PG Citizen: BCHL Decides 2012-13 Playoff Format

[Spruce] Kings GM Hawes likes his club's chances of joining post-season party

by Sheri Lamb, Citizen staff

Mike Hawes had some satisfaction after the British Columbia Hockey League's annual general meeting.

The Prince George Spruce Kings general manager was content with the decisions made at the meeting in Richmond, June 7-9, including the decision on the new playoff format. Hawes said there was some arguing as each general manager tried to finagle the best for his team but in the end there was compromise.

Tyson Witala leaps to deflect a shot against
the Merritt Centennials during the 2011-12 playoffs

"Everybody knows they need to bend a little bit to help their partner out in the league," said Hawes. "At the end of the day everybody ends up getting a schedule they're fairly content with."

At meetings earlier this year, the BCHL decided to return to three divisions, with the Coastal Conference being split into the Island and Mainland Divisions. The Kings were also transferred from the Interior Conference to the Coastal Conference and will play in the Mainland Division.

No playoff schedule was decided upon until last weekend. In the two Coastal divisions, four of the five teams will qualify for the playoffs, with the top seed facing the fourth seed and the second and third seeds facing off. In the Interior, the top four of the six teams will qualify for the post season.

The two Coastal Divisions will play a best-of-five series in the first two rounds, switching to a best-of seven in the conference final. The playoff between conference winners for the Fred Page Cup will also be a best-of-seven series.

The Interior Conference will have two best-of-seven rounds with the winner advancing to the final.

"We did that just to make sure the number of games potentially played are about the same as what will potentially be coming out of the Okanagan so that the two teams that play in the league finals will have played approximately the same number of playoff games," said Hawes.

If all series were to go the distance, the Coastal finalist would play 17 games with the Interior finalist having played 14.

The league also decided on its 56-game schedule - four less games than last season - including two games that'll be played in Chilliwack at the BCHL's inaugural Showcase Weekend, Sept. 7-9, at Prospera Centre.

"I was happy with the way ours turned out to be honest," said Hawes. "Our home schedule looks really good. We're going to have three Thursday games and three Sunday games and aside from that the rest of our games will be on Fridays and Saturdays at home this year. For us, that's quite a good schedule."

The schedule, pending governor's approval, should be released by the end of June.

Hawes said he also likes the fact the Kings will see more than one team in Prince George on a number of weekends.

"There will be some doubleheaders with the teams from our division coming up, but they'll be a lot of weekend games where we'll get two or three different opponents in," said Hawes. "I prefer it that way.

"I'm not a huge fan of the doubleheaders," he added. "It's always hard for the home team to win both ends of a doubleheader."

The Kings will face their fiercest rival, the Merritt Centennials, when they open the season at the showcase at noon, Saturday, Sept. 8 and then their face new division rival, the Langley Rivermen, in the final game of the event Sunday at 6 p.m.

"That couldn't have worked out any better for us," said Hawes. "If we're going to play anybody it might as well be Merritt, who we had some real tough battles with last year and the team that knocked us out in the playoffs. We shouldn't have any trouble at all getting up for that game."

The Centennials earned a 4-0 sweep of the Kings in the first round of the playoffs in March.

Against their new division rival, the Kings will be looking to get the upper hand on the Rivermen early in the season.

"Not only is it going to be a big event for our players individually, it's also a big event for our team," said Hawes. "Those two games are definitely going to help to get us going and get us ready for our home games the following weekend."

As for the showcase weekend, Hawes said it's been a long time coming for the BCHL, as the other three western leagues have staged the event for several years.

"It's something that I'm definitely happy our league has gone to," he said. "We probably should've gone to it before now."

By having all 16 teams play two games in a single location, it allows scouts from various NCAA schools, and NHL teams, easy access to watch multiple players.

"Our league is heavily scouted as it is so prior to this year we didn't think it was a necessity but moving forward it is definitely something we can use to our advantage," said Hawes about why the BCHL waited so long to implement the showcase. "It maybe took us a little longer to realize that."

Other decisions the GMs made during their weekend get together included scrapping the 15-year-old player rule, increasing the roster from 21 to 22 players, adding a 30-day injury list in addition the the 60-day injury list and continuing to implement Hockey Canada's junior A supplement initiative for another two seasons.

Hawes said last season the league added the 15-year-old draft to gain more exposure for for the young players and the league, but it didn't seem to have the desired effect in drawing more attention.

"We decided, for this year, that we would scrap it and put some thought towards trying something different," said Hawes.

Two years ago, BCHL teams carried 23-man rosters, which was reduced to 21 last season but much to Hawes' delight teams will have an additional body to play with in the 2012-13 season.

"Definitely a good thing," said Hawes. "To me, [21] wasn't a good number to function within. For most teams in the league when you run into injury problems and stuff like that it definitely creates some hardship for teams trying to find players trying to fill their roster."

Hawes said with 22 players teams can each carry an extra forward and an extra defenceman.

The GMs also tweaked the wording on an old rule, which stated each team in the league had to have one 16 year old and one 17 year old player on their roster. The new rule states, "Every team is required to have two players 17 or under."

It gives teams the opportunity to carry two 17 year old players, two 16 year old players or one of each. Hawes said the Kings have traditionally carried at least one 16 year old and he doesn't see that changing.

