The Nanaimo Clippers play in the B.C. Hockey League's Island Division and come to Prince George but once a season.
It would be safe to say the Prince George Spruce Kings are glad of that fact.
The Clippers demonstrated to the Spruce Kings and a Friday night Coliseum crowd of 1,238 why they are leading their division while posting a convincing 5-2 victory.
Matthew Hoover led the way for the visitors from Vancouver Island with three goals, while Sheldon Rempal and Chris Dudero also pounded pucks into the Spruce Kings nets.
"They're a solid team right through their lineup with strong D that move the puck well and very skilled forwards and possibly the most dangerous line in the league and we saw them do some damage," said Spruce Kings general manager Mike Hawes.
"They have some good goaltending as well. Mike (Clippers head coach Vandekamp) always puts together a good team and he has another one there."
Hoover centres the top line with Rempal and Devin Brosseau and they gave the Spruce Kings plenty of trouble.
Both teams wasted no time firing up the offence. Spruce Kings rookie centre Parker Colley broke through Clipper defencemen Yanni Kaldis and Edwin Hookenson and picked the stickside corner of the net behind Evan Johnson, 2:46 into the game.
But Nanaimo tied it just 11 seconds later as Hoover collected his 20th goal of the season, firing a loose puck from just outside the crease past Liam McCloskey.
The Clippers got the go-ahead goal 6:46 into the game, a low shot from just inside the blueline from leading scorer Rempal, his 30th goal and 58th point this season and they went up 3-1 on a power play 19 seconds into the middle frame, a tap-in from Hoover in front, set up by Rempal from behind the net.
Rempal's goal was just the third shot of the game the 17-year-old McCloskey faced and Kings head coach Chad van Diemen replaced him right after that second goal with Sam Tanguay.
"It was tough start for Liam, you need to get off to a good start against a team like Nanaimo and you can't have two of the first three shots go into the net," said Hawes.
The Kings were getting outshot 25-7 when Kyle Johnson made it a one-goal game with 11:33 gone in the second. The 17-year-old from Port Moody stole the puck in the corner and picked the corner for his fifth BCHL goal.
That goal appeared to inspire the Kings, who had a couple of great chances to tie it up on a power play late in the period but were denied by Johnson.
The Clippers controlled the play to start the third period and were rewarded with an insurance goal at the 7:32 mark from Chris Dudero after an offensive-zone face-off win.
Hoover collected his hat trick a few minutes later, picking the puck out of mid-air to get his own rebound after driving through the slot.
The Kings' line of Colley, Johnson and Cavin Tilsley was probably their most effective, generating chances and playing well in the defensive end.
The Clippers (19-10-0-1) won their seventh straight to move six points ahead of the second-place Powell River Kings, who did not play Friday.
The Spruce Kings (8-22-0-2, fifth in the Mainland Division) were coming off a 6-4 victory Thursday at home over the Coquitlam Express which ended a four-game losing streak.
Next Thursday and Friday, the Spruce Kings host the Chilliwack Chiefs at the Coliseum.
Heading into their game Friday at home against Coquitlam, the first-place Chiefs held a one-point advantage over the second-place Wenatchee Wild, which hosted the last-overall Surrey Eagles on Friday.
The Kings wrap the month of December with a three-game roadtrip Dec. 18-20, which stops in Nanaimo, Cowichan Valley and Langley.
LOOSE PUCKS: The Spruce Kings were without LW Braiden Epp, who hurt his knee in a collision with a Coquitlam player in the second period of Thursday's game. Epp is scheduled to undergo an MRI exam next week in Kelowna. The 20-year-old Prince George native had seven goals and 14 points in 31 games. Also on the injury shelf was RW Jake LeBrun, who won't likely be healed from a broken collar bone until late January at the earliest...The Spruce Kings are averaging 939 fans per game, eighth in the BCHL. Through the first 12 home games, the Coliseum was filled to 45 per cent capacity, among the top three in the 17-team league. The Clippers have nine players committed to NCAA teams, including Rempal (Clarkson), Hoover (Canisius), Brosseau (Clarkson), Hookenson (Minnesota State), Yanni Kaldis (Cornell), Zach Court (Nebraska-Omaha), Nolan Aibel (Yale), Lucas Finner (Ferris State), and Matt Creamer (Quinnipiac).
