Spruce Kings Crusader: Tanner Fjellstrom

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Saturday, December 8, 2012

Morrissey, Staley lead Spruce Kings past Express

Jace Hennig (19) had a big game against his former team

It was fourth time the charm for the Prince George Spruce Kings on Saturday night.

The Spruce Kings proved capable of building a lead against the visiting Coquitlam Express, but for the first 21 minutes or so had a hard time making it stick. It wasn't until Shayne Morrissey broke a 3-3 tie that gave the Spruce Kings their fourth lead of the game that the home side was able to solidify it and skate away with a 6-4 win.

Morrissey, who scored twice in the second period, was named the Treasure Trove Casino second star. He had a few chances to complete the hat trick, missing the net on one play midway through the third and getting stopped by Coquitlam goalie Cole Huggins on a backhand attempt later in the same shift.

Chad Staley, the first star, also had a pair of goals as the Spruce Kings won back-to-back games for the first time since the end of October. The victory gives them a three-point cushion over the Express in the battle for third in the Mainland Division and it also keeps the Spruce Kings in touch with the soaring second-place Surrey Eagles. With two wins already this weekend, Prince George is only two points behind Surrey.

Morrissey notched his first 80 seconds into the second period assisted by Jace Hennig, who recorded his first point in just his second game with the Spruce Kings after being acquired in a trade from the Express. Hennig was named the Dairy Queen player of the game.

Morrissey's second came at 12:43 just after an Express penalty expired. Skylar Pacheco got the play started with a point shot and Coltyn Hansen poked the rebound to Morrissey who deposited the puck into the yawning cage at 12:43.

Staley gave the Spruce Kings a three-goal lead at 5:29 of the third. Mitch Eden charged into the zone, shot and collected his own rebound behind the net. Eden fed Jeremiah Luedtke at the side of the net, Luedtke waited for Staley to get open at the far post and found his linemate.

Philip Zielonka made it a two-goal game at 11:45, assisted by Mitch Fyffe and John Siemer and the were some tense moments for the Spruce Kings in the final minutes as Mitch Eden was whistled for interference and the Express pulled Huggins for a 6-on-4 advantage. Kirk Thompson held strong, making a handful of his 31saves to pick up his 13th win in net. Huggins made 36 saves in a losing effort.

The Spruce Kings took the lead three times in a wild first period, only to see the Express come back each time to tie the score. Both team connected for three goals on 11 shots in the opening 20 minutes.

Mark Begert got things started - and unleashed an avalanche of socks, toques and other donations for the St. Vincent de Paul Society - with a power-play tally at 5:39. Begert's first goal of the season, scored against his former teammates no less, was a point shot which hit a body on it's way past Huggins. Tanner Fjellstrom and Karan Toor picked up the assists.

Will Cook got the Express back on even terms at 8:09, jamming a wrap around past Thompson at 8:09 with assists going to Brandon Morley and Justin Georgeson.

With Shayne Morrissey in the box for slashing, the Spruce Kings struck with a short-handed tally at 9:34. Bryant Christian got control of the puck in the neutral zone, fed Tyson Witala and the Spruce Kings forward gained the line, skated across the high lot and wired a shot passed Huggins.

Fans didn't have a chance to digest that goal, before the Express found the equalizer. Just 16 seconds later on the same power play, Zack Pryzbek took a feed from Cook and beat Thompson.

The prettiest goal of the first came next as the Spruce Kings broke in 3-on-2, with defenceman Mitch Eden leading the way. Eden passed it to Justin Rai on the wing and Rai patiently waited for Staley, the fourth man on the rush to gain the zone. Staley had all day to pick his spot and made no mistake, scoring at 13:27. Rai was named the Fortis BC Energy player of the game.

Mark Biega's seeing-eye point shot at 17:07 beat Thompson and sent the teams tied 3-3 heading into the locker rooms. Travis Stephens and Adam Rockwood got the helpers. Stephens was named the game's third star.

