Venue: Rolling Mix Concrete Arena
Game Time: Friday January 13th @ 7pm
The home side is coming off a 5-3 loss at the hands of the Vernon Vipers on Wednesday. After scoring nine power play goals the five previous games, the man-advantage was shut down. One bright spot on the night was the play of Hunter Luhmann. A 24 game goal drought was ended as Luhmann scored his side’s first two goals of the game. More good news was the return of Tanner Campbell. The game legs may not be quite where he wants them, but he was back to his usual self of making precise passes with the great vision he possesses.
Thanks to a strong third period, the Spruce Kings were able to outshoot the Vipers, and that ended a four game streak that had seen PG outshot by their opponents. Their season high was five which was set in the first five games of the season.
Coming over from the Prince George Cougars, Ethan O’Rourke didn’t have a lot of time to practice with his new team, but the hulking 6’5” forward looked good in the Spruce Kings debut. Using his size the 1999 forward was able to win battles on the walls, and showed off his quick hands on a few occasions.
BROADCAST LINKS
WATCH on HockeyTV
LISTEN on Mixlr
STANDINGS:
This weekend will be the last time the Prince George Spruce Kings (19-17-2-2) play at home in the regular season against the Chilliwack Chiefs (26-9-5-0). These are two teams that do have a chance of a first round playoff match though. The Chiefs are pushing to catch the Wenatchee Wild who Prince George will play next week, and the Spruce Kings are in a fight for third with Langley in the Mainland.
WHO TO WATCH:
PRINCE GEORGE:
Tanner Campbell – FWD: Missing two months doesn’t help any player. While most players in the league are in mid-season form, Campbell will need to quickly regain the play that saw him put up 19 points in 22 games before his injury. His first game back was Wednesday, and his vision was right where it left off. Look for him to improve each game this week.
Adam Burnett – DEF: The first time these teams met, Burnett came out with a pair of assists including one on the power play where PG was 2 for 6. With four points in his last six games he has bounced back after
CHILLIWACK:
Kale Kane – FWD: He missed the first two meetings with Prince George this season, but Kane will finally slot into the lineup tonight. Last year against Prince George, the Quebec forward had two goals and six assists.
Mark Sinclair – G: When Prince George first played Chilliwack, they were able to score three goals against Brendan Barry (an empty netter was added later). The Chiefs replied with Sinclair in net for the next game, and he came up huge stopping 46 of 48 shots to preserve his team’s 3-2 win.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE:
Spruce Kings vs Chilliwack Chiefs – Saturday January 14th, 7pm – Rolling Mix Concrete Arena
Spruce Kings @ Wenatchee Wild – Friday January 20th, 7pm – Town Toyota Center
Spruce Kings @ Wenatchee Wild – Saturday January 21st, 7pm – Town Toyota Center
