Winter is coming and the Prince George Spruce Kings are already ice-cold.
That's what three consecutive weekend B.C. Hockey League losses can do to a team's temperature.
Saturday night in West Kelowna the Spruce Kings ran into a band of Warriors who peppered goalie Sam Tanguay with 50 shots on the way to a 5-2 shelling.
Prince George minor hockey product Liam Blackburn spiced the Warrior offence with two goals and an assist as the game's first star. Blackburn now leads the Warriors in scoring with 17 points, including seven goals.
The 19-year-old University of New Hampshire recruit opened the scoring with the only goal of the first period and also collected a shorthanded goal near the end of the second period to get the Warriors' offence untracked.
Blackburn set up Jake Harrison to make it a 3-0 count 43 seconds into the third period. Jonathan Desbiens and Kyle Marino also scored on Tanguay, whose team was outshot 50-19.
Jake LeBrun, on the power play, and Nic Ponak, with his first BCHL goal, replied for Prince George.
With the win, the fourth-place Warriors (7-4-0-2) moved to within two points of second-place Salmon Arm in the Interior Division standings. The Spruce Kings (3-10-0-1) remained fifth in the Mainland Division.
The Kings started their trip Thursday night in Merritt with a 4-3 loss to the Centennials. Prince George took on the first-overall Penticton Vees in Penticton on Friday and lost 5-2.
After consecutive weekends away from home, the Kings return to the Coliseum this Friday and Saturday to face the Coquitlam Express. Coquitlam (6-5-1-2) sits fourth in the Mainland standings.
