First place will be on the line tonight at the Coliseum.
But when the Prince George Spruce Kings step onto the rink against the Langley Rivermen, they'll do so knowing it's only November and that their B.C. Hockey League regular season won't end until the last day in February -- when they close out a home-ice doubleheader against the same Rivermen.
"We can't think that winning this game or losing this game is going to be the difference between finishing first and second," Spruce Kings head coach Dave Dupas said after a Tuesday practice. "Obviously it goes a long way when you can start beating the teams you're up against and we've got five out of six points against them so far this year. If we can keep them down the times that we play them and put those points in between us it's going to help us considerably."
The Kings and Rivermen will face off at 7 p.m.
Heading into the game, Prince George sits atop the BCHL's Mainland Division with a 16-8-2-2 record, good for 36 points. Langley, at 16-9-1-2, is one point behind.
The teams have already met three times this season, all the games in Langley. The Kings beat the Rivermen 3-1 on Oct. 20, fell 3-2 in overtime on Nov. 2 and prevailed 4-3 last Thursday.
"The games have been so close," Dupas said. "Getting these points and just proving that we can continue to beat these guys, I think it goes a long way with the confidence of our squad."
After that narrow Thursday win, the Spruce Kings were home to the Salmon Arm Silverbacks on Saturday and earned a 4-3 decision so they'll be going for their third consecutive victory tonight.
In each of the past two games, the Kings have gotten the winning goal from Chad Staley, a 19-year-old forward from Kennewick, Wash. Staley is one of the hottest players in the BCHL and sits fifth in league scoring with 14 goals and 33 points in 28 games.
Dupas wouldn't mind a bit if Staley has yet another winner in his stick.
"We're hoping that he does," the coach said. "He's just playing so unbelievable for us right now. He's tough to stop. He's now getting the attention from all the rest of the teams. He's seeing their top defensive pairings, he's seeing their shutdown lines and nobody's been able to stop him here in the last month or so. He's a great player and hopefully he continues on that trend."
Staley's regular linemates are Jeremiah Luedtke and Brent Lashuk. On Saturday against the Silverbacks, Jake LeBrun took Lashuk's spot because Lashuk sat out due to the lingering effects of a hit he took last Thursday. But Dupas said Lashuk will "probably" be back with Staley and Luedtke tonight, which means LeBrun will likely re-join his typical mates, Brogan O'Brien and Justin Rai.
As for the Rivermen, Dupas called them "a real good team." Players the Kings will have to check closely include leading scorer Mitch McLain (14 goals, 31 points), Will Cook (six goals, 22 points), Matt Ustaski (11 goals, 19 points), Austin Azurdia (nine goals, 19 points) and James Robinson (eight goals, 19 points). Langley's balanced group of forwards features Nathan Craft, a former member of the Cariboo Cougars major midget team. Craft, from Kitimat, has 11 goals and 18 points in 24 games.
"They've got a bunch of guys that can put pucks in the net and they're all big," Dupas said. "Azurdia's not a huge guy but the rest of those guys are big, strong, feisty guys. They have two good lines. Jakob Reichert is another guy that gives us trouble, just with his size (six-foot-five, 220 pounds). That team is a bit of a tough match-up."
On the injury front, Kings forward Bryant Christian remains out with a broken jaw and forward Mitch Barker is sidelined with a sprained ankle.
Dupas said Christian has just had wires removed from his jaw and has lost 10 to 15 pounds because of his inability to eat properly. He took a puck in the face during an Oct. 26 game against Cowichan Valley.
"Before he can get back in the lineup has has to [put some weight back on] and his conditioning won't be great either," Dupas said. "There's work to do."
