The Prince George Spruce Kings haven't had to kill many penalties this season and that's helped them maintain their status as one of the top teams in the B.C. Hockey League.
Heading into the third month of the season, the Spruce Kings (12-6-0-1, third in Mainland Division) are only five points behind the pace of the league-leading Chilliwack Chiefs (15-6-0-0).
Through 19 games the Spruce Kings have played shorthanded just 70 times, tied with Penticton for third-lowest in the BCHL, and they've killed off 81.4 per cent of those penalties (11th best).
Coming off a weekend on the road in which they won two of three games for the second-straight time, head coach Adam Maglio was pleased with his troops but knows they had to dodge a few bullets while on the penalty kill. They scored convincing wins over Trail, 5-2, and Wenatchee, 4-1, but lost their Sunday afternoon game 2-1 in Salmon Arm.
"We ran into a bit of penalty trouble in all three games and I think it caught up to us in Salmon Arm," said Maglio. "We did a great job gutting through some penalty-kills, a 5-on-3 in Trail for close to 1:40 and a five-minute major in Wenatchee. In Salmon Arm we killed a four-minute double-minor but they did get one on the PP and that was a bit of a difference-maker.
"But Friday and Saturday we did a lot of little things that added up to big things - shot-blocks and creating a lot of turnovers and how we checked, I thought we had good detail."
The Spruce Kings are back on home ice tonight (7 p.m.) at Rolling Mix Concrete Arena to face the Alberni Valley Bulldogs (7-10-1-0, third in Island Division), followed by a Saturday night date with the Penticton Vees.
"We haven't seen (Alberni Valley) yet but we have watched a bit of video on them and they try to do a good job clogging up the neutral zone and we'll have to be smart, especially on our (shorter) rink size," said Maglio. "For us, our success will be how we manage the puck against them. They're opportunistic, they're not overly aggressive and they kind of want to pounce on your mistakes."
The Silverbacks held Kings' sniper Ben Brar off the scoresheet, something most teams haven't been able to do lately. The 20-year-old winger was the BCHL player of the week two weeks ago and continued his torrid scoring pace with three goals in Trail and a goal and an assist in Wenatchee.
"He's got it going on right now, he's been good in all areas, PK, PP, 5-on-5," said Maglio. "He doesn't dwell on past success, he's continuing his pursuit to get better each day and it's paying off for him bigtime."
The Kings will be without winger Sean Donaldson, who was suspended for a hit on Wenatchee defenceman Chad Sasaki late in the second period on Saturday. Donaldson was handed a major penalty for checking from behind and a game misconduct. The league later determined he made contact with Sasaki's head, which carries an automatic four-game suspension.
Donaldson missed the game in Salmon Arm and won't be available to the Kings until their game next Saturday at home against Langley.
Donaldson, a University of Connecticut recruit, scored in Trail and Wenatchee, his first two goals in four games as a Spruce King since being traded from the Trail Smoke Eaters two weeks ago.
"He has a real knack for the net, he's an elite offensive guy and he's young, he's 17," said Maglio. "I've watched Sean quite a bit over the last few years and he was highly-recruited and he has a great shot and can make plays with the puck and he plays with a bit of grit too. He's going to be a real good player here."
The Kings beat the Vees 3-2 Sept. 21 at the BCHL Showcase in Chilliwack in their only other meeting this season. The Vees (9-6-0-2, fourth in Interior) begin the weekend tonight in Merritt.
