Heading into 2016, the Spruce Kings had a big game against the team they were chasing in the playoffs. With the Coquitlam Express hosting, the Spruce Kings sat 15 points back of the 4thplayoff position that Coquitlam holds.
The action was back and forth all night, with the teams trading goals, and never taking more than a two goal lead.
Scoring was started by Coquitlam, and Austin McIlmurray burst down the right side of the ice, and snapped a shot far side past McCloskey just 32 seconds into the game.
Nic Ponak would respond for the Spruce Kings though, knocking home a rebound for his second goal in three games. Liam Watson-Brawn took the original shot from the blueline, and the assist on the play marked his first BCHL point. It was the Burnaby Winter Club callup’s fifth game with the team, and the first since committing to play with Prince George for next season.
A few minutes later with Jarod Hovde in the box for slashing, Coquitlam’s power play unit with the best success at home went to work. Jackson Cressey took a pass from Colton Kerfoot, and banked a shot in to retake the lead at 2-1.
Hovde would redeem himself with 35 seconds to go, as he managed to bury a shot past Lawson Fenton to tie the game at two heading into the first intermission.
Austin McIllmurray would score again in the second to give him a double for the night. The third period then saw his minor hockey teammate Matt Stief score with just under 10 minutes remaining in regulation to tie things up.
The game looked to be heading to overtime, but Coquitlam had other plans as the big ine of Cressey-Kerfoor-McIllurray was sent out for one last push. As the Spruce Kings were focussing on them in the corner, Taylor Green opened up at the blue line, and took a feed from Jake Brien before slapping home the game winning goal with 25 seconds left.
Liam McCloskey made his first start of the new year, stopping 29 of 33 shots. It marked the first game of Joseph McLeod suiting up in the backup role, after being signed from the Castlegar Rebels of the Kootenay Junior Hockey League.
Following the loss to Coquitlam, the Spruce Kings were in desperate need of some points. The task wouldn’t be easy, as they faced Langley who had won all three games in the series heading in, and had outscored Prince George 14-2 in those three games.
Through two periods, the Spruce Kings were right in it, trailing just 2-1 heading into the third period. They would surrender five goals in the third though, and fall 7-1 in the end.
Prince George had a great chance to start out, as just seven seconds into the game William Campion took an interference penalty. Heading into the game Prince George was 0 for their last 29, and kept to that trend as they were shutout on all five man advantages against the Rivermen, including 1:29 of 5 on 3 time.
Langley would get the scoring started on a power play of their own, as Matt Stief held onto a puck when attempting to clear it, and took a penalty for it. On a big rebound, Matty Saharhuck was able to knock the puck in to beat McCloskey for the first goal of the game. Then just three minutes later it was Jason O’Neill getting on the board to double the Rivermen lead.
Before the period closed out though, Adam Burnett took a pass from Corey Hoffman, and sent a slap shot past Bo Didur to get PG within one.
Turning Point:
The second period was pretty quiet until the end, when the Spruce Kings drew two penalties to go on a 5 on 3 for nearly a minute and a half. They were unsuccessful, and gave up a glorious chance to tie the game heading into the final frame.
Langley made PG pay dearly for not converting on that extended 5 on 3, and rattled off five goals in a span of fifteen minutes in the third. Campion would score less than a minute in, and then at the halfway mark of the third the captain Jordan Schneider took a feed from Dominic Franco, and wired the puck past McCloskey for his first goal of the season. That was followed up by two quick goals from Max Kaufman and Troy Ring 19 seconds apart which was enough for Chad van Diemen to pull Liam McCloskey, and put Joseph McLeod in for his first game with the team. The netminder didn’t get off to the greatest start, as Matthew Graham rang a shot off the crossbar, and Ryan Barrow picked up the rebound catching McLeod out of position after the original shot.
GAME NOTES: With the loss, Prince George now sits 17 points behind Coquitlam for the final playoff spot, and the Express hold a game in hand — Prince George has been outscored 21-3 in the four games they’ve played against Langley.
The team will be back on the road again this weekend as they take on Surrey (Friday), Coquitlam (Saturday), and Chilliwack (Sunday). That will be followed up by four weeks of home games.
