The Prince George Spruce Kings have already locked up a B.C. Hockey League playoff spot.
But their hopes of gaining home ice advantage to start the first round of playoffs took a hit Thursday night in Langley, where they lost 3-2 to the Rivermen.
A shorthanded goal from Matthew Graham put the Rivermen ahead with the only goal of the second period and Dante Hahn added the insurance marker in the third period.
The Spruce Kings made it close late in the game with goalie Jesse Jenks on the bench and the Rivermen killing two penalties. Chad Staley cashed in the 6-on-3 chance to make it a one-goal game with 17 seconds left, one-timing a pass from Jarryd Leung for his 17th goal of the season. But that's as close as it got.
With their fourth-straight victory the Rivermen improved their second-place standing in Mainland Division to 26-16-1-4, nine points ahead of the third-place Spruce Kings (22-20-0-4). The Kings have 12 games left in the regular season.
Langley opened the scoring 4:58 into the game when Jacob Kearley forced a turnover and blasted a shot through the legs of Jenks. But the Kings had an answer for that with 14:29 gone in the period. Centre Brogan O'Brien, who played in the Canadian Junior A Hockey League prospects game two weeks ago, won a face-off in the Langley end and took a feed from linemate Jarryd Leung, burying the puck with a shot from the slot that eluded Bo Didur.
Graham's goal, his 15th of the season, came 13 seconds after the Rivermen were penalized for too many men on the ice. Graham got free on a breakaway and finished with a backhand deke on Jenks.
Shots were 29-25 in favour of the Spruce Kings.
The injury-riddled Kings had just 16 skaters in the lineup. They called up defenceman Kyle Lohmann and forwards Cole Zimmerman and Stephen Egan from the KIJHL junior B ranks to fill in for sidelined regulars -- Justin Rai (concussion, out for the season), Jake LeBrun (wrist injury), Ryan Fritz (knee), Daniel Nachbaur (broken hand), Rider Stoglin (wrist) and Marco Ballarin (groin).
The Spruce Kings continue their trip with games tonight in Chilliwack against the first-place Chiefs (27-16-1-1). On Saturday, Prince George visits the Surrey Eagles (8-35-0-3), who play in Coquitlam tonight.
