Photo Credit: Darran Chaisson
ALBERNI VALLEY- The Prince George Spruce Kings hit the road this weekend and made their way down to Vancouver Island.
It’s the first and only time of the season that the Spruce Kings would board the ferry. Waiting on the other side, were the Victoria Grizzlies, the Cowichan Valley Capitals, and the Alberni Valley Bulldogs.
Three teams Prince George were unfamiliar with coming into the weekend.
The first stop would be in the provincial capital, Victoria. The Grizzles entered the weekend right in the thick of the Coastal Conference.
Prince George would start well on Friday night, and Kilian McGregor-Bennett (’03) would score his 15th goal of the season just four minutes into Friday night’s tilt.
Unfortunately, the game would get away from the Spruce Kings from that point. Victoria would score five unanswered goals throughout the first, second and third periods. Jared Langdon (’06) would score late in the third period, but it wouldn’t be enough to spark a comeback. One more Victoria goal would seal it, 6-2 the final score in the first game of the weekend.
Game Summary
Scoring
Prince George: K. McGregor-Bennett (15), J. Langdon (3)
Victoria: D. Hockley (1), C. Gollob (9), T. Waram (1), E. Dutil (8), R. Watt (7) , A. Pirtle (20)
Goaltending
Ryan Sanborn (L) 60:00 (6GA 29 Saves)
Jack Fialkoff (W) 60:00 (2GA 27 Saves)
Power play
Prince George: 0/4
Victoria: 2/5
Saturday night, the Spruce Kings would make their way up the road and take on the Cowichan Valley Capitals. A team that has struggled up to this point, only winning 11 times all year entering Saturday.
The first period would be scoreless, and the Spruce Kings goaltender, Charlie Zolin (’04), would be sharp in the first, turning away 13 shots.
In the second period, things got crazy. In seven and a half minutes, there would be seven goals scored between the two teams. The first three would go to the Capitals, then the Spruce Kings would respond with two. Skogen Schrott (’05), and J.R Perdion (’03) both slipped goals past the Caps goalie, Cody Butikis (’05). Cowichan would once again respond with their fourth goal of the period, and finally, the Spruce Kings would make it 4-3, courtesy of Jared Langdon.
After a wild second period, there would be no scoring in the third. The Spruce Kings would have four power plays in the final frame but were unable to crack the Capitals penalty kill. 4-3, the final score Saturday night.
Game Summary
Scoring
Prince George: S. Schrott (12), J. Perdion (9), J. Langdon (4)
Cowichan Valley: D. Kuramoto (6), G. Giesbrecht (10), G. Giesbrecht (11), B. Cummings (15)
Goaltending
Charlie Zolin (L) 58:20 (4GA 31 Saves)
Cody Butikis (W) 60:00 (3GA 29 Saves)
Power play
Prince George: 1/6
Cowichan Valley: 1/2
The Spruce Kings would have the day off on Sunday, before lacing them up on Monday against the Alberni Valley Bulldogs.
Despite the two losses on the road, Prince George was feeling good. Lead onto the ice by Markus Lam (’05), who was making his first career BCHL start, and for the most part, he was excellent.
Through the first two periods, Lam would turn away 25 of the 26 shots he faced, guiding the Spruce Kings to a 2-1 lead after 40 minutes of play.
The third period would turn ugly quickly. The Bulldogs would tie the game at two just one minute into the third period, shortly after Skogen Schrott would give the Spruce Kings the lead right back.
This is when things got out of hand. Alberni Valley would score five unanswered goals in the third period. Along with the goals, the Spruce Kings would also receive three misconducts. Fights, Scrums and battles would break out after seemingly every whistle. 7-3, the final score on Monday, as the Spruce Kings fail to pick up a win on the Island.
Game Summary
Scoring
Prince George: K. Sasaki (8), B. LeFranc (1), S. Schrott (13)
Alberni Valley: J. Wismer (5), M. Kursonis (7), H. Stavroff (25), H. Stavroff (26), J. Terpstra (12), N. Beneteau (14), R. Buckberger (1)
Goaltending
Markus Lam (L) 60:00 (7GA 42 Saves)
Hilb Artsatbanov (W) 54:17: (3GA 36 Saves)
Callum Tung 5:43 (2 Saves)
Power play
Prince George: 2/4
Alberni Valley: 3/5
Next Game: The Prince George Spruce Kings will now return home for a double date next weekend with the Vernon Vipers. Friday night will be Not A School Night, if you havent gotten your tickets yet, you can do so here: https://www.ticketreturn.com/prod2new/BuyNew.asp?EventID=337339
