SALMON ARM — The Prince George Spruce Kings were handed their second loss of the season Saturday night at the Shaw Centre to the hands of the Salmon Arm Silverbacks in a 4-2 final.
The Spruce Kings now sit with a 6-2 record while the Silverbacks improve to a 4-4 record.
Aiden Feddema was between the pipes for the loss as he made his second start of the season. He stopped 27 of the 31 shots. Matthew Tovell earned the win for the Silverbacks as he stopped 29 of the 31 shots the Spruce Kings fired his way.
The scoring didn’t get started until the final five minutes of the opening period. Reid Varkonyi scored his first of the BCHL season on the powerplay following a tripping penalty to Ben LeFranc. Isaac Lambert and Connor Welsh earned the assists.
Kilian McGregor-Bennett scored for Prince George at 18:30 after Charlie Banquier put a high shot off his helmet and then dropped in behind an unsuspecting Tovell to tie the game up at 1-1.
Inside the final minute of the first period, Owen Beckner put in his sixth of the season. Ethan Ullrick and Brandon Santa Juana got the helpers.
In the second period, both teams scored a goal on the powerplay. Nathan Mackie crashed the net on the backside to tap in a shot from Beckner and put the Silverbacks ahead by two.
At 11:14, Austin Fraser scored a powerplay goal of his own. The goal marked his second in as many nights after scoring one Friday night in Vernon. The goal drew the Spruce Kings to within one with the score now 3-2.
A pair of game misconducts ended up being dished out in the final period of regulation. The first was handed to Nathan Mackie following a check from behind on Ty Gagno at 6:34. The second saw Jack Stockfish get sent off after a blow to the head.
Santa Juana wrapped up the scoring in the third period at 11:39 to seal away the 4-2 victory.
The game ended with both teams putting 31 shots on net.
Prince George now looks to prepare for next week’s BCHL Showcase in Chilliwack. They’ll take on the Coquitlam Express on Wednesday at 2:30 PM. They’ll then face the Surrey Eagles on Thursday at 4:00 PM.
