Tonight, at Kal Tire Place in Vernon, the Prince George Spruce Kings play Game number 5 of the 6 game road swing against the Vernon Vipers.The Spruce Kings are coming off a 9-2 drubbing this past Wednesday night against the Trail Smoke Eaters. Corey Cunningham had both Spruce Kings tallies and now leads the team in goals with 20. The Vipers are coming off a come from behind victory on Wednesday on home ice against the Wenatchee Wild.
PRINCE GEORGE SPRUCE KINGS
Overview:
Head Coach: Alex Evin
Record: 16-27-5
Road Record: 9-14-1
Last Game: A 9-2 defeat against the Trail Smoke Eaters at the Trail Memorial Centre
Record vs VER: 0-0-1
Goals For / Goals Against: 130 GF/174 GA (-44)
Power-Play: 18.2 (10th)
Penalty Kill: 74.7% (15th)
Leading Scorers: Nick Poisson ( 19 G, 24 A, 43 PTS) Corey Cunningham ( 20 G, 17 A, 37 PTS) Nolan Welsh (13 G 21 A 34 PTS)
COREY IN THE HOUSE:
Forward Corey Cunningham has three goals in his last two games. The 3rd year Spruce King and Prince George native leads the team in goals with 20, good for a career high on the year. In 43 games this season, Cunningham sits with 20 goals and 17 assists. He also leads the team in power-play markers with 8.
PRINCE GEORGE NOTES:
- The last meeting with Vernon was back in November, and the Spruce Kings were edged 2-1 in a shootout.
- Nick Bochen now sits in the Top 20 in scoring among BCHL defensemen.
- Tonight marks the final meeting of the season between the Spruce Kings and Vipers
VERNON VIPERS
OVERVIEW
Head Coach: Jason McKee
Record: 25-20-3
Home Record: 12-10-1
Last Game: A 3-2 victory at home against the Wenatchee Wild
Record vs PG: 1-0
Goals For/Goals Against:138 GF/ 141 GA (-3)
Power-Play: 16.1 (15th)
Penalty-Kill: 85.1% (4th)
Leading Scorers: Matt Kowalski (23 G 26 A 49 PTS), Dawson Holt (17 G 17 A 34 PTS), Connor Marritt (12 G 22 A 34 PTS)
20 Year Old Vet:
20 year old Matt Kowalski has been quite impactful for the Vipers this season. The Vipers captain has 49 points in as many games thus far. He sits with 23 goals and 26 assists this year as well. The last meeting in November, Kowalski was the lone goal scorer for the Vipers before the shootout took place.
Herbst:
Vipers Goaltender Riley Herbst has won some big games so far this season for Jason McKee’s Hockey Club. Herbst sports a 17-6-3 record, along with a 2.70 GAA and a .908 Save Percentage. Herbst stole the show in Prince George in November where he made 39 saves and then stopped all 3 shootout attempts to give the Vipers two points.
Vernon Notes:
- The Vipers have only lost one game in regulation this season when leading after two periods
- With James Porter Jr going back to the Western Hockey League, the Vipers were able to add former Everett Silvertip Keegan Karki to the team’s roster
- The last time these two teams met, Viper forward and Northern BC native Brett Fudger had 6 of the team’s 10 penalty minutes
