Now that the Prince George Spruce Kings are through to the second round of the playoffs after they eliminated the Coquitlam Express with a 4-2 victory in Game 5 Thursday night, the spotlight is intensifying on the Kings, who think they're good enough to win their very first B.C. Hockey League championship.
That would please nobody more than 17-year-old Kings left winger Corey Cunningham, a born-and-bred Prince George boy who scored the Kings' second goal Thursday when he tipped in a shot from linemate Nolan Welsh late in the first period.
"I only played nine games in the playoffs last year so it's definitely a fun experience playing in front of my hometown and scoring a big goal like that. It was unbelievable," said Cunningham, who celebrated it with a high leap into the Plexiglas. "It's really exciting. We went on a big run last year and we hope to do it again this year."
Cunningham saw only spot duty last year in the Kings' 24-game run to the league final. This year he has a much more prominent role on the third line with centre Lucas Vanroboys and right winger Welsh.
Cunningham feeds off the energy of his linemates and his aggressive forechecking style led to numerous scoring chances in the Coquitlam series. He also drew an assist in Game 3 and could well surpass his eight-goal, 14-point totals in 47 regular season games if the Kings, the team he grew up watching, stick around for an extended playoff season.
"It's a dream come true playing here," said Cunningham. "I never got this opportunity before and it's amazing that I'm getting it now."
Kings defenceman Dylan Anhorn is also in his second season with the Spruce Kings and throughout his BCHL career he's been one of the kingpins on the blueline. He has two assists in five playoff games, after a two-goal, 27-point regular season, and his poise under pressure helps set the tone for what is considered one of the most highly-skilled defence corps in the league.
Anhorn knows how close they came to winning the league last season before they were stopped short of their mission by the Wenatchee Wild in a five-game final.
"A lot of the group from last year has come back, plus we filled the holes with some great additions and we think we've got the group to go all the way," said Anhorn. "We have a deeper group and it's nice to see that depth scoring we have here. We don't have to rely on the top line as much like we did last year. This year we've got four lines that can get the job done so that's really uplifting.
"Coquitlam had a really deep team - goaltending, defence, forwards, it was a good challenge for us and we felt we put a good effort together for almost the whole series and came out with the result we wanted."
Although they took it in five games, the Kings got pushed out of their comfort zone in four of the five games, including Game 5, when Coquitlam scored two third-period goals and was threatening to get even closer in the late stages. Having a 4-0 lead to work with made all the difference.
"We weren't happy with (their 3-0 loss in Game 4), that was the one game we did get outworked and give Coquitlam credit," said Kings head coach Adam Maglio. "Maybe the timing was right for that to happen and better it happened in Round 1 rather than Round 2. Our guys responded (in Game 5) with the best team performance of the series. They made it interesting at the end but we played a pretty complete game.
"(The Express) upped their game and did some good things out there and made some adjustments coming into the playoffs and they made it tough. They were low-scoring, grind-out games. They're really an offensive team and we expected a bit more of a back-and-forth game and it tuned into more of a slugfest."
The Spruce Kings capitalized on their chances early in three of the four games they won and for a majority of the series they dictated the play and outworked their opponents. Express head coach Jason Fortier hopes his returning players will remember the intensity the Spruce Kings brought to the ice and that his team will be able to replicate that, given the chance in next year's playoffs.
"The series was very close, every game had moments when a team could have pushed away and I think with that experience the year before and the level of compete they showed and the resiliency and the physicality they brought was something we hadn't seen in a long time," said Fortier.
"Hopefully that will be a good teaching point for our group next year. It's a hard pill to swallow when you lose but the good news is you've got something to learn from."
The Spruce Kings are awaiting the outcome of the other Mainland Division semifinal series between the Langley Rivermen and Chilliwack Chiefs. Leading 3-1 in the series, a Langley win Friday will allow the Rivermen to advance to Round 2 against Prince George. A Chiefs' win Friday would force Game 7 Sunday in Chilliwack.
Friday's game between the Chiefs and Rivermen went to overtime and the Chiefs stayed alive with a 3-2 victory.
"Whoever comes out of there will be battle-worn," said Fortier. "Hopefully we prepared (the Spruce Kings) with our speed and stuff and we wish them nothing but the best. We want to see them go on and actually win it all. That's what our goal was and if it's not going to be us, we'd like to see Prince George go out and do it."
The Spruce Kings, who finished one point behind the Chiefs for first place overall in the league, would have home ice advantage for the rest of the playoffs if Chilliwack loses. That makes it obvious who the Kings are rooting for.
"We want home ice so you can pick the team we want to win it, because it gives us home ice," said Maglio. "But both teams are good teams."
