It was a tough start for the Prince George Spruce Kings in the British Columbia Hockey League playoffs.
The Kings fell 4-1 to the Merritt Centennials at Nicola Valley Arena in the first game of the Interior Conference best-of-seven semifinal between the long time rivals. Prince George will try to earn the split tonight (7:30 p.m.) before the teams travel north for Games 3 and 4 at the Coliseum.
Kings' head coach Dave Dupas said after the game on CFIS FM 93.1 that his team didn't play their game.
"I thought we were tentative all night and got pushed around all night," said Dupas.
Ty Swabb had a tough night in the Kings' net as a couple of the Centennials' goals took Merritt friendly bounces off the boards and slipped across the goal line. The Edmonton native stopped 32 shots as Merritt out shot the Kings 36-33.
"We have to do a better job blocking shots," said Dupas.
After almost 30 minutes of scoreless hockey the BCHL rivals put four pucks inside the nets, unfortunately for the Kings they were only to find the twine behind Centennials' goaltender Lino Chimienti for one goal, trailing 3-1 after 40 minutes.
Michael Betz gave the Kings a 1-0 lead when he found the puck in a mad scramble in front of Chimienti, but 22 seconds later it was 1-1 as Brent Fletcher's shot slipped under Swabb's glove. Brandon Pfeil added his first two playoff goals - the second on a power play - for Merritt, while Silvan Harper had two assists.
Prince George had a goal by Leo Fitzgerald waved off when Myles Fitzgerald was called for goalie interference which would've tied the game at 2-2.
It was a tentative first period as the Kings and Centennials tried to find an edge without making a mistake as Merritt out shot the visitors 11-9 in a scoreless frame.
After Billy Marshall gave Merritt the 4-1 lead early in the final frame the Kings set the tone for Game 2 with some physical play as several players dropped the gloves for some fisticuffs.
The top ranked Canadian Junior Hockey League Penticton Vees made it look easy as they took a 1-0 lead in their Interior Conference semifinal with the Chilliwack Chiefs with a 6-1 win. Prince George native Michael Garteig, who missed the final seven Vees' regular-season games with a lower-body injury, wasn't in the lineup Friday. In the Coastal Conference it was the Powell River Kings doubling up the Coquitlam Express 4-2 and the Surrey Eagles edging the Cowichan Valley Capitals 4-3 to take 1-0 leads in their playoff series.
When the best-of-seven series comes north the Kings want their fans to wear white to Monday's and Tuesday's games. The first 1,000 fans to arrive at the Coliseum will receive white towels. Both games start at 7 p.m.
