In their final three home games of 2012 the Prince George Spruce Kings left their fans looking forward to the new year.
A five-game losing streak was halted as the Spruce Kings started a three-game win streak after a two-game sweep over the Coquitlam Express to move from trailing their Mainland division rival by one point to five points up on them in the B.C. Hockey League.
The Spruce Kings (15-9-1-5) beat the Express (15-14-1) 6-4 on Saturday at the Coliseum before earning a 4-1 win in Sunday's matinee. The weekend started with a 3-1 win Friday over the Cowichan Valley Capitals (7-17-0-2).
Spruce Kings head coach Dave Dupas said it was nice to start winning again and to see some pucks go into the net.
"It was a huge bounce-back weekend for us," said Dupas. "We needed to get our mojo back a little bit and we did."
Prince George goalie Kirk Thompson picked up all three wins to improve his season totals to 14-10-1 while facing 35 shots Saturday and 40 shots Sunday while Sean Landrey, Cameron Lawson and Tyson Witala staked the Spruce Kings to a 3-0 advantage midway through the second period. The latter two goals, about a minute apart, chased Express goalie Cole Huggins (13-9-1) from the net as rookie Daniel Urbani came on in relief.
The goaltending change lit a small spark under the Express as Philip Zielonka was able to push a rebound past Thompson to bring the visitors within a pair at 3-1 but midway through the final period Kings forward Shayne Morrissey flipped in his 11th goal of the season after a perfect pass from behind the net from Lawson to put the game out of reach.
Despite the fact the shots were even at 40-40 the Spruce Kings were the more spirited group with many of the Express chances coming on their five power-play opportunities.
Saturday night the Spruce Kings received offence from Mark Begert, a shorthanded marker from Witala and two goals each from Chad Staley and Morrissey.
It was the first time the Spruce Kings and Express played since a November trade which sent defenceman Bradley Ryan to Coquitlam while bringing fellow blueliner Begart and forward Jace Hennig to Prince George. All three players notched points in Saturday's game.
The three-game win streak coincides with Hennig's first games in a Spruce Kings uniform as he was injured for his first four games in Prince George, and with Justin Rai's return to the lineup after a month away recuperating from post-concussion syndrome.
"It's not a coincidence," said Dupas. "We were trying to mix and match and find some chemistry with each line and it just wasn't working. Now we've got our lines back together and we're starting to score again."
Spruce Kings fans won't get another chance to see the team play at home until Jan. 18-19 when the Mainland division leading Chilliwack Chiefs (19-8-1-1) visit. The Kings have eight straight road games, including three this weekend to wrap up 2012 when they play the Island division leaders (Victoria Grizzlies) and basement dwellers (Capitals) before wrapping up in Surrey against the Eagles (17-9-0-2) on Sunday at 4 p.m. Surrey lost 5-2 in Nanaimo on Sunday which leaves them tied with the Spruce Kings for second place in the Mainland division.
"It'll be tough but hopefully when we come back here the fans will show up and hopefully they're happy for Christmas," said Dupas.