The two teams meet again Sunday at 3 p.m. as the Spruce Kings close out their seven-game homestand - through the first six games they've picked up six points. After this weekend, the Spruce Kings won't be back at the Castle until Jan. 18 when Chilliwack comes for another two-game visit.

Friday, December 7, 2012

Spruce Kings down Capitals to Snap Skid

Tanner Fjellstrom (17) scores the eventual game winner

It's only one game in, but December already appears to be much more friendly to the Prince George Spruce Kings.

Tanner Fjellstrom's second period power-play goal held up as the game winner as the Spruce Kings downed the visiting Cowichan Valley Capitals 3-1 on Friday night to snap a five-game losing skid. The win, the 13th of the year in 28 starts, gives the Spruce Kings 32 points and sole possession of third place in the Mainland Division heading into a crucial showdown with the Coquitlam Express later this season.

After a strong start to the game, the Spruce Kings were unable to generate much offence in the first period as both teams felt each other out during their first meeting of the year.

Once the puck dropped in the second period it didn't take long for the Spruce Kings to strike. At just 1:26 of the middle stanza, Jeremiah Luedtke took a feed from Chad Staley and beat Derek Dun to open the scoring. The Staley-Luedtke-Justin Rai line was the best the Spruce Kings had to offer Friday as they controlled the play whenever they were on the ice.

Staley was rewarded with the Treasure Trove Casino first star honour, while Luedtke was named the second star. Although he wasn't honoured with a post-game award, Rai played a very strong game as he returned from injury.

Fjellstrom doubled the Spruce Kings lead at 7:31 of the second using his reach to bang in a rebound. Tyson Witala and Karan Toor picked up the assists.

The power-play tally ended an 0-for-18 dry spell for the Spruce Kings on the man advantage. Although it was the only power-play goal of the game for the home side, the Spruce Kings showed some good puck movement while up a man which could lead to more goals down the road.

Thanks to three straight power plays, the Spruce Kings dominated the game during the early and middle stages of the second, but the Capitals came on strong in the latter stages.

After a turnover at the Cowichan Valley blue-line, Capitals forward Luke Gordon took a stretch pass, stepped over the Spruce Kings blue-line and wired a shot over the shoulder of Prince George goalie Kirk Thompson to cut the lead in half. Troy Paterson and Tyler Mueller got the assists and Gordon got third-star honours.

The Spruce Kings took the 2-1 lead into the second intermission and played strong defensively in the third, limiting the Capitals ability to come back.

Coltyn Hansen added an empty net goal late for an insurance marker.

Dun was the busier of the two goaltenders, making 31 saves. Thompson made 22 stops to get the win.

Spruce Kings forward Bryant Christian was named the Fortis BC Energy player of the game, while Sean Landrey took home Dairy Queen player of the game honours.

Jace Hennig, making his debut in the lineup for the Spruce Kings, was used in all situations - power play, penalty kill and even strength - and had a strong two-way game.

The Express are in town for back-to-back games on Saturday (7:30 p.m.) and Sunday (3 p.m.) as the Spruce Kings wrap up a seven-game homestand and look put more distance between themselves and Coquitlam in the battle for third place.

Friday, November 23, 2012

Eagles soar over Spruce Kings in 2OT

Tanner Fjellstrom (17) was the only Spruce King
to be credited with a goal on this night

For about five minutes the Prince George Spruce Kings thought they had taken over second place in the Mainland Division on Friday night, but in the end it was the Surrey Eagles who skated away with a 2-1 double overtime win at the Coliseum.

Tyson Witala had what the Spruce Kings believed was the game-winning goal 30 seconds into the first overtime and it was initially ruled as such on the ice. The Spruce Kings' bench cleared, the celebration was underway. But after a long huddle the officials and the goal judge eventually determined the puck didn't go in.

Play resumed and at 2:57 of the second overtime Michael Stenerson scored the winner for the Eagles as they evened the season series against Prince George at two wins apiece. Stenerson was able to convert after a scramble in front of the net, getting the puck over a sprawling Kirk Thompson in the Spruce Kings' net.

