The B.C. Hockey League is already two weeks into its 2014-15 season and the Prince George Spruce Kings have yet to play at home.
Until this weekend.
The Kings take their 4-1 record into the Coliseum for 7 p.m. face-offs Friday and Saturday against Mainland Division rivals, the Chilliwack Chiefs.
The Chiefs are undefeated after four games and are tied for first in the division with the Kings with eight points, but Prince George has played one more game.
The Spruce Kings are coming off their second-straight road trip with wins against Coquitlam and Surrey on the weekend.
Kings fans last saw their team at the Coliseum way back in March in Game 6 of a best-of-seven Mainland Division playoff series against the Coquitlam Express, a series Prince George eventually lost 2-1 in the second period of sudden-death overtime. The Express, who finished the regular season 11 points behind the Kings in third place in the Mainland Division, went on to win the BCHL championship.
This season, the core of the Kings is back with 11 players who suited up in 2013-14.
General manager Mike Hawes filled the remaining holes with experienced players who have size and skill and can skate on the smaller ice surface at the Coliseum.
He's also had to make some last-minute trades in the first two weeks to shore up the team's blueline, which has been hit with the injury bug.
Forwards
The veteran line combo of centre Chad Staley with wingers Justin Rai and Jeremiah Luedtke, all 20-year-olds, has picked up right where it left off last season with its lethal scoring touch. After five games, Rai is second in the BCHL in scoring with seven goals and three assists. He trails only Liam Blackburn, a Prince George minor hockey product who has piled up five goals and seven assists with the West Kelowna Warriors. Luedtke and Staley have six and five points respectively.
Other veteran Kings include Cole Todd, Jake LeBrun, Brent Lashuk, Brogan O'Brien, Braiden Epp and Riley Hawes.
Added into the mix is 19-year-old Taylor Allan, acquired in June from the Cowichan Valley Capitals. Allan has fit into the Kings lineup nicely. Cooper Leitch, 18, was added to the roster last week after he was released by the Langley Rivermen.
Rookies Marco Ballarin and Rider Stoglin round out the forwards.
"All four of our lines can score," said Kings head coach Dave Dupas. "[At the season-opening BCHL Showcase], everybody was scoring. Going in, we knew we had good goaltending and could score a lot of goals."
The Kings and Nanaimo Clippers are tied for second in the BCHL in goals with 22. The Warriors have netted 24 so far.
Defence
Veteran defenceman Karan Toor, 20, anchors the blueline but he's out of the lineup right now with a lingering groin injury he suffered last season.
Twenty-year-old Valik Chichkin was added to the team in the off-season, coming to the Kings from the Capitals in the same trade with Allan, but he's out with a separated shoulder he suffered in the pre-season.
That means second-year players Jordan Low and Stephen Penner have seen a lot more icetime but GM Hawes has gone to work adding more depth. Last week, he added 19-year-old Adam Clements from the Whitby Fury of the Ontario Junior Hockey League.
Matthew Stief, meanwhile, is an 18-year-old rookie from Weston, Fla., who has been with the squad since training camp. The Kings also signed 18-year-old Alex Stoley, who has also been with the team since camp.
Off-season acquisition Jake McCarthy was released so he could return to his home in Massachusetts to play for a junior team in the U.S. Premier Hockey League. McCarthy separated his shoulder in training camp and missed the start of the regular season.
"[When our defence is healthy] it's as good as anyone's in the league - they are shut-down guys and are also offensive," said Dupas. "Toor can play 30 to 35 minutes a game when he's out there. Our D is young and explosive."
Goaltending
Jesse Jenks returns for his second season with the Kings. He had a solid rookie season in 2013-14 backing up starter Alex Murray, who graduated from the junior ranks to move on to the American International College Yellow Jackets this season.
Jenks, 19, is joined in the crease by another 19-year-old, Alex Brooks-Potts, who came over from the Kingston Voyageurs in an off-season trade.
Brooks-Potts was the runner-up for goaltender of the year in the OJHL last season.
"They're both starters and are pushing each other and battling for the starting role," said Dupas. "At the end of the day, it's good to have that competition. They want to be in there all the time."
Jenks has appeared in three games and has posted a 3-0 record with a 2.67 goals-against average and a .930 save percentage.
Brooks-Potts has a 1-1 record with a 4.02 goals-against average and a .909 save percentage.
