The Prince George Spruce Kings gave it all they had in their fight for a playoff spot.
Their extraordinary will to overcome the Westside Warriors Saturday in West Kelowna in the Spruce Kings' final game of the season was unbroken, even after Brayden Sherbinin gave Westside a two-goal lead with 4:28 left to play.
The Kings continued to swarm the nest around goalie Cole Holowenko while outshooting Westside 21-7 in the third period but couldn't score, losing 4-2.
"They battled right to the bitter end, what more they could have done I don't know," said Spruce Kings head coach Dave Dupas. "They left it all out there and everyone in this town should be proud of those guys."
Kyle Singleton fired a hat trick for the Warriors. Dustin Beairsto and Kyle Manlow scored for the Kings, who outshot Westside 33-24.
Had the Kings beaten Westside they would have finished the season tied in points with the Quesnel Millionaires (13-38-3-6), but Prince George (30-40-1-6) would have claimed the seventh and final BCHL Interior Conference playoff spot based on the fact they would have had the edge in wins.
Quesnel, 3-0 losers Sunday in Vernon, also lost 5-2 Saturday in Penticton and 6-0 Friday at Westside. The Mills will face Penticton in a first-round best-of-five playoff series that starts Friday in Penticton.
Following their 2-2 tie with the Vees in Penticton on Saturday, Vees head coach Fred Harbinson said in the post-game radio show he did not want to have to face Prince George in the opening round.
"It was an unbelievable game against a real good team and we went toe-to-toe for 70 minutes and the shots were even (31-31)," said Dupas. "Kirk Thompson made some unbelievable saves. After that game we were happy to get the point and have a chance to make the playoffs going into that last game of the season."
Beairtsto and Brandon Watson scored for the Kings, while Brendan O'Donnell had both Vees goals. Watson's tying goal came 13:48 into the third period.
Prince George started the trip with a 4-2 win Thursday in Merritt.
After a disastrous first four months of the season that resulted in the team trading away their four top scorers at the trade deadline, the Kings got through January with a winning (4-2-0-2) record and went 2-5-1-2 in their last 10 games.
"The guys just cared so much, they didn't want the season to end," said Dupas. "To be honest, I was amazed at what they were able to accomplish, and it's all on them. It scared some teams."
Other first-round matchups include: Merritt-Salmon Arm; Trail-Westside; Coquitlam-Surrey; Alberni Valley-Langley; and Nanaimo-Victoria.
Powell River and Vernon, the first-place finishers in their respective Coastal and Interior Conferences, all earned byes into the second round of playoffs.
Powell River goalie Michael Garteig of Prince George came up one goal short in his bid to set a new record for most shutouts in a season. He was denied Saturday night in Duncan. Cowichan Valley's Chase Kaiser scored on Garteig, 6:04 into the third period, in what turned out a 3-1 Powell River win. Garteig tied former Spruce King goalie Brad Thiessen's shutout mark of seven a few weeks ago.
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