PRINCE GEORGE – For the first time since the 2007-08 BCHL Playoffs, the Prince George Spruce Kings and the Salmon Arm Silverbacks match up in the opening round of the postseason.
Head-to-Head:
Salmon Arm won the season series 4-3 with three Silverbacks wins coming in overtime.
Top Performers:
Prince George – F John Herrington (48 points), F Ty Gagno (40 points), F Killian McGregor-Bennett (39 points), D Ben LeFranc (30 points), G Jordan Fairlie (three shutouts)
Salmon Arm – F Nathan Mackie (50 points), F Owen Beckner (50 points), F Ethan Ullrick (47 points), D Tristan Allen (33 points), G Matthew Tovell (.919 save percentage)
Breakdown:
This matchup is considered the be one of the closest of the eight first-round series. The teams finished tied for points in the standings, and just one goal-against separates the two teams as well. They also saw a lot of each other down the stretch, facing off seven times over the course of the regular season.
Salmon Arm relied on a group of high-end forwards to produce offence, including team scoring leaders Nathan Mackie and Owen Beckner, as well as midseason newcomer Tristan Allen and offseason addition CJ Foley who produced from the back end. The team also got a strong performance in net from 2002-born netminder Matthew Tovell who finished top-six in the BCHL in save percentage, goals-against average and shutouts.
John Herrington was a key performer for the Spruce Kings for the second consecutive year, leading the team in goals and points. As always, Prince George was stingy in their own end as well, limiting teams to 161 goals against, fifth-best in the BCHL. Team defence is a large part of that, but so is starting goaltender Jordan Fairlie who was named a BCHL All-Star earlier this year and earned three shutouts while enduring a heavy workload.
The complete schedule for Round 1 vs Salmon Arm is as follows:
Game 1: Friday, March 31st at Shaw Centre @ 6:00 PM
Game 2: Saturday, April 1st at Shaw Centre @ 6:00 PM
Game 3: Tuesday, April 4th at Kopar Memorial Arena @ 7:00 PM
Game 4: Wednesday, April 5th at Kopar Memorial Arena @ 7:00 PM
– IF NECESSARY –
Game 5: Friday, April 7th at Shaw Centre @ 6:00 PM
Game 6: Sunday, April 9th at Kopar Memorial Arena @ 2:00 PM
Game 7: Tuesday, April 11th at Shaw Centre @ 6:00 PM
Single-game playoff tickets are now on sale.
Fans can also purchase playoff ticket packages, which ensures you a ticket for every home playoff game during the 2022-23 playoffs. If the Spruce Kings don’t make it to the BCHL Final, then the remaining amount gets rolled over to your season tickets price for next season. To purchase a playoff ticket package, visit the Spruce Kings front office Monday-Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., or call 250-564-1747.
