COQUITLAM BC – Three unanswered goals in the second period, followed by an eventual game winner from Corey Cunningham was all that was needed for the Prince George Spruce Kings as they edged the league leading Coquitlam Express by a 4-3 score.
In the opening period, the Express were able to get on the board first in front of 1300 plus fans at the Poirer Sport and Leisure Complex. Will Margel got a nice feed in transition and went forehand backhand on Carter Woodside to give the Express an early 1-0 lead. A few moments later, on the dying seconds of a Coquitlam power-play, there was a mad scramble in front of Woodside and it was Josh Wildauer who was able to pot home the rebound and give the Express a two-goal lead. The Express took a 2-0 lead to the dressing room after the opening 20 minutes.
In the second, it was the Spruce Kings able to battle back. Tom Richter was able to force a turnover and find Jackson Zloty who found Mason Reeves and Reeves went five hole on goaltender Joe Howe to make it a 2-1 game.
Just over a minute later, on a 2 on 1, Preston Brodziak found the captain Nolan Welsh who wristed it underneath the arm of Howe to tie the game at two.
The Spruce Kings continued to go to work. Just past the 13 minute mark of the period, Nick Poisson was able to find Nick Bochen in the attacking zone and ripped it past Howe to give Prince George a 3-2 lead after forty minutes.
In the third, the Spruce Kings were again able to find the back of the net. A Nick Bochen point shot was redirected by the PG native Corey Cunningham and into the back of the net to give the Spruce Kings a 4-2 lead.
That ended Joe Howe’s afternoon, as Clay Stevenson came in relief for the rest of the game. In the final minute, the Express had all sorts of pressure and were able to get rewarded. With 35 seconds left, it was again Wildauer who ripped the puck past Woodside in the high slot to make it 4-3. The Express had another big chance in the final seconds from Massimo Rizzo but Woodside was able to keep it out and the Spruce Kings were able to hold on and defeat the league leading Coquitlam Express 4-3.
The Spruce Kings are back in action and will look to win their 3rd straight game as they are in Surrey to take on the Eagles at the South Surrey Arena. You can catch the action on 93.1 CFIS FM, Mixlr.com/sprucekings or you can watch live on HockeyTV.
3 STARS
- Nick Bochen (PG)
- Carter Woodside (PG)
- Joshua Wildauer (COQ)
FORTIS ENERGY PLAYER OF THE GAME: Massimo Rizzo
