors in what would ultimate prove to be the turning point of the game. In their second two man advantage of the game, Prince George was unable to get anything past the visitor's netminder despite good puck possession and control in the offensive zone. Shortly after the penalties expired, Westside went down the other end and got their first good scoring chance of the period but were stopped by a quick whistle just before the puck crossed the goal line.
The Warriors were undeterred and made the most of their limited chances in the second period, scoring three times before the buzzer sounded to send the teams to their dressing rooms to regroup. The Warriors came out even stronger in the third and limited Prince George to just six shots while scoring four times on their 13 shots in the final frame. The game ended on the rough side with a total of three fights in the final minute. I fully expect there to be a suspension or two as a result, but will have to wait until the league releases its decision.
Meanwhile, under the warm sunshine of a new day, the Prince George Spruce Kings will have to turn their attention to the return of the Penticton Vees into the Coliseum. The last time this Interior Division team was here saw an exciting playoff game go the way of the Spruce Kings as they forced a fifth and deciding game back in Penticton. It is always exciting to see the first meeting between two teams that last met in the playoffs and I don't suspect tonight's contest will lack any enthusiasm.
There is always just enough players on both squads to keep memories alive and well and this is the stuff that builds rivalries ... so let the Vees and Spruce Kings rivalry begin anew tonight. Game time is 7:00pm at the Prince George Coliseum with doors open at 6:00pm.
On a side note, the BCHL Commissioner John Grisdale will be in attendance tonight as he makes a northern road swing. Last night he welcomed the Williams Lake Timberwolves back into the league after a two season absence and, after checking out things in the northern most stop of the league, will welcome coach Glen Watson back to the BCHL when he visits Quesnel.
After the opening roster introductions and national anthem was sung, the puck dropped to open the 2009/10 season. The visiting Westside Warriors went on the attack early, but some good defensive zone coverage and some early saves got the fans into the game and allowed the momentum to shift in favour of the home team. Prince George was awarded consecutive powerplays and while up a man on a 4-on-3 situation, Nick DeSousa found himself at the right spot and the right time to open the scoring and give the Spruce Kings a 1-0 lead.
Penalty troubles continued for the visiting Westside Warriors to the point where the Spruce Kings actually had a two man advantage with a third penalized player sitting in the box waiting for his penalty time to start. The Spruce Kings were able to test out their power play with the extended two-man advantage and it was during this sustained pressure that a high shot found the newly strung (tightly strung, I might add) twine just under the cross bar and inside the goal post. Unfortunately it was ruled at the time a save because of how quickly the puck came back out into the play. Maybe that was a sign of things to come ...
After a long run with no whistles, the Spruce Kings players and coaching staff had a chance to call over the referee to plead their case, but to no avail. As the play resumed, the Westside Warriors took advantage of the seemingly confused Spruce Kings and tied the score up at one. The Spruce Kings would get that one back on a nice shot by off-season acquisition Brooks Robinson and took a 2-1 lead to the dressing room after the first period.
The Spruce Kings came out strong in the second period and drew two more consecutive penalties against the Warriors in what would ultimate prove to be the turning point of the game. In their second two man advantage of the game, Prince George was unable to get anything past the visitor's netminder despite good puck possession and control in the offensive zone. Shortly after the penalties expired, Westside went down the other end and got their first good scoring chance of the period but were stopped by a quick whistle just before the puck crossed the goal line.
The Warriors were undeterred and made the most of their limited chances in the second period, scoring three times before the buzzer sounded to send the teams to their dressing rooms to regroup. The Warriors came out even stronger in the third and limited Prince George to just six shots while scoring four times on their 13 shots in the final frame. The game ended on the rough side with a total of three fights in the final minute. I fully expect there to be a suspension or two as a result, but will have to wait until the league releases its decision.
Meanwhile, under the warm sunshine of a new day, the Prince George Spruce Kings will have to turn their attention to the return of the Penticton Vees into the Coliseum. The last time this Interior Division team was here saw an exciting playoff game go the way of the Spruce Kings as they forced a fifth and deciding game back in Penticton. It is always exciting to see the first meeting between two teams that last met in the playoffs and I don't suspect tonight's contest will lack any enthusiasm.
There is always just enough players on both squads to keep memories alive and well and this is the stuff that builds rivalries ... so let the Vees and Spruce Kings rivalry begin anew tonight. Game time is 7:00pm at the Prince George Coliseum with doors open at 6:00pm.
On a side note, the BCHL Commissioner John Grisdale will be in attendance tonight as he makes a northern road swing. Last night he welcomed the Williams Lake Timberwolves back into the league after a two season absence and, after checking out things in the northern most stop of the league, will welcome coach Glen Watson back to the BCHL when he visits Quesnel.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
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).
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).
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Not Too Far Away Now
It isn't hard to see that the hockey season isn't very far away now with everything that is happening around the Coliseum these past few days. The Spruce Kings office has been busy after a few weeks of down time during the dog days of summer. There is going to be a lot to write (or blog) about over the next couple of days and I will try and get it all out there.
The Spruce Kings Hockey School is starting its final week and has been fielding requests for last minute registrations (can still fit a couple into the 12 - 14 age group). Speaking of the hockey school, that is Nick Drazenovic in a Spruce Kings jersey participating in the Junior Conditioning Camp during the second week of the School. Dave Simoes also showed up during the week and helped to push those junior and major junior hopefuls hard before they head off to their respective camps.
