PRINCE GEORGE BC – Nick Rhéaume and the Prince George Spruce Kings left the 712 fans on home opening night very pleased, with a 6-3 victory over the Merritt Centennials. Rhéaume led the way offensively for Prince George, scoring twice.
1st PERIOD:
PG: Off an offensive zone faceoff win from Max Borovinskiy, the puck found the stick of Austin Fraser, and he ripped it top corner on Brayden Melnyk to get the fans cheering and to give Prince George a 1-0 lead. Borovinskiy had the lone assist on Fraser’s second of the year.
PG: On a Spruce Kings power-play, a point shot from Dylan Schives found its way through traffic and was redirected by Rowan Miller and it had just enough to squeak by Melnyk to make it 2-0. Miller’s second of the year had the helpers credited to both Schives and Nick Rhéaume.
SHOTS:
MER 9 PG 20
2nd PERIOD:
MER: 22 seconds into the period on a Centennial power-play, a point shot from Talon Zakall found its way through traffic and passed Aaron Trotter to get Merritt on the board. Zakall’s first of the year was assisted by both Jerzy Orchard and Walker Erickson.
PG: At 11:06 of the period, Simon Labelle made a great individual effort, carrying the puck down the right wing and spotted his line mate Nick Rhéaume on the back door beside the goal and made it 3-1 PG. Rhéaume’s first of the year came from both Labelle and Colton Cameron.
PG: Just over a minute later, a point shot from Amran Bhabra got redirected in tight from Ty Gagno to net home his second of the season. The Gagno tally was assisted by both Bhabra, and Jimmy Doyle at 12:10.
SHOTS:
MER 6 PG 9
3rd PERIOD:
MER: On a Centennial power-play, a point shot from Jacob Dewitt was rung off the crossbar and shot straight up in the air, and it came right to Jerzy Orchard at the left side and whacked it in to make it 4-2. Orchard’s second of the season came at 6:18 from Jacob Dewitt.
MER: At 11:14 of the third, a shot from Henry Smith from the blueline was redirected off a Spruce King in tight and passed Trotter to put the Centennials within one. Smith’s first of the year was assisted by Tristan Allen and Anton Sorensen.
PG: Just over a minute and a half later, the line of Kilian McGregor-Bennett, John Herrington, and Kolton Cousins got the puck in tight in front of the goal, and the Spruce King captain was able to jam it in to regain the two-goal lead. Cousins’ second of the season was assisted by both of his line-mates at 12:39.
PG: At 18:42 on a PG power-play, Rowan Miller showed great patience at the left circle and fired a pass cross ice to Nick Rhéaume who wired a one-timer past Melnyk to give the Spruce Kings a 6-3 lead. Miller and Amran Bhabra had the two assists on Rhéaume’s second of the game and of the season.
SHOTS:
MER 8 PG 15
FINAL SCORE:
MER 3 PG 6
FINAL SHOTS:
MER 25 PG 44
POWER-PLAY:
MER 3/7 PG 2/3
3 STARS:
1.PG: Nick Rhéaume (2 G 1 A)
2.PG: Dylan Schives (1 A)
3.MER: Jerzy Orchard (1 G 1 A)
FORTIS BC ENERGY PLAYER OF THE GAME:
PG: Amran Bhabra (2A)
NEXT GAME: Tomorrow Night vs MER @ 7 PM at the RMCA
