Game Preview: vs Coquitlam Express

Chad Staley (22) and the Spruce Kings will be
looking to duplicate their efforts from last night

Tonight’s game marks the annual charitable event to raise much needed clothing items for the homeless in our community. The Prince George Spruce Kings provide support for the less fortunate through an ongoing endeavour to assist the St. Vincent de Paul Society including serving lunches.

A little known fact about head coach Dave Dupas is his strong commitment to the Society who can be seen every week at the St. Vincent de Paul Society’s “soup kitchen” serving lunch with a rotating schedule of Spruce Kings players. For Dave it is only a small way to give back to the community that he calls home during the winter months.

Food donations will be accepted at the Spruce Kings game tomorrow night, but tonight it is time to “Drop the Gloves and Sock It to ‘Em.” New socks, gloves and toques sealed in a plastic bag will be thrown on the ice when the Spruce Kings score their first goal of the game.

The opposition tonight is the Coquitlam Express, a Mainland Divisional opponent that the Spruce Kings last played on October 20th. The game finished in favour of Prince George 2-1 after the Spruce Kings scored two unanswered goals in the third period.

Since then the two teams completed a two for one player trade that saw the Spruce Kings acquire 17 year-old Jace Hennig and 19 year-old Mark Begert in exchange for 20 year-old Bradley Ryan. The towering defenceman returns to the Castle where he gained notoriety in the BCHL and secured his previously elusive NCAA Div I Scholarship. After picking up 5 goals and 10 assists in 22 games with the Spruce Kings, Ryan has added 4 more assists in 5 games with the Express.

Last night marked the first game in a Spruce Kings jersey for Jace Hennig who was coming off an injury at the time of the trade. Hennig looked good with his new linemates and showed the promise of skill and talent that has already secured this rookie a Div I scholarship to Merrimack. Mark Begert has also looked good wearing the Crown and has been enjoying his increased ice time on the blue line where he has developed the confidence to jump up on the rush and create scoring chances for his new team.

In the Spruce Kings 3-1 win Friday night over the Cowichan Valley Capitals, the return of Justin Rai seemed to be the catalyst that ignited the Cascade Express Line with Jeremiah Luedtke and Chad Staley. The trio were buzzing all night long – much to the delight of fans who had been missing their energy through the month of November.

Other contributors did so with a methodical businesslike approach to the game. Trevor Esau was a stalwart on the blue line and led by example with timely hits and big blocks while Kirk Thompson turned away 22 of the 23 shots he faced. The Spruce Kings will now look to the game tonight as a chance to continue building confidence and put some separation between them and the fourth place Coquitlam Express.

Please note that tonight's game starts at 7:30pm in the Coliseum with the game broadcast on 93.1 CFIS-FM. It can also be heard online with the free audio broadcast on CFISFM.com and the pay-per-view broadcast on FASTHOCKEY.com. The later start is to accommodate a speed skating tournament in the Coliseum during the day.

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.

Game Preview: vs Cowichan Valley Capitals

Coltyn Hansen (10) and the Spruce Kings will be
looking to start December off the right way

The Prince George Spruce Kings start the month of December with the first of two three game weekends. Tonight it is the Cowichan Valley Capitals in the Castle followed by a double header against the Coquitlam Express on Saturday and Sunday. These will be the final games before the Christmas break on home ice.

The unknown Capitals come in after arriving in Prince George on Thursday night to get acclimated with the area. The Capitals last time in the Northern Capital was December 3rd, 2010 when they came from behind in the third period to win the game 4-3.

Although the team itself hasn’t been in Prince George in over two years, there are a few players on the team that know what it’s like to live and play hockey in the great white north. Luke Gordon from Terrace has played for the Cariboo Cougars as has Hayden-James Berra who is from Prince George and is expecting a big cheering section in the Coliseum.

Berra, who played one game for the Spruce Kings as an affiliate player last season, is expected to dress for the first time since injuring a finger during a team practice. In 18 games with the Capitals this season, Berra has found the net twice and helped to set up two others. Max Mois is another player from Prince George that has drawn into the Capitals lineup as an affiliate player tonight to fill a vacancy from injuries and scratches.

Two of the top four Capitals are injured and will be unavailable tonight. Mikael Jung is the team’s top point getter with 11 goals and 8 assists in 24 games but was injured in the game last weekend against the Victoria Grizzlies. Kelyer Bruce is fourth with 16 points (6G, 10A) but will be serving the first of a two game suspension for a blow to the head penalty in that same game against the Grizzlies.

The Spruce Kings will be without Lyndon Martell tonight who is out with an upper body injury after a collision during practice. Jace Hennig will be in the lineup for his first game with the Spruce Kings after missing the first four with his new team. Also back in the lineup tonight is Justin Rai who missed almost the entire month of November.