Talking with Nick, it sounds like he has a busy few weeks ahead of him as he will be in Edmonton this week before heading to Peoria and then St. Louis. Watching the Prince George minor hockey product on the ice was a treat as Nick had a ton of hustle and great puck sense. A trio of young men that came down from Whitehorse to skate in the Junior Conditioning Camp said they got a lot more than they bargained for and were excited they had the opportunity to skate, practice and scrimmage with the calibre of players that they did.
I will have a bit of an article on the main Spruce Kings website once the camp is done, but the early reports that are coming in speak quite favourable for the level of instruction and what the students have taken away from the rink so far. A big thank you has to go out to Bayne Koen, the Spruce Kings assistant coach drafted up a daily practice and drill schedule for the age groups. Of course the instructors deserve all of the thanks for their hard work both on and off the ice through the two weeks so far.
In the hockey ops office the ringer on the phone has been getting a work out too as other coaches and general managers touch base with Ed Dempsey and Mike Hawes. A lot of the conversations are simply catching up and going over schedules and other hockey related matters, but of course there have been a few trade talks as well and the Spruce Kings have worked a few deals that have changed their roster.
The most recent addition is Brooks Robinson, a highly respected forward that has played the majority of his junior career on the island splitting duties with the Cowichan Valley Capitals and the Powell River Kings. It was the Coastal Division Kings that traded Robinson to Grande Prairie at the trade deadline where Brooks played in the Storm's final 16 regular season games and 19 post season games.
Another name that will show up on the Spruce Kings roster when the season starts is that of RJay Berra. I know what you are thinking, RJay was on the Spruce Kings roster last year. True, he was, but in what can only be described as an interesting story, RJay also appeared on the roster of two other BCHL teams this summer. After spending the off season in Vancouver working, RJay is in the process of packing up his bags for his return to Prince George and I hope to speak to him on Monday and have that interview available on here shortly afterwards.
Expect another media release from the Spruce Kings this week as well announcing a neutral site location for the team's second exhibition season game. It is perhaps the worst kept secret as everyone at the base of Hudson Bay mountain already knows and is waiting to purchase tickets once they go on sale. Insurance and a few other pieces of red tape had to be sorted out before it could become official, but it is expected to be made official early next week that the Spruce Kings and the Quesnel Millionaires will play at the Smithers Civic Arena on September 2nd.
Okay that is it for now, more details on all of those stories and more are promised for the days ahead. In the meantime however, I am going to be working on some more sponsorships for the Spruce Kings broadcast. Hey, if you would like to show your support of the Spruce Kings with an ad in the game program or on the radio broadcast, drop me a line. Don't wait though as the game program goes to print next week and available spots in the game are limited.
The Spruce Kings Hockey School is starting its final week and has been fielding requests for last minute registrations (can still fit a couple into the 12 - 14 age group). Speaking of the hockey school, that is Nick Drazenovic in a Spruce Kings jersey participating in the Junior Conditioning Camp during the second week of the School. Dave Simoes also showed up during the week and helped to push those junior and major junior hopefuls hard before they head off to their respective camps.Talking with Nick, it sounds like he has a busy few weeks ahead of him as he will be in Edmonton this week before heading to Peoria and then St. Louis. Watching the Prince George minor hockey product on the ice was a treat as Nick had a ton of hustle and great puck sense. A trio of young men that came down from Whitehorse to skate in the Junior Conditioning Camp said they got a lot more than they bargained for and were excited they had the opportunity to skate, practice and scrimmage with the calibre of players that they did.
I will have a bit of an article on the main Spruce Kings website once the camp is done, but the early reports that are coming in speak quite favourable for the level of instruction and what the students have taken away from the rink so far. A big thank you has to go out to Bayne Koen, the Spruce Kings assistant coach drafted up a daily practice and drill schedule for the age groups. Of course the instructors deserve all of the thanks for their hard work both on and off the ice through the two weeks so far.
In the hockey ops office the ringer on the phone has been getting a work out too as other coaches and general managers touch base with Ed Dempsey and Mike Hawes. A lot of the conversations are simply catching up and going over schedules and other hockey related matters, but of course there have been a few trade talks as well and the Spruce Kings have worked a few deals that have changed their roster.
The most recent addition is Brooks Robinson, a highly respected forward that has played the majority of his junior career on the island splitting duties with the Cowichan Valley Capitals and the Powell River Kings. It was the Coastal Division Kings that traded Robinson to Grande Prairie at the trade deadline where Brooks played in the Storm's final 16 regular season games and 19 post season games.
Another name that will show up on the Spruce Kings roster when the season starts is that of RJay Berra. I know what you are thinking, RJay was on the Spruce Kings roster last year. True, he was, but in what can only be described as an interesting story, RJay also appeared on the roster of two other BCHL teams this summer. After spending the off season in Vancouver working, RJay is in the process of packing up his bags for his return to Prince George and I hope to speak to him on Monday and have that interview available on here shortly afterwards.
Expect another media release from the Spruce Kings this week as well announcing a neutral site location for the team's second exhibition season game. It is perhaps the worst kept secret as everyone at the base of Hudson Bay mountain already knows and is waiting to purchase tickets once they go on sale. Insurance and a few other pieces of red tape had to be sorted out before it could become official, but it is expected to be made official early next week that the Spruce Kings and the Quesnel Millionaires will play at the Smithers Civic Arena on September 2nd.
Okay that is it for now, more details on all of those stories and more are promised for the days ahead. In the meantime however, I am going to be working on some more sponsorships for the Spruce Kings broadcast. Hey, if you would like to show your support of the Spruce Kings with an ad in the game program or on the radio broadcast, drop me a line. Don't wait though as the game program goes to print next week and available spots in the game are limited.
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