Chilliwack entered Prince George with a lot of confidence. In the two previous games in their own barn, the Chiefs had outscored the Spruce Kings 8-1. Being at home didn’t help Prince George a whole lot, as they lost the two games by a combined score of 13-4.
The first game was a lot closer, and the Spruce Kings got off to a hot start.
Off the bat it was Prince George with a quick goal, as Bryan Basilico turned the puck over behind the net, and passed it out front to Nick Guerra who slid the puck five hole on Aidan Pelino just 38 seconds into the game. In his first BCHL game, Chase Dubois from the Cariboo COugars just about scored on the doorstep, making a nice move to drag the puck around Pelino, but the netminder was able to kick the puck out with his toe at the last second.
Then it was Kawaguchi bunching a pair together, as he Darien Craighead was denied the same way Dubois was, but this time around Kawaguchi was there to pick up the rebound, and loft it over the sprawled Sam Tanguay.
To close out the period, the Cariboo Cougar redeemed himself for being stoned earlier in the game. It was first Alex Stoley bursting down the right wing, then Jordan Funk picked up a loose puck and fed Matt Stief in the right faceoff circle who slapped the puck cross ice for Dubois to lift over a stretching Pelino. It was Dubois’ first BCHL goal in his first BCHL game.
The Spruce Kings would get another quick start to the second period, as this time it was Corey Hoffman drafting out to top of the left faceoff dot, and beating Pelino. To retake the lead at 3-2.
Then something odd happened.
A minute or two later Jason, Tatarnic pulled Aidan Pelino from the net, but put him right back just nine seconds later at the next faceoff.
Turning Point: The ploy seemed to work and a two goal outburst in eight seconds by Jordan Kawaguchi put the Spruce Kings on their heels, and the final goal would count to be the game winner.
Finally someone not named Kawaguchi would score for the Chiefs, as Vimal Sukumuran sent a puck from behind the net out front to Austin Adam who ripped a slap shot into the top right corner for a 5-3 Chilliwack lead.
In the third, Olischesfski scored on a sharp angled shot, and then it was Eric Benshadle scoring shorthanded in an empty net to seal the game at 7-3.
Pelino made 23 saves on 26 shots picking up the loss, while Tanguay allowed five goals on 31 shots.
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The next night on their Drop the Gloves and Sock it to Em night, the Spruce Kings got knocked around in the opening frame. The Chiefs scored five unanswered goals in the first, before Corey Hoffman finally beat Aidan Pelino to get the gloves/socks/toques to pour down from the stands. All donations were sent to St. Vincent De Paul.
The opening goal was a dump in by Zach Giuttari that managed to squeak past Liam McCloskey for a quick goal just 24 seconds into the game. Sukumuran scored his first goal of the season against the Spruce Kings, and then Darien Craighead scored on a one timer on the power play. Last night Kawaguchi had four goals, and not to be outdone was Sukumuran, as he added another pair of markers in a span of 15 seconds to complete the hat-trick, and put Chilliwack up 5-0 15 minutes in. Finally Corey Hoffman would break Pelino, as he ripped a shot past Pelino for the Spruce Kings first.
In the second, the Spruce Kings were still able to shut the Chiefs down a little more, but Kawaguchi would score his first of the game bringing his season total against PG to 8 goals.
Prince George managed to fire 17 shots on Pelino, but the Oakville, Ontario native would not be beat. The Spruce Kings had a scary goalie scare, as Sam Tanguay was already out of the game with an injury, and Liam McCloskey stretched a little too far, and remained down for a few minutes. Trainer Pam Solmonson came out and had the young netminder move around the crease when he was ready, and stayed in the game leaving emergency backup Aaron Jakubowski of the Cariboo Cougars on the bench.
Turning Point: Last night it was two goals in a span of eight second by Jordan Kawaguchi, and this time it was Vimal Sukumaran striking twice in 15 seconds this time in the first period to bury the Spruce Kings in a 5-0 hole.
The team is on the road next week, as they have games on the island against Nanaimo and Cowichan Valley, before finishing up before the Christmas break with a game against Langley on the 20th.
