The Prince George Spruce Kings came up with their best effort of the BCHL preseason and made smarter decisions on the ice than they did Friday but could not avoid a 3-0 loss in Saturday's rematch with the Vipers in Vernon.
Linden Hora broke a scoreless deadlock 5:55 into the second period, hooking up with linemate Jimmy Lambert on a 2-on-1 chance and buried his shotbehind Alex Brooks-Potts for the only goal the Vipers needed. Colton McCarthy and Joey Cipillone each connected early in the third period with goals 27 seconds apart to add to the Vipers' lead.
The Spruce Kings ended up with a four-minute power play in the last 3:22 of the game and had several quality shots at Vipers goalie Andrew Shortridge but were unable to score as the 20-year-old from Anchorage, Alaska picked up his second shutout of the preseason. The Kings outshot Vernon 12-7 in the third period and 34-33 in the game.
Vernon beat Prince George 5-3 Friday night. Kings head coach Chad van Diemen said despite Saturday's outcome, his team was much better on the ice Saturday.
"I thought tonight was our best game of the five exhibition games we played," said van Diemen.
"On Friday I didn't like our smarts, we had way too many turnovers, our puck possession was awful and we got absolutely dominated in the faceoff circle. Tonight, our effort was there.
"The guys are getting better every day and we're learning the defensive side of the game and how to get better defensively and we battled right to the end. We had a lot of chances and their goaltender (Shortridge) was the first star of the game. He was unbelievable."
The game marked the end of the preseason for both teams. The Kings, who went 1-4-0 in preseason play, will host the expansion Wenatchee Wild in the first BCHL games for the team from Washington State, Friday and Saturday at the Coliseum.
