It took them two games and 113 shots but the Prince George Spruce Kings finally figured out how to stop the Coquitlam Express.
The Kings pounded out a 6-4 decision Saturday night at Rolling Mix Concrete Arena, scoring four times in the third period to sink their B.C Hockey League Mainland Division rivals.
Jamie Huber scored the game-winner 7:11 into the third period and the insurance goal to lead the red-hot Kings (8-8-0-2) to their fifth win in their last seven games, bringing them to the .500 mark for the first time since the season began.
“We’ve really started to come on here and our record has showed that of late – we’ve been winning a lot of games,” said the 19-year-old Huber, an off-season acquisition of the Kings from Listowel of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League.
“We know we’re a good team and it’s good to prove it. We’re having a lot of fun right now. My linemates (Brett Mennear and Tanner Campbell) were really good and put pucks right on my tape, I couldn’t ask for more from them.”
The shots ended up 56-18 in the Kings favour, nearly matching their output Friday when they outshot the Express 57-28. But in that game they had to settle for a 3-3 tie after two five-minute overtime sessions settled nothing.
The Kings could have decided Saturday's game earlier but were unable to score on their power-play chances, going 0-for-5.
“It was frustrating a little bit for our guys because they were doing the right things, creating (chances) and getting pucks to the net, they just needed to get more into the blue paint and get to the net more but credit our guys, we stuck to it,” said Kings assistant coach Adam Maglio.
“If we’re going to win games like that, it doesn’t matter if you win it in the first or blow them away in the second. If you trust the process, that’s what we’re looking for. Our speed is going to create lots of penalties for the other team so if we can play with pace through a whole game we’re going to draw lots of penalties. Power plays are big momentum shifts and you’re tiring out a goalie and four penalty killers.”
The Kings remained third in the division, one point ahead of the Langley Rivermen (6-9-3-1), while the injury-riddled Express (6-11-0-2) dropped to fifth.
The Express had eight injured players, including top scorers Owen Stout (the BCHL’s player of the week last week) Mitch Newsome and Cameron Borsch and veteran d-man Domenic Mueslis. Head coach Barry Wolff said the grind of back-to-back road games finally caught up with his team.
“Injuries have hit us hard, it’s been the last four weeks like that and we just ran out of steam,” said Wolff. “P.G. played well both nights and they deserved to win. We tried to protect the middle and just give them the outside and, credit to them, they shot from anywhere and everywhere and that created opportunities for them.”
Tavin Grant had a tough opening period, making his fourth start in the Kings’ net since being called up from the junior B Kamloops Storm. On the first shot he faced, nearly seven minutes into the game, a high floater from Express defenceman Jake Brien, the puck deflected off the chest of Kings centre Cavin Tilsley and snuck into the net under Grant’s arm. That wiped out the lead Tyler Anderson had given the Kings with a low point shot through traffic, 2:27 in.
Coquitlam grabbed its first lead of the weekend late in the period when Sam Kozlowski scored on an Express power play. Grant came out to play the puck behind the net and got crossed up with one of his teammates and Kozlowski stole the puck and dumped it into the open cage. Two goals on four shots was not the start Grant envisioned.
Alex Ambrosio gave the Express a 3-1 lead midway though the second period but that was about all the offence the visitors could muster in the middle frame while having to kill off a string of four minor penalties. The Kings owned the puck and ran up the shot count but could only get one behind goalie Reid Cooper before the break. Travis Schneider’s blast from the face-off circle defected high off Cooper’s blocker and dropped in behind him.
Schneider’s goal provided a huge boost for the Spruce Kings heading into the dressing room down by just a goal and they took control in the third period, outscoring the Express 4-1 in a wild 10 minutes of action. Ben Poisson of the Kings and Express winger Hayden Knight traded goals and the Kings got the next three, an unassisted effort from Parker Colley and Huber’s back-to-back snipes.
“It feels great. We stayed in the game, kept working and things started to click for us,” said Schneider, an 18-year-old native of Chicago who centred a line with Poisson and Hunter Luhmann. “We had confidence if we kept peppering the goalie the puck would go in the net so we just stuck together and played the systems and we knew good things would happen.”
The Kings are on the road this weekend heading out on a three-games-in-three days Interior Division tour which starts Friday in Trail and includes stops in Penticton and West Kelowna.
