Zolin makes 38 saves in losing effort, Spruce Kings fall to Warriors 5-3

Photo Credit: Vicki Brown

PRINCE GEORGE- The Prince George Spruce Kings were back on the ice for the first time in 13 days Friday night.

It was the first of a back-to-back with the West Kelowna Warriors at Kopar Memorial Arena, the second-best team in the Interior Conference according to the standings. 

The two teams had met three times before Friday. The results were a respectable 1-1-1 record. 

The night started with West Kelowna striking first. A shot from the blue line was tipped past Spruce Kings goalie, Charlie Zolin (’04). Credited with the tally was Felix Caron (’04), who scored his BCHL-best 19th goal of the year. 1-0 was the score after the first period. 

In the second period, the West Kelowna power play went to work. In two tries, the Warriors scored twice. First, a beautiful passing play finished by Viggo Nordström (’03) gave West Kelowna a 2-0 lead. Three minutes later, Eliot Compton (’07) scored his third goal of the season on the power play.

Late in the second period, the Spruce King’s fate changed. Luca Primerano (’05) scored his fifth goal of the season on a redirect in front of the net. A sigh of relief for the North Vancouver product, who had a goal waved off earlier in the game. 

Then, Owen Goodbrand (’04) set up Jared Langdon (’06), who broke away and sniped his second goal of the season past Rorke Applebee (’03). 3-2, the Spruce Kings trailed after two periods. 

Michael Salandra (’03) would score the first goal of the third period. Burying his own rebound, Salandra would put West Kelowna up two goals.  

The Spruce Kings tried their best to get back in the game. Kilian McGregor-Bennett (’03) would score with under two minutes left in the game. It was too little too late for Prince George. The Warriors added an empty net goal. 5-3, the final. 

Game Summary

Scoring

Prince George: L. Primerano (5), J. Langdon (2), K. McGregor-Bennett (11)

West Kelowna: F. Caron (19), V.Nordström (2), E. Compton (3), M. Salandra (11), F. Caron (20) 

Goaltending

Charlie Zolin (L) 58:02 (4GA 38 Saves)

Rorke Applebee (W) 60:00 (3 GA 29 saves)

Power play 

Prince George: 1/3

West Kelowna: 2/4

Next Game: The Spruce Kings will be back on the ice Saturday night, for the second game of the weekend against the West Kelowna Warriors. Puck Drop from Kopar Memorial Arena is at 6:00 pm. You can watch live on FloHockey and listen for free on Mixlr.