Tonight's game is a 7pm start in the Coliseum with the game broadcast on 93.1 CFIS-FM. It can also be heard online with the free audio broadcast on CFISFM.com and the pay-per-view broadcast on FASTHOCKEY.com.

CNC Challenge Cup

CNC Challenge Cup - Fan Favourite Trophy

A long standing trophy in the Spruce Kings trophy case collected dust last year but has since been shined up and is ready to be put back into circulation.

The CNC Challenge Cup was a trophy that the Quesnel Millionaires and the Prince George Spruce Kings played for every season with their season series head-to-head matchups determining the winner. Last year, the trophy sat dormant with the Quesnel Millonaires folding in the off season and relocating to Chilliwack.

This year the CNC Challenge Cup has been shined up and will now be the Fan Favourite Trophy to be presented at the Annual Year-End Banquet and Awards Ceremony. Throughout the regular season fans will have a chance to vote for their favourite players with the player generating the most votes winning the award.

"This is a nice addition to the team's annual trophies," said Spruce King Communications Director, Ron Gallo. "I have always wanted to see a Fan Favourite Trophy so that the fans can have their say as to who their favourite players are. I want to thank the College of New Caledonia for their continued support of the Spruce Kings and their support of the Fan Favourite Player with the CNC Challenge Cup."

Fans will have a couple of opportunities every couple of weeks to vote with a ballot in the daily Game Day magazines as well as a weekly resettable poll found on the Spruce Kings Crusader blog. After January 10th, there will be some head-to-head battles as well. For more information, contact Ron Gallo in the Spruce Kings office.

Officiating Summit

Brad Lazarowich will be in Prince George
for an Official's Summit

On Saturday December 8th, long time official with the National Hockey League, Brad Lazarowich will be in Prince George spending some time with local officials and hockey fans in an Officials Summit. With the idea of sharing life experiences from both on and off the ice, Lazarowich is using his "time off" from his duties with the NHL to be a liaison with the BCHL officials.

Brad Lazarowich claims that his Summit is geared more to linesmen and the role they play on the ice to the referee and the teams. He also acknowledges that referees, fans and broadcasters can find something worthwhile in it and has set it up with the help of his lone sponsor Beck Glass for Saturday afternoon at the CN Centre.

After the local officials spend a few hours with Lazarowich, Spruce Kings season ticket holders and local hockey fans will be welcome to come to the Canfor Room in the CN Centre for the one hour long public forum beginning at 2:30pm. Following that, Brad will head down to the Coliseum to relive some of his younger memories of playing hockey in Prince George and the BCHL game.

I have had the pleasure of speaking with Brad Lazarowich a few times now and have found him to be very forgiving and approachable. Those are some of the characteristics that he is also hoping to leave local officials with after his time in Prince George. I spoke with Brad over the phone and talked a little bit about his time in the NHL, what he is doing this year with the BCHL officials and a few years he spent growing up in Prince George.

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Civic Light Up Thank You

Spruce Kings players at the Civic Light Up Hay Rides

The Prince George Spruce Kings have been trying to get out to as many events as possible this season and have been enjoying everyone they have attended. Whether it be a school visit or to help out with another community event, the players have taken on the challenge of making it a memorable event for all involved.

Last week the City turned on its Christmas Lights in the Annual Civic Light Up event in the Civic Centre Plaza. The Spruce Kings were invited to help out and showed up in full force wearing all three versions of their hockey jerseys. The players helped out with the hay rides predominately and by all reports did a fantastic job.

Following the event, the organizer took the time to send out an email containing specific accounts of where the players made a positive impact on the event. What follows is that email and my thanks for recognizing the contributions of the Spruce Kings in our community.

Thank you! to the Spruce Kings for participating in the Civic Light Up on November 28, 2012. The event was fantastic with 1,500 attendees, 900 cups of hot chocolate served and over 600 hay rides taken. I hope the team had the opportunity to have fun and they as always were a welcome addition to the event.

A Special Thanks to the chaps who helped to the young girl in a wheel chair on and off the hay ride and to the fellows who sang and danced during the hay rides.

Once again Thank You for making the Civic Light Up a special event for the community to enjoy.

All the best of the season to you and your families.

Jasmine Ferris

As a person who has been with the hockey club for as long as I have, this is the kind of stuff that just energizes the team from the inside out. The players this year have been exceptional and eager to do more of these types of activities to show their appreciation of the community that shows their support of the team.

This Friday (December 7), the Spruce Kings players will be on CBC Radio as invited guests to talk about the upcoming Annual Drop the Gloves and Sock It to 'Em game on Saturday night. I will post more information that event shortly but for fans of the Spruce Kings, this is one of those anticipated games every year where fans bring new gloves, socks and toques to be thrown on the ice when the Spruce Kings score their first goal.

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.