Tonight, at the Chilliwack Coliseum, the Prince George Spruce Kings take on their mainland rival Chilliwack Chiefs in a busy night around the BCHL. The Spruce Kings have won six of their last ten and are within just five points of 4th place of the Mainland Division. The Chiefs are coming off a 4-3 defeat at the hands of the league leading Coquitlam Express.
PRINCE GEORGE SPRUCE KINGS
Overview:
Head Coach: Alex Evin
Record: 16-25-5
Road Record: 9-12-1
Last Game: A 3-0 defeat against the Surrey Eagles at the South Surrey Arena.
Record vs CWK: 1-5
Goals For / Goals Against: 123 GF/159 GA (-36)
Power-Play: 18.1 (8th)
Penalty Kill: 74.8% (15th)
Leading Scorers: Nick Poisson ( 17 G, 23 A, 40 PTS) Nolan Welsh ( 13 G, 21 A, 34 PTS) Corey Cunningham (17 G 16 A 33 PTS)
BOUNCE BACK:
Although Prince George is coming off a loss to the Surrey Eagles last night, PG has won 8 games this season coming off a loss. In those 8 wins, forward Nick Poisson has had at least a point. The Spruce Kings are also looking to win their first game in the Chilliwack Coliseum this season.
MILESTONE WATCH:
- Last night marked Nick Poisson’s 100th BCHL Game
- Defenceman Nick Bochen is just 6 games away from his 100th BCHL Game
- Forward Nolan Welsh is 9 games away from reaching the 200-game plateau
PRINCE GEORGE NOTES:
- Mason Waite leads all defenceman between the two clubs in goals with two.
- In the last 5 seasons, the Spruce Kings are 6-8-2 at the Chilliwack Coliseum
- Prince George has won 6 of their last 10 heading into tonight’s game
CHILLIWACK CHIEFS
OVERVIEW
Head Coach: Brian Maloney
Record: 22-14-9
Home Record: 14-4-2
Record vs PG: 5-0-1
Goals For/Goals Against:152 GF/ 128 GA (+24)
Power-Play: 27.7% (1st)
Penalty-Kill: 81.6% (8th)
Leading Scorers: Nikita Nesterenko (17 G 26 A 43 PTS), Peter Reynolds (12 G 23 A 35 PTS), Kyle Penney (16 G 14 A 30 PTS)
The Hometown Kid:
Chilliwack Chiefs forward and Chilliwack born Ethan Bowen made his return to the Chiefs lineup last night. Despite missing a decent portion of the season, the North Dakota commit still sits in the top 10 in team scoring with 9 goals and 17 assists in just 29 games. When playing against the Spruce Kings this season, Bowen has had a least a point in each game. A notable game he had was the Chiefs home opener against PG, where he had a hat trick and first star honours.
POWER-PLAY:
The Chiefs currently sit with the best power-play percentage in the entire BCHL. Joey Larson and Nikita Nesterenko are tied for the team lead in power-play goals with 7 while Nesterenko and Cooper Moore have 13 assists a piece on the man advantage.
Chilliwack Notes:
- In 5 games played against the Spruce Kings, Peter Reynolds has 3 goals and 4 assists.
- Goaltender Mathieu Caron has started all 6 meetings against PG and sports a 1.99 GAA in those 6 meetings
- The Chiefs are 18-3-4 when leading after the second period.
