Kick 'em when they're down.
The Prince George Spruce Kings had no qualms about treating the Chilliwack Chiefs to a rude reception Sunday night at the Coliseum, stoning the Chiefs 4-1 to extend their BCHL losing
streak to nine games.
Justin Rai was the primary triggerman with two goals to lead the home team.
The Spruce Kings got off to a blistering start, scoring three unanswered goals in the first period. Kings captain Bryant Christian got it started when he dug the puck out from behind the net and left it in the crease for Rai, who had an easy tap-in for his fifth of the season six minutes into the game. The 640 fans in attendance acknowledged Rai's goal by tossing gloves, socks and tuques over the glass to support the Kings' St. Vincent de Paul Society promotion.
Then with the Kings killing a penalty two minutes later, Brent Lashuk finished off a nifty tic-tac-toe passing play with Karan Toor and Jeremiah Luedtke. Late in the period, Prince George winger Jake LeBrun scored on a deflection.
The Kings thought they had their fourth goal 15 minutes into a scoreless second period when defenceman Christian Weidauer joined the rush and found the net behind Spencer Tremblay but the goal was disallowed because the net had been tipped off the ice.
Limited to just 11 shots through two periods, the Chiefs came close to breaking the goose egg on a fast break eight minutes into the second period when winger Andrew Siland beat his check but rang the shot off the goalpost. Luetdke also went postal at the other end of the ice late in the period after a prolonged period of the Kings blitzing the Chiefs in their own end.
The Chiefs finally broke up Alex Murray's bid for a third BCHL shutout with 3:10 left while the Kings were serving a five-minute major penalty to Braiden Epp. Chiefs captain Austin Plevy one-timed a rebound at the side of the net for his 15th of the season.
The two-game set had to be rescheduled due to the strike by unionized city staff, which shut down all civic buildings on Saturday. The same teams meet again tonight (7 p.m. start) at the Coliseum.
The Chiefs (7-24-1-2) are tied with Trail at the bottom of the standings, each with 17 points. The second-place Spruce Kings (19-10-2-2) are four points behind the Mainland Conference-leading Langley Rivermen (22-11-1-3), who lost 3-2 in overtime Sunday to Nanaimo. The Kings hold four games in hand over the Rivermen.