Thompson, the Treasure Trove Casino first star Friday night was rock solid in the Spruce Kings net making 38 saves including a couple of big ones down the stretch in the third period of ensure the game got to the extra session.

His counterpart at the other end, Michael Santaguida was just as sharp making 35 saves to earn second-star honours. Spruce Kings forward Ryan Keis was the third star.

After a scoreless first period, Tanner Fjellstrom opened the scoring for the Spruce Kings in the second period, finishing off a nice passing play with Coltyn Hansen and Keis at 9:57. Hansen was the catalyst, breaking in on the rush, but having the awareness to wait for his teammates before setting up the play. Santaguida got a glove on Keis' shot, but Fjellstrom buried the rebound for his first BCHL goal.

The Eagles got back on even terms at 12:40 of the middle stanza as Stenerson was credited with the power-play goal off a feed from Mason Blacklock. Jordan Klimek was also given an assist on the play.

Neither team had long stretches of dominant play and that was reflected on the shot count as it went back and forth all night long, Surrey finishing with a 40-36 advantage.

The two newcomers on the Spruce Kings blue-line were strong in their debuts, Mark Begert saw plenty of ice time including long stretches in overtime. Kevin Guiltinan used his big body to push the Eagles around and was the Fortis Energy player of the game.

The Dairy Queen player of the game was Spruce Kings forward Bryant Christian who helped orchestrate some excellent scoring changes and played a strong two-way game.

The Spruce Kings and Eagles will do it all again Saturday night at the Castle, with another 7 p.m. start.

Saturday, September 1, 2012

Spruce Kings Finish Preseason

Kirk Thompson making a stop on the game's first star

Braden Crone scored twice as the Grande Prairie Storm completed a sweep of a home-and-home pre-season series against the Prince George Spruce Kings with a 5-2 win Saturday night at the Coliseum.

The loss evens the Spruce Kings' pre-season record at 2-2 as they now turn their attention to the opening of the regular season next weekend in Chilliwack.

Kody Disher and Liam Board had the goals for the Spruce Kings while Kirk Thompson took the loss in net.

In addition to the pair from Crone, Grande Prairie also got tallies from Jordan McTaggert, Ryan Matthews and Marc Drapeau. David Readman and Curtis Skip split the goaltending duties for the Storm.

The visitors got on the board first as McTaggert converted a turnover at the Spruce Kings' blue-line and wired a shot past Thompson just under five minutes into the game. Grande Prairie had the territorial edge early and looked poised to open an even bigger lead, similar to the 3-0 advantage they had in the first period in Friday night's contest. The Storm won that game 4-2.

The Spruce Kings found their legs in the middle part of the period and got back on even terms as Disher poked home a lose puck at the side of the net. Disher didn't have much of an angle to work with but he found a way to get the puck pass Readman.

The score was tied 1-1 after one period but the Storm took over in the decisive middle stanza, scoring three times. Matthews got things started with a power-play tally early in the period after Drapeau and Crone scored just over two minutes apart in the middle part of the frame, the Spruce Kings found themselves in a deep whole. Although Prince George generated some chances in the second half of the second, they weren't able to close the gap.

It could have been even worse as Thompson came up big to stop Crone on the breakaway, but the Storm still took a 4-1 lead into the second intermission. Board got Prince George back within two with a power-play goal with just over five minutes to go in the third, but that was as close as the Spruce Kings could get. Crone iced it for Grande Prairie with his second of the night with just over a minute to go in the game.

Among the bright spots for the Spruce Kings was the play of defenceman Mitch Eden, who was solid in his own zone and not afraid to join the rush.

The line of Chad Staley, Jeremiah Luedtke and Jake LeBrun had the most sustained offensive pressure for Prince George, but weren't able to connect at even strength. Both Tanner Fjellstrom and David London left the game with injuries.

The Spruce Kings open the regular season in Chilliwack next Saturday afternoon against Merritt as part of the BCHL showcase.

This article was submitted by Peter James

Thursday, May 3, 2012

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