Already signed by the Kings is 1996-born goaltender Liam McLeod of Kamloops. Hawes said as the Kings' roster sits presently McLeod would work in tandem with 20-year-old veteran Kirk Thompson in the net.

The BCHL board of governors has until June 25 to vote on the 2012-13 schedule.

Hawes doesn't count out Kings hosting Showcase Weekend

The B.C. Hockey League's decision to implement the showcase weekend where scouts from around the NCAA and various professional teams have a one-stop shopping trip to view prospective players could open up opportunities for the Prince George Spruce Kings.

The inaugural showcase weekend will take place in Chilliwack, Sept. 7-9, with each of the 16 teams playing two regular-season games each.

Kings general manager Mike Hawes said he's open to putting in a bid to host the event in the future.

"It's something we can consider but, obviously, being geographically challenged would create a bunch of extra costs within the league for teams to have to travel up," said Hawes. "That being said, I wouldn't rule it out. Who knows? We'll see what the future brings."

The Kings showed they could host multi-team events in 2007 when the Royal Bank Cup was staged in Prince George. In order to host the showcase, a team would need two ice surfaces - preferably at one location.

Spruce Kings Secure a Playoff Berth

Ty Swabb (35) helped backstop the Spruce Kings to a
playoff berth in a 6-1 win over the Trail Smoke Eaters

The Prince George Spruce Kings clinched a playoff spot Friday after defeating the Smoke Eaters 6-1 in Trail. The win was the team's 31st of the season giving them a 31-19-2-4 record with four games remaining in the regular season. The team now has eyes on finishing as high as second place but will have to work if they want to pass the Merritt Centennials for that spot.

"It's an exciting time for the organization anytime you can clinch a playoff berth," said Spruce Kings General Manager, Mike Hawes following the team's win Friday night in Trail. "When the season started our goal was to make the playoffs. So now that we have achieved that goal the second stage of our focus now is on the playoffs and securing a second or third seeding in the Division."

When looking at some of the aspects of change from the previous two seasons, perhaps the most notable is the number of wins. So far this season, the Spruce Kings have equaled the number of wins from the previous two seasons. Prince George started the year with that weighing on them as well as having the knowledge that only the top four teams would make the post season.

"We went in to the off season knowing that we had a lot of work to do to bring in players to make this a competitive team," said Hawes. "We maybe got lucky with a few players. We knew Paul De Jersey for example was going to be on the first line, but did we think he would be scoring leader in the League at this point in the season? Probably not, no, but that has been very beneficial for us."

"There are many other key acquisitions throughout the season," continued Hawes. "Michael Colantone has worked out well. The Ben Matthews trade we made last summer has worked out very well for us. The Fitzgerald triplets have turned into great assets for us and have improved their defensive game immensely with us. The Ty Swabb deal has really solidified our goaltending. The trade deadline deals (for Jarryd Ten Vaanholt and Zack Rassell) have made us an extremely deep team."

That depth showed on Friday night with six different goal scorers for the Prince George Spruce Kings and four players with multiple points including Jujhar Khaira and Chase Golightly with a goal and a pair of assists each. Paul De Jersey and Ben Woodley both added a pair of helpers in the game while eight more players contributed with single points in the 6-1 win.

After a scoreless first period, the Spruce Kings responded with five goals in the second period starting with Gerry Fitzgerald's 15th of the season two minutes in to the middle frame. That opening goal was followed up with three straight powerplay tallys including the eventual game winner that came off the stick of Chase Golightly from the point. That goal was scored 7 seconds after the Spruce Kings went on their second powerplay chance.

Michael Colantone was the recipient of a perfect pass from Jujhar Khaira who was set up behind the Smoke Eaters net. Colantone's 28th goal of the season came 48 seconds in to Prince George's third powerplay. Jujhar Khaira with two helpers to this point in the game, would get his 28th of the season 1:09 into the team's fourth powerplay after poking home a loose puck following a Paul De Jersey to Jarryd Ten Vaanholt scoring chance.

Myles Fitzgerald would add an even strength marker, his 17th of the season, before the end of the second period and Zack Rassell scored his 4th since becoming a member of the Spruce Kings in the third period to spot Prince George a 6-0 lead. A late penalty against the Spruce Kings led to the Trail Smoke Eaters lone goal of the game with less than two minutes to play in the third period. The goal ended Ty Swabb's shutout bid but wasn't enough to keep the netminder from improving his numbers in the BCHL.

The Spruce Kings have one more game in Trail on Saturday night and then a Sunday afternoon game in Vernon before returning home to finish off the season with a doubleheader against the Penticton Vees. As the General Manager puts it, the team can't be worried about what other teams are going to do, the players have to worry about what they can do in their final four games.

"Our work in the regular season isn't done yet," said Hawes. "Our first goal was to make the playoffs, now that we have done that we would like to secondarily finish has high as we can and get that second spot to gain home ice advantage."

"That's what we're thinking now sitting two points behind Merritt; we're going to have to do our work with a fairly tough schedule here on out. By no means is it going to be an easy task, but we have to put our nose to the grindstone and continue to play good hockey the way we have been and anything can happen."

Trail isn't about to go quietly knowing that Prince George is the only Interior Division team that they haven't been able to take points away from this season. The Vernon Vipers still have their eyes on a playoff spot and the Penticton Vees are going to want to run the table to the end of the season now that they are this close to doing just that.

CNC Challenge Cup, the Playoff Race and Magic Numbers

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.