Given a second chance to clinch fourth place and the right to open the playoffs on home ice, the Prince George Spruce Kings got the job done.
Their 4-1 victory Saturday over the Salmon Arm Silverbacks, combined with the Cranbrook Bucks losing at home 6-1 to the Penticton Vees, put on lock on fourth for Prince George.
The Spruce Kings open the playoffs April 1st against either Cranbrook or the Vernon Vipers in a B.C. Hockey League first-round best-of-seven series.
The doubters were starting to doubt that scenario was in the cards for the Kings after Friday’s game at RMCA against the Silverbacks in which they blew a 5-0 lead with 12 minutes left and lost 6-5 in overtime.
But a strong finish in the final 20 minutes Saturday cinched it for the Spruce Kings, who got third-period goals from Kolton Cousins and Simon Labelle, his second of the game.
Labelle and Austin Fraser (on a Prince George power play) staked the Kings to a 2-0 lead heading into the first intermission but Noah Serdachny, the overtime hero Friday for Salmon Arm, scored the only goal of the second period to keep the visitors in the hunt. Cousins provided the insurance goal 3:18 into the third and Labelle capped the scoring a couple minutes later.
Aaron Trotter made 28 saves in goal for the Kings. Salmon Arm goalie Owen Say stopped 30 of 34 shots.
The game marked the end of the 54-game regular season for the Spruce Kings, who finished with a 27-15-4-8-0 record.
The Silverbacks (36-11-4-2-0) clinched second in the Interior Conference with their win Friday.
Cranbrook (28-20-2-3-0) is five points back of the Spruce Kings with only one game left. The Bucks, with 61 points, could lose their grip on fifth place to the Vernon Vipers (26-19-4-1-0) who are just two points behind Cranbrook and have to games left.
