Mistakes costly to Kings, now trail 2-0 in series

The Wenatchee Wild have made a lucrative living in the B.C. Hockey League playoffs making teams pay a heavy price for their mistakes on the ice.

They rolled those profits into another win in the Fred Page Cup championship series Saturday night in Wenatchee, a 4-2 triumph over the Prince George Spruce Kings that gave the Wild a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. 

Three turnovers led directly to Wenatchee goals that sent the Spruce Kings into scramble mode and they were unable to recover. Now they find themselves heading for home in the unenviable position of having to win four of the next five games on the schedule to claim their first BCHL title. 

AJ Vanderbeck was Mr. Opportunistic for the Wild with two goals and two assists. Lucas Sowder and Jasper Weatherby, with an empty-netter, were the other Wenatchee goalscorers. Blake Hayward scored both Spruce Kings goals.

Unlike the first game of the series, a 4-0 loss in which the Spruce Kings were thoroughly outplayed while getting outshot 56-25, the visitors proved a much more worthy finalist opponent. They were more aggressive than they were in the opener and while the Wild still outchanced them while getting a majority of the high-percentage scoring opportunities, they didn't dominate the Kings for puck possession like they did in Friday's game.

"We played a more aggressive game tonight, we were much better, but there are things we need to be better at," said Kings head coach Adam Maglio. "They're a very quick transition team and if you lose a puck and turn it over in a bad spot they jump on you pretty quick.

"Overall, we're feeling a lot better than we were (Friday) night about the way we played. Maybe we didn't get the result we wanted but there is a bit of momentum for us so we can carry it into Game 3 at home (Monday at Rolling Mix Concrete Arena)."

After getting skunked 4-0 in the series opener Friday, it didn't take long in Game 2 for the Spruce Kings to break that goose egg. Hayward's shoot-in from outside the Wild blueline was stopped behind the net by goalie Austin Park and he tried to clear zone up the right wing side but Hayward intercepted the puck and while standing along the side boards fired a low wrister that fooled Park low to the stick side.

But the Wild came right back later in the period with two goals four minutes apart, both the result of Spruce Kings mistakes. The Kings had the puck in their own end and Jarod Hovde tried to clear the traffic in the slot by shooting the puck into the corner but it went right onto the stick of Sowder. He walked out and let go a backhander that was stopped by Evan DeBrouwer but the puck was left in the crease for Vanderbeck who tucked it in from the side of the net, 8:44 into the game. Weatherby, the BCHL playoff scoring leader, also drew an assist to extend his postseason point streak to 11 games.

The Wild took the lead off a 2-on-1 break at the 12:51 mark. Kings defenceman Chays Ruddy fanned on the puck trying to keep it in the offensive zone. That sent Vanderbeck in on the odd-man rush and he threaded a sharp pass onto the stick blade of Sowder, who cut across the crease with a backhand deke to elude DeBrouwer. 

In the second period, the Kings had the pressure on in the Wild end and pointman Layton Ahac picked off a clearing attempt and took the puck in deep but Wild defenceman Chad Sasaki gained the puck and sent a pass off the wall that skipped over the stick of Liam Watson-Brawn, sending Vanderbeck in on a breakaway and he made it count, faking forehand and going to his backhand side for a 3-1 lead, 2:32 before the second intermission. 

Hayward made it a one-goal game 6:08 into the third period, scoring from the exact same spot on the right wing boards as he was for his first goal. Ruddy shot the puck in the zone and Chong Min Lee outhustled Weatherby to get to the puck and chipped it back for Hayward, whose wrister sailed past a screened Park over his give.

Ben Brar came close to tying the game late when he jumped out of the penalty box and let go a long shot from side boards which deflected off the body of Wild defenceman Slava Demin and nailed the goalpost with 2:50 left in the third period.

The Kings got DeBrouwer to the bench but that plan backfired when goalie Park took a shot at the open net and Vanderbeck batted it down with his glove, then dished to Weatherby who put it in for the fourth goal. 

DeBrouwer held the Kings in the game in the third period, stopping Austin Von Ungern-Sternberg 

and Weatherby on breakaways and twice coming up big to deny the Wild on 2-on-1 chances. But the Kings were unable to get similar pressure on Park and as a result, the Wild hung on to record their 10th straight playoff victory on home ice. Shots were 9-2 in favour of the Wild in the third period.

"We probably gave up a few too many Grade A's and three of them went into the back of our net," said Maglio. "If you get on the wrong side of them they'll get by you pretty quick.

"We need to generate a bit more and get pucks to their net. They do a good job eliminating first chances and I think once you get it there you can find a little bit more so we have to focus on getting the puck there first and then going from there with it.

"I thought we had a pretty good third. looking at the shot count, I thought we certainly played better than that indicates, I'm pretty sure we had a few more than that. But we stuck with it, even being down two, like we have all through the playoffs and we were close at the end. You get that one and maybe you carry the momentum into OT from there." 

If the series goes to a fifth game, that will be played Thursday in Wenatchee, with Game 6 scheduled for Prince George Saturday and a seventh game set for Wenatchee on Monday, April 23.

LOOSE PUCKS: The Spruce Kings boarded the bus for the trip back to Canada and were due to spend the night in Penticton. The Wild will leave for Prince George Sunday morning... Fans who arrive early to the rink Monday's game will receive a Spruce Kings Fred Page Cup rally towel to try to create a whiteout in the stands at Rolling Mix Concrete Arena, where sellout crowds of 2,112 are expected for the next two games, Monday and Tuesday... The few remaining seats and standing room spots will go on sale Monday from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. at the Kings office at the rink... The Spruce Grove Saints took a 2-0 lead over the Okotoks Oilers in the Alberta Junior Hockey League Inter Pipeline championship, winning Game 2 Saturday 3-2 in overtime. The AJHL champion will play the winner of the Wild-Spruce Kings series in the best-of-seven Doyle Cup championship, April 27-May 6. The winner of that goes on to the RBC Cup national championship May 12-20 in Chilliwack.