After resting in the stands the night before at the Coliseum, the Prince George Spruce Kings veterans got into action in a B.C. Hockey League rematch Saturday in Merritt.
All that pent-up energy was put to good use in a 4-1 win over against the Merritt Centennials.
The Kings iced an older lineup which included top-line forwards Corey Hoffman, Luc Soares and Jake LeBrun. Together, they accounted for eight points.
Hoffman, a Cornell University recruit from New York state, scored the only goal of the opening period and Soares, who played for Kirkland Lake last year in the Northern Ontario Junior League, followed up with two more in the second period. Hoffman finished with a goal and two assists and Soares also had a three-point night, adding one assist. LeBrun, the Kings 20-year-old captain, a fourth-year right winger, picked up two assists.
"We wanted to get our older guys and signed guys into as many games as we can prior to the season and I thought we had a really good start," said Kings head coach Chad Van Diemen. "Our older guys came out very physical and they really carried the momentum and were able to capitalize on a chance to get out of the first period up 1-0.
"We didn't allow them to generate much offence; most of their chances came on the couple power plays they had and they did a much better job defensively than we did Friday night (a 7-4 loss to Merritt).
Cents rookie defenceman Michael Faulkner made it 3-1 count before the second intermission and Rider Stoglin capped the scoring for the Kings in the third period.
"We've lost a lot of offence from last year's team but I think there's a number of guys capable of stepping up and producing offensively," said Van Diemen. "We do have to outwork our opponents every night and (on Saturday) I thought the older guys did a good job of setting an example for the younger guys to follow. We thought we outskated, outworked and outhit Merritt, which is something we'll have to do on a nightly basis."
Shots were 35-22 in favour of the Kings. Alex Brooks-Potts went the distance in net for Prince George while Colton Lancaster and Anthony Pupplo each played half the game in goal for the Cents.
"Alex had a great game," said Van Diemen. "They had a few really good scoring chances where he made some huge saves and I thought he did a really good job of controlling rebounds and eliminating the second and third chances for them. He just looked very calm in there, like you'd hope from a 20-year-old veteran goaltender."
The Kings lost D Cooper Prechel, 18, in the second period when he jammed his wrist. An X-ray exam Sunday determined the injury is not serious.
The Kings will have a new face in the lineup Tuesday night when they travel to Grande Prairie to play the AJHL Storm. They've added Connecticut-born defenceman Frankie Sullivan, 19, who was jut released from the Chicago Storm of the USHL.
Sullivan, a six-foot, 187-pound right-handed shot, totaled two goals, five points and 24 penalty minutes in 23 games last season in the U.S. Premier Hockey League for the Springfield Pics. Prior to that he was the New Jersey Hitmen and South Shore Kings of the USPHL. He played high school hockey in Connecticut Springfield Prep in Connecticut in 2014 and also suited up for the Boston Junior 18-and-under Bruins.
The Kings still have 28 players. That list includes midget-aged local products D Jeremy Gervais, D Jesse Pomeroy, D Jarin Sutton, F Chase Dubois, and 18-year-old Brayden Dale of Quesnel, who will reman with the team this week.
The Kings will host the Vernon Vipers on Friday at the Coliseum, then wrap up the preseason Saturday night in Vernon.
