For visiting BCHL teams this season, Wenatchee, Wash, has been a hockey graveyard.
The Wild have made it a habit this season of burying opponents south of the border at Town Toyota Center.
In fact, the Ron Boileau Memorial Trophy regular-season champion Wild gained 56 of a possible 58 points in 29 home games this season. Two overtime losses late in December to Chilliwack were the only blemishes on a near-perfect home record.
The Prince George Spruce Kings are well-aware how tough it's been to win in Wenatchee and know they'll have to win there at least twice to get beyond the first round of playoffs. They'll get their first crack at the Wild Saturday in Game 1 of the best-of-seven Mainland Division semifinal.
The fact the Spruce Kings (25-27-4-2) finished fourth in the division, 38 points back of the Wild (45-9-4-0) puts in perspective why Wenatchee is so heavily favoured in the series. The season series was not close. Prince George lost all seven games (three in Prince George, four in Wenatchee) by a combined score of 46-13. The Spruce Kings can take comfort in the fact their most recent losses to the Wild, Jan. 20-21 in Wenatchee, were the closest defeats in the season series, 6-2 and 5-3.
Spruce Kings captain Brett Mennear has firsthand experience that what transpires in the regular season doesn't always dictate what happens in a playoff series. When it comes to playoffs, anything is possible.
Last year, Mennear was with a West Kelowna Warriors team that upset the heavily-favoured Penticton Vees in the second round and went on to capture the RBC Cup. The Vees had lost just seven regular season games and finished 29 points ahead the Warriors. But after losing the first two games the series the Warriors won the next four to eliminate the Vees.
"Lots of people said West Kelowna was going to get killed last year when we played Penticton and you saw what happened there," said the 21-year-old Mennear. "It's a different game when the playoffs come."
Mennear said fans of the Spruce Kings can expect the team to be better able to contend with the the Wild, which led the BCHL in scoring with 294 goals while allowing just 135, second only to Penticton.
"Just the whole year, a team comes together and we just got healthy for playoffs," said Mennear. "We haven't really been healthy for a long time. You have to do the little things right and we're just mentally-prepared to do everything possible to win."
Wenatchee will also host Game 2 on Sunday before the series comes to Prince George for Games 3 and 4 at Rolling Mix Concrete Arena next Tuesday and Wednesday. If necessary, Game 5 will be played Friday in Prince George. The series would return to Wenatchee for Games 6 and 7, March 12 and 13.
The Wild draw big crowds in their rink, which seats 4,300, and Mennear, who led the Spruce Kings in scoring with 25 goals and 79 points, is looking forward to the challenge of playing in an intimidating building.
"They have some of the best fans in the league, they're always hyped up and always good crowds to play in front of," said Mennear. "There's a lot of speed and skill on their team and they can score with all four lines and we have to shut them down. Our depth has to come through this weekend. We have to stop their top guys like Harris and Combs."
BCHL scoring champion Brendan Harris (23-75-98) forms a lethal combination with Charlie Combs (51-33-84), the only 50-goal scorer in the BCHL this season. Five other Wild forwards (Colin Burston, AJ Vanderbeck, Mathew Baker, Brian Williams and Dakota Raabe) scored 20 or more goals.
Mennear and Kings defenceman Tyer Anderson, the Mainland Division nominee for BCHL defenceman of the the year, played 36 playoffs games in the Warriors' romp to the national title last year. They set the example for their teammates to follow.
"The advantage we'll have with those guys in our locker room is invaluable, they'll be a calming influence on the group and the rest of them will feed off the energy they see from those two," said Spruce Kings general manager Mike Hawes.
"We have a lot of speed, our group, so we're going to try to use our speed to match what they're doing speed-wise. They can score and Tavin (Grant), is going to have to be probably the best player in the series for us to have a chance. He has the ability to be an elite goaltender in our league and down the stretch the last couple months he's really come into his own and has been playing well."
The Kings won't have the services of 20-year-old defenceman Connor Russell, out indefinitely with a upper-body injury and not expected to play in the first round. Winger Ethan de Jong is still nursing an upper-body injury, as is centre Kyle Johnson, who got hurt last weekend on Coquitlam. Tanner Campbell is healthy again after missing five games with a knee injury. The Wild have no injuries to report.
"It's going to be a tough task for us but I think we're up the task," said Hawes "We've shown this year we can play well against the good teams in our league and there were actually times in the year when we dominated some of the good teams in our league.
"Adversity sometimes brings the best out in players and that's what we're hoping with our group. We know it will be tough to win in Wenatchee but it's achievable. We're the underdog. All the pressure is on Wenatchee. So we're going to go in loose and confident and try to steal one in their rink and bring the series back to P.G. for three."
