The Prince George Spruce Kings (16-11-2-1) will play their first games of 2023 at their home arena of Kopar Memorial Arena. With the league-leading Penticton Vees (29-2-0-0) coming to town, it has been anything but a light week worth of practice.
REGULAR SEASON SCHEDULE VS. PENTICTON
Friday, November 4th @ South Okanagan Events Centre (4-0 Vees) (BOXSCORE)
Saturday, November 19th @ South Okanagan Events Centre (4-1 Vees) (BOXSCORE)
Friday, January 6th @ Kopar Memorial Arena (7:00 PM)
Saturday, January 7th @ Kopar Memorial Arena (7:00 PM)
Saturday, February 25th @ Kopar Memorial Arena (7:00 PM)
The Spruce Kings come into this weekend after splitting last weekend’s series against the Wenatchee Wild south of the border. Both games went to overtime in high-scoring affairs with a combined 20 goals being scored through the two games. Ben LeFranc played the overtime winner on Friday with the Spruce Kings winning 5-4, and that was led up by a 6-5 loss on Saturday with Calgary Flames draft pick Cade Littler securing the win for the Wild.
Spruce Kings Leading Scorers:
John Herrington (16-11-27)
Jake Schneider (11-12-23)
Austin Fraser (8-15-23)
Luca Primerano (6-16-22)
Kilian McGregor-Bennett (7-14-21)
Three Spruce Kings were given honourable mentions from the league after the BCHL announced its Three Stars of the Week. Forwards Jake Schneider, Austin Fraser, and defenceman Charlie Banquier pieced together four-point weekends in Wenatchee. Schneider and Fraser each scored two goals and two assists as they brought their offensive play to a higher level. Banquier tallied a goal and three assists while continuing to be a physical force along the team’s blue line.
The Spruce Kings will wear their Indigenous jerseys on Friday against the Vees. The team wore these jerseys for the first time during their home opener back on September 30th. The jerseys were designed by Indigenous artist Clayton Gauthier.
Look at the detail put into our Indigenous jerseys!
We’ll be wearing these jerseys during our home opener on Friday against the Vernon Vipers in conjunction with the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
📸 @itsjdphoto pic.twitter.com/7OtqlGeyHY
— Prince George Spruce Kings (@SpruceKings) September 27, 2022
Friday will mark the first time this season that the Penticton Vees make the trip up to Prince George. Both the two games played between these two clubs have been played at the South Okanagan Events Centre in Penticton.
Vees Leading Scorers:
Bradly Nadeau (27-36-63)
Josh Nadeau (21-41-62)
Aydar Suniev (22-28-50)
Brett Moravec (17-16-33)
Jackson Nieuwendyk (13-12-25)
Josh Nadeau has been an offensive force against the Spruce Kings, scoring one goal and six assists in two games. Aydar Suniev has also had added success to an already strong rookie season, scoring three goals and two assists against Prince George.
With just two games played between these two teams, there is a silver lining for the Spruce Kings. While all of Penticton’s goals in their first meeting came on even strength, the Spruce Kings actually tied the Vees 1-1 when playing five-on-five in their last meeting on November 19th. Three of the four goals by Penticton were scored on the powerplay, and their lone even-strength goal came just three seconds after a Spruce Kings penalty expired.
Excuses aside, the Spruce Kings will have to play a disciplined game in order to take down the Vees. Prior to the holiday break, the Vees suffered their first two losses of the season earlier in the month of December, losing 2-1 to Wenatchee and 4-1 to Cranbrook.
The Spruce Kings and Vees will clash for the third of five times in the regular season on Friday night with puck drop slated for 7:00 PM at Kopar Memorial Arena. The game can be streamed online on BCHLTV.ca.
