The Prince George Spruce Kings scored three unanswered goals in the third period to derail the Coquitlam Express 7-4 Friday night at the Coliseum.
It was game three of four between the two B.C. Hockey League Mainland Division rivals, part of a four-game home-stand for the Kings as the visiting Express stopped in Prince George for the second-straight weekend.
The Spruce Kings improve to 27-15-3-2 with 59 points to remain in second place in the Mainland Division. They put some distance between themselves and the third-place Express, who fall to 23-21-2-3 and 51 points.
Kings forward Chad Staley notched the hat trick with two goals in the third period and also added an assist to aid Prince George's cause. He now has 25 goals this season.
In a back and forth battle, the teams were tied 2-2 after 40 minutes, thanks to goals by Staley and Justin Rai for Prince George and Canon Pieper and Zach Hodder for Coquitlam.
Tied at 3-3 in the third period, Christian Weidhauer began the goal barrage for the Kings at the 9:53 mark.
Rookie Brogan O'Brien scored the eventual winner for the Spruce Kings with his eighth of the season at the half-way mark. Rai had a five-point night with two goals and three helpers for Prince George.
Coquitlam was 3-for-8 with the man-advantage, while Prince George was 1-for-6.
Prince George outshot the Express 35-31, as Gordie Defiel made 28 saves for Coquitlam and Alex Murray made 27 saves for the Spruce Kings.
The teams are back at the Coliseum tonight at 7.
