No guts, no glory.
The Prince George Spruce packed a truckload of intestinal fortitude with them onto the ice Thursday at Rolling Mix Concrete Arena and were rewarded with a hard-fought 4-1 victory over the Chilliwack Chiefs, one of the top teams in the B.C. Hockey League.
Backed by stellar goaltending from Stefan Wornig, who used every bit of his six-foot-six frame while making 27 saves to frustrate the Chiefs shooters, the Kings posted what has to rank as their biggest win of the season, in front of 648 witnesses.
Parker Colley's first goal of the season 6:54 into the second period proved the gamewinner.
"We played well right from the goaltender to the six defencemen, and the forwards did exactly what was asked of them," said Kings general manager Mike Hawes. "Our coaches had a tremendous week of practice with the players to prepare for this game and they showed it here. It was an excellent effort in all three zones of the ice. Chilliwack is a very talented team and we were able to limit their chances."
The win improved the Kings' record to 5-8-0-1, while the Chiefs dropped to 9-4-2-0 in the first meeting of the season between the teams. The Kings are now tied for third place in the Mainland Division with Langley and Coquitlam.
Nursing a one-goal lead, the Kings got the insurance goal they needed near the tail end of an extended power play, with 2:15 left to play. Unable to score on a two-man advantage, the Kings finally cashed in with a shot from the point from Adam Burnett that was tipped in by Tanner Campbell.
Brett Mennear added to the total with an empty-netter after winning a face-off in the Kings' end, his team-leading seventh goal of the season.
The Chiefs found themselves on the wrong side of the law early in the second period, forced to try to kill off a five-minute penalty to winger Josh Borynec, who was handed a major and game misconduct for a check from behind on Kings defenceman Burnett. Burnett laid down on the ice while trainer Rick Brown came to his aid and the Kings' power play went to work. They gained the offensive zone and Colley peeled off the side boards and rifled a low shot to the far side behind goalie Brendan Barry for a 2-1 lead.
That set the tone for what was a chippy second period. Both teams cranked up the intensity with their bodychecks, but for the most part stayed out of the penalty box.
The Kings had a great chance to make it a 3-1 count with two minutes to play in the second period. Tanner Campbell and Mennear got behind enemy lines on a 2-on-1 rush and Campbell fed the Kings captain a perfect pass but Barry got the paddle of his goal stick in the way of the shot, one of his best saves of the night.
Chiefs centre Tommy Lee notched the first goal of the game, using a burst of speed down the left wing to burn defenceman Liam Watson-Brawn, scoring on a high wrister. Watson-Brawn made up for his mistake late in the first period, following up on a play started by Mennear, who took the puck in deep and went wide on the Chilliwack goal, drawing Barry out of position. Mennear failed to get shot away but found Watson-Brawn all alone in the slot for his second goal of the season.
Although they were held off the scoreboard, the Jarod Hovde-Kyle Johnson-Ethan De Jong forward combination was the top line for the Kings, generating scoring numerous chances throughout the game.
LOOSE PUCKS: The Kings are back on home ice Saturday night and Sunday afternoon to take on the Surrey Eagles. The Eagles pulled off the upset of the season Thursday in Surrey, defeating the Wenatchee Wild 6-1. It was the first regulation time loss of the season for the Wild (10-1-1-0), who needed overtime to defeat the Eagles 6-5 on Sunday. In Thursday's game, Wenatchee was trailing 4-1 when it pulled goalie Anthony Yamnitsky for the extra skater but that plan backfired when Paul McAvoy scored into the empty net with 7:36 still on the clock. The Eagles (4-7-2-0) remained sixth in the Mainland Division standings, one point behind the Spruce Kings... Kings right winger Chong Lee brought his own cheering section in the west end of the rink. Lee, a 20-year-old native of South Korea, is considered a prospect for the home country's 2018 Olympic team.. Borynec's hit on Burnett caries an automatic two-game suspension.
Game Summary
Chiefs 1 at Spruce Kings 4
First Period
1, Chilliwack, Lee 2 (Bernard, Chorney) 8:16
2. Prince George, Watson-Brawn 2 (Mennear, Huber) 17:40
Penalties - Bernard CH (interference) 4:41, PG bench (too many men, served by Campbell) 14:27.
Second Period
3. Prince George, Colley 1 (Tilsley, De Melo) 6:54 (pp)
Penalties - Borynec CH (checking from behind major, game misconduct) 4:33, Lee CH (interference) 13:24, Burnett PG (high-sticking) 13:42, Tilsley PG (cross-checking) 19:59.
Third Period
4. Prince George, Campbell 4 (Burnett, Russell) 17:03 (pp)
5. Prince George, Mennear 7, 17:59 (en)
Penalties - Olischefski CH (interference) 3:30, Hora CH (cross-checking) 12:57. Olischefski CH (double high-sticking) 13:39.
Shots on goal by
Chilliwack 13 8 7 -28
Prince George 9 10 10 -29
Goal - Chilliwack, Barry (L,0-2-0); Prince George, Wornig (W,3-5-1).
Power plays - CH: 0-3; PG: 2-7.
Referees - Nick Albinati, Tyler Garden; Linesmen - Brett Burton, Josh Bartlett.
Attendance - 648.
