As the northernmost team in the B.C. Hockey League, the Prince George Spruce Kings know their schedule can be brutal.
Coming off a three-game road trip that ended Sunday in Salmon Arm with their second-straight win, the Spruce Kings were back on the bus Wednesday morning to complete their regular-season tour of the Interior Division.
Tonight they will be in Merritt, a six-hour trip, to take on the Centennials (5-7-0-0, fifth in Interior), their closest opponents on the BCHL map. On Friday the Spruce Kings visit West Kelowna and they wrap up their trip Saturday night in Penticton.
After a tough start to the season, the Kings (3-7-0-1) put up back-to-back 4-3 victories over the Salmon Arm Silverbacks and Vernon Vipers last weekend, which has done wonders to lift that black cloud that had been hounding them. They've managed to climb out of the Mainland Division basement and they're gaining confidence they can make winning a habit.
"I think it just reassures the group that we're making progress, that when we play our game we can win games in this league," said Spruce Kings head coach Chad van Diemen. "Obviously, winning games is a lot of fun. It's a different atmosphere on the bus and at meals. Winning is contagious and so is losing and it's up to them how they want to feel at breakfast the next morning.
"We knew, looking at the schedule ahead of time, playing all six Interior teams on back-to-back weekends on the road was going to be a challenge. The guys rebounded from a disappointing game in Trail (a 7-3 loss to the Smokies last Thursday) and I think they've learned what it takes. We only had one practice and a game-day skate (today) and we have three very difficult buildings to win in."
Seventeen-year-old rookie goalie Liam McCloskey was outstanding in net in Vernon and Salmon Arm. McCloskey joined the Kings this season after helping the Vancouver Northeast Chiefs win the B.C. Hockey Major Midget League championship last season and so far he's exceeded expectations in his first BCHL season. In five games, he has a 2-3-0 record with a 3.96 goals-against average and .905 save percentage. He made 46 saves against Vernon and was called upon to make 37 stops in Salmon Arm.
McCloskey has been getting plenty of help surrounded by a seasoned crew of defencemen which now looks intent on turning around one of the league's worst defensive teams. That group includes 20-year-olds Adam Brubacher, Rylan Bechtel and Stephen Penner, and 19-year-olds Alex Stoley, Adam Burnett, Matthew Stief and 17-year-old Cooper Prechel.
"We have one of the oldest defensive corps in the league and they're getting better and better and more comfortable," said van Diemen. "A big part of our success is going to be offensive contributions from the blueline, and we're starting to get that with Brubacher, Bechtel and Stief.
"Liam was fantastic in both games. He gave us an opportunity to win and that's all we can ask for. He competed pretty hard all weekend."
The addition of veteran forward Bryan Basilico has also made an impact. Acquired from Trail in a Sept. 25 deal for futures, the 20-year-old Lake Superior State recruit has sparked the offence with two goals and two assists in five games. Basilico played two full seasons for the Smoke Eaters before he joined the Kings.
New York state native Corey Hoffman continues to lead the Kings in scoring with four goals and four assists through 11 games. Lately he's been centring a line with Braiden Epp and Kyle Johnson. Epp, 19, is returning to the form that led to a 24-goal, 43-point sophomore season last year.
The Kings' power play was much better on the weekend. The power play went 3-for-3 in Vernon and scored on two of four opportunities in Salmon Arm. But the Kings still struggle on the penalty kill, ranked 16th out of 17 teams with a 69.49 per cent kill rate.
"Vernon had two power-play goals early but we had a huge kill on the 5-on-3 that gave us some momentum and we carried that into the second," said van Diemen. "The big thing with our team is discipline and staying out of the box and we got to a point where we started frustrating Vernon and they were taking the penalties and it was the same thing in Salmon Arm. Our power play was able to get some huge goals for us."
Except for Prechel (head injury), the Kings are healthy to start the weekend. The Kings return to the Coliseum for consecutive weekends starting next Friday when they host Coquitlam then Wenatchee in two-game sets.
LOOSE PUCKS: Penticton defenceman Dante Fabbro has committed to a scholarship agreement to attend Boston University next season. Considered an 'A' prospect (potential first-round pick) in NHL Central Scouting's September rankings, Fabbro ranks third in Vees scoring with five goals and 16 points in 10 games. The 17-year-old from Whistler is in his third full BCHL season.
The Vees (10-1-0-0) are first overall in the BCHL.
