Cooper Prechel's head is back in the game.
Almost exactly a month after he sustained a concussion in a game against the Penticton Vees, the 19-year-old defenceman is no longer showing symptoms of the injury. Prechel has been practicing all week and should be ready to play tonight (7 p.m.) when the Spruce Kings face the Coquitlam Express in the first game of back-to-back B.C. Hockey League games at Rolling Mix Concrete Arena.
"Cooper is a veteran guy we can lean on," said Spruce Kings head coach Chad van Diemen. "You don't want to lose anyone to an injury and any time you get guys back in the lineup after breaks like that you're excited, and the guys in the room are excited to have him back too."
A lot has changed for the Kings since Prechel got hurt seven games into the season at the BCHL Showcase in Chilliwack, Sept. 25. They lost that game 3-2 to the Vees, which left them near the bottom of the BCHL standings with a 1-5-0-1 record.
Since then, the Spruce Kings (7-8-0-1) have won six of nine games and have climbed into third place in the Mainland Division, two points ahead of Coquitlam (6-10-0-1), which has a game in hand.
The Kings are coming off an impressive weekend in which they won all three of their games. They defeated the second-place Chilliwack Chiefs 4-1, then beat the Surrey Eagles twice, 11-2 and 4-2. Stefan Wornig was in net for two of those wins, allowing just three goals, and the 19-year-old from Surrey will get the start tonight. Tavin Grant, 18, who backstopped the Kings to their 11-2 win, will likely play in the rematch Saturday.
"We're happy with the tandem, they've both been really good," said van Diemen. "They can really push each other for minutes. Both guys want to be in the crease and it makes for good competition. They're confident in their own abilities and it gives the team confidence too."
The Kings have been much better defensively the past two weeks, allowing noticeably fewer shots and significantly fewer goals. The addition of defenceman Tyler Anderson in a trade from West Kelowna has provided stability on the back end and the forwards are starting to buy into the fact they need to do their part clearing the defensive zone to take some of the pressure off the d-men.
Consequently, that's giving the forwards more chances in the other end. After getting off to slow starts, Kings forwards Tanner Campbell, Kyle Johnson, Jarod Hovde, Cavin Tilsley, Chong Lee, and Parker Colley are showing more of their scoring potential than they did the first month of the season.
"Our tracking from our forwards has allowed our D to be very aggressive and when we have all five guys in the zone we're able to get out fairly quickly," said van Diemen. "That's the result of buy-in from all the guys in all the positions. When you start to see the results (in the win column) that's the best way of showing the guys why it works and why we want them playing that way.
"The guys have done a really good job of turning their game around."
Barry Wolff is now in his third season as head coach of the Express and like the Spruce Kings, his team has shown signs of inconsistency. Coquitlam ended a four-game losing streak last week with a 3-2 win over the West Kelowna Warriors and followed by beating the top-ranked Wenatchee Wild 5-4. But a five-game homestand for the Express ended on sour note Sunday with a 3-0 loss to the Salmon Arm Siverbacks.
"They've got the ability to win games, they beat Wenatchee last week, then got shut out on Sunday - they're an unpredictable team but they're always dangerous offensively," said van Diemen. "They have a number of guys who can capitalize on opportunities and we expect two hard-fought games this weekend."
The Express is led offensively by forward Owen Stout (6-17-23) who had two goals and three assists in a three-game span last week and was named BCHL player of the week. Other players to watch on the forward lines are Luca Leone (7-8-15), Blake Hayward (4-9-13) and Cameron Bertch (3-4-7 in 10 games). Defenceman David Giunta has two goals and six points in 17 games.
One familiar face in the Express lineup will be right winger Cal Babych, who played 51 games for the Prince George Cougars in 2014-15 before he was traded to Prince Albert. The son of former NHL defenceman Dave Babych also played for Calgary and Vancouver and has 152 WHL regular season and nine playoff games under his belt. He started the season with the Vancouver Giants and has two goals and an assist in three games since joining the Express. Babych has been playing on a line with Stout and Leone.
Sam Kozlowski, an 18-year-old Express defenceman, signed a scholarship deal this week to attend the Rochester Institute of Technology, an NCAA Division 1 team in New York, starting in 2018. Rookie goalie Reid Cooper, an 18-year-old from Corman Park, Sask., has played 14 games this season for the Express and sports a 3.27 goals-against average and .915 save percentage.
LOOSE PUCKS: Tonight's game will be preceded by a special Veterans Night ceremony, starting at 6:50 p.m... Defenceman Drew Lennon remains out of the lineup with an undisclosed injury. The 18-year-old rookie from Bloomington, Ill., went down in a game in Wenatchee on Oct. 8... The Kings hit the road next weekend for games in Trail, Penticton and West Kelowna. They won't play at home again until Nov. 18 when they host Nanaimo.
