Spruce Kings' 30th BCHL season starts Sept. 19 in Chilliwack

The Prince George Spruce Kings open their 30th BC Hockey League season on the road.

It all begins Friday, Sept. 19 in Chilliwack, where the Spruce Kings meet the Chiefs, the team that knocked them out of the playoffs last spring in a seven-game first-round series.

Fans at Kopar Memorial Arena will get to see the Spruce Kings in action the following weekend, when they host the Surrey Eagles on Friday, Sept. 26, followed by a date with the Okotoks Oilers on the 27th

With the Penticton Vees jumping this season to the WHL, the 20-team BCHL has realigned into four five-team divisions and two conferences.

The Spruce Kings will play in the Coastal East along with Chilliwack Chiefs, Coquitlam Express Langley Rivermen and Surrey Eagles.

Coastal West includes Alberni Valley Bulldogs, Cowichan Valley Capitals, Nanaimo clippers, Powell River Kings and Victoria Grizzlies.

Interior West will have Cranbrook Bucks, Salmon Arm Silverbacks, Trail Smoke Eater, Vernon Vipers and West Kelowna Warriors.

The all-Alberta Interior East has Blackfalds Bulldogs, Brooks Bandits, Okotoks Oilers, Sherwood Park Crusaders and Spruce Grove Saints.

All teams will play a 54-game schedule that wraps up March 29.

The Spruce Kings start training camp on Friday, Aug. 29.

The Spruce Kings first formed a team in 1972 and competed in the Peace-Cariboo Junior Hockey League until 1991, when the league became known as the Rocky Mountain Junior Hockey League. They joined the BCHL in 1996-97, when the community-owned club bought the New Westminster Outlaws franchise.