PRINCE GEORGE BC – Nolan Welsh delivered in his first game back, and Jett Alexander stood tall making 35 saves as the Spruce Kings were 3-2 overtime winners against the Chilliwack Chiefs.
In the opening frame, the Chiefs had a very good start, registering the first 4 shots towards Jett Alexander. Five minutes into the frame, Prince George found themselves short-handed, but it didn’t seem to phase them. Welsh and Nick Poisson forced a turnover and took the puck in the attacking zone and Welsh fired the puck past Mathieu Caron to begin the scoring. Nick Poisson was credited the lone assist at 7:48. That was all of the scoring in the opening frame. 1-0 PG after one.
In the second frame, the Spruce Kings scored their second goal in ugly fashion. It was Welsh who shot the puck towards the goal and ended up bouncing in the feet of Chiefs defenders and ended up finding the puck in their own net, giving Prince George a 2-0 lead. Welsh got credited with the goal at 6:16 of the second period. As the period progressed, the Chiefs began to get some more chances and ended up getting rewarded. Affiliated player Dawson Good got a perfect pass from Tyler Cristall, as he re-directed past the glove side of Jett Alexander to make it a 2-1 game. The Good marker came at 13:47. At 18:25, it was the Chiefs again pressing. As the Chief power-play expired, 16 year old Peter Reynolds fired it past Alexander to make it a 2-2 game after 40 minutes.
There was no scoring in the third, however, the pace of the period was breathtaking. Several chances on both sides, but no goals to show for. Jett Alexander had a handful of huge saves in the third to keep the game tied. 60 minutes was not enough for these mainland rivals.
In the extra frame, it was Welsh again who poked the puck past Caron on a scramble in front to give the Spruce Kings a 3-2 win in overtime in front of 970 loud fans at the RMCA.
Welsh, the Spruce Kings Captain says tonight’s game was one that his club desperately needed after dropping the last 3, “It was just an awesome feeling on a big night in front of a big and loud crowd, just feels great to get one tonight” said Welsh. “I was super excited to get back in the lineup, its tough sitting in the stands watching, but to get back and help the team like this is an awesome feeling.”
These two teams meet again tomorrow night at the RMCA, slated for a 7:00 puck drop. The Spruce Kings office will be open from 10-4. You can also get your tickets online on our website.
If you can’t make it, you can catch all of the action on Mixlr and HockeyTV. Pre-game will be at 6:45 with play by play coming at 7.
