The Spruce Kings have taken over first place in the BCHL's Chilliwack pod!
Prince George defeated the host-Chiefs in a 2-0 shut-out victory tonight (April 21) to start the second half of the 20-game altered BCHL season, thanks to a brilliant performance between the pipes by Aaron Trotter.
The 20-year-old goaltender stopped all 22 shots he faced for his second clean sheet of the 2020-21 campaign, his third win in six starts, earning him the game's first star.
He's now second in the entire league with a 132 goals-against average (GAA) and is tied for first with a .944 save-percentage, alongside Kaeden Lane of the Penticton Vees.
The Spruce Kings now surpass the Chiefs to a record of 7-3-0-1 and are now a single point ahead of their rivals in the pod standings.
Kolton Cousins lit up the scoreboard first for Prince George at 8:27 of the opening period, one of 26 shots his teammates sent towards Chilliwack netminder Jakob Gullmes.
The 19-year-old alternate captain's third of the year came courtesy of a rebound off Gullmes' right pad, threading the needle by keeping the puck on the ice and pushing it to the other side of the cage.
Colton Cameron was credited with the lone assist after he fired the initial, slightly awkward shot from the middle before the puck ended up on Cousins' stick.
The 1-0 lead for the designated home team stayed the same through until the first intermission, all of the second stanza and the first 11 minutes of the third.
That's when Christian Buono capitalized on a power-play opportunity that led to his team-leading 13th point of the season.
The fifth-year BCHL veteran took a pass from Rowan Miller around the boards to the left side, stickhandled to the centre of the offensive zone, then let the puck rip on a wrist shot over Gullmes' glove at the 11:08 mark.
Buono is now tied for 12th in the league stats, six points back of Surrey Eagles' Holden Katzalay at 19.
Prince George held on for the 2-0 final, their second win in six meetings against Chilliwack.
Spruce Kings' special teams finished 25 per cent (1/5) on the ice Wednesday night and killed both man-advantages against them.
The team is now off until the weekend when they'll face the Chiefs once more on Saturday (April 24) and Merritt on Sunday (April 25).
Both contests begin at 5 p.m.
