In his 15th start as a Prince George Spruce Kings, Carter Woodside was able to post the best night of his Junior ‘A’ career thus far.
The 19-year-old made 35 saves, the most in his 2019-20 campaign, while on the road in Vernon Friday night (Jan. 31) to close out the month of January.
However, his fellow Spruce Kings would come up on the losing side of the contest in a 2-1 decision to the Vipers at Kal Tire Place.
This was Prince George’s first appearance in Vernon’s barn since Apr. 17, 2019, when they claimed the franchise’s first-ever B.C. Hockey League (BCHL) banner and the Fred Page Cup.
Woodside faced 37 shots from the Vipers, stopping all 10 in the first period and all 13 in the second, letting in two pucks on a game-high 14 shots in the third.
The opening stanza went scoreless and it was Corey Cunningham potting his team-leading 21st marker of the season to break the goose-eggs at 16:03 of the middle frame.
It was Vernon’s two Connors that played the heroes for the home team.
Connor Marritt tied the tilt at 1-1 at nearly 11 minutes left in regulation and with 17 seconds left on the clock, Connor Sleeth scored the game-winner.
The loss is the Spruce Kings’ fourth in a row, dropping their overall record to 16-28-2-3 and still hanging on to the second-to-last playoff spot.
Prince George wraps up January 3-7 with nine games left on the year.
The six-game Mainland and Interior Division road trip ends tonight (Feb. 1), 6 p.m. against the West Kelowna Warriors.
The ‘Kings return to the Rolling Mix Concrete Arena for home games Wednesday (Feb. 5) and Friday (Feb. 7) against Wenatchee and Merritt respectively.
