It was back to the drawing board for the Prince George Spruce Kings as they search for the right formula to beat their division rival.
The Spruce Kings (19-13-1-6) dropped their fourth straight game to their Mainland division rivals, the Chilliwack Chiefs (25-12-1-1), falling 4-2 in front of a hockey-starved 2,034 fans at the Coliseum on Friday night. It was the Spruce Kings first home game since Dec. 16.
With the win the Chiefs moved seven points ahead of their B.C. Hockey League northern rivals in what could be a first-round playoff matchup in March. The Chiefs edged the Spruce Kings 3-2 in overtime last weekend in the Fraser Valley.
Chiefs goaltender Mitch Gillam saw his shutout streak at the Prince George Coliseum end after 146 minutes and 45 seconds, dating back to games Nov. 29 and 30 when he blanked the Spruce Kings 6-0 and 2-0. It was Spruce Kings newcomer David Stephens who beat Gillam during a second-period power play, tying the game up at 1-1.
But the Chiefs regained their lead before the end of the period as Spencer Graboski found the net behind Kings goalie Kirk Thompson with a long blast from the top of the face-off circle.
Gillam was the busier of the two goalies as the Spruce Kings outshot the Chiefs 48-38.
Brandon Volpe gave the Chiefs a 3-1 lead late in the third period when he beat Thompson for his first BCHL goal with less than five minutes to play, but the Spruce Kings responded 2:03 later on Bryant Christian's sixth goal of the season.
The Chiefs added an empty-net goal to ice it in the dying seconds.
Philip Zielonka had the only goal of the first period to give the Chiefs a 1-0 advantage when he beat Thompson during a two-man advantage. The Spruce Kings had their own two-man advantage earlier in the period but couldn't capitalize.
The Chiefs were without Trevor Hills and Shay Laurent on Friday as they were serving suspensions picked up last Sunday during some post-game antics with the Victoria Grizzlies. Inserted into the Chiefs lineup were affiliate players Scott and Spencer McHaffie, who played in Prince George to start the 2011-12 season.
Game 2 of the three-game mini playoff series between the Spruce Kings and Chiefs goes tonight, 7 p.m. at the Coliseum.
