The Prince George Spruce Kings bus is in for a workout over the next week.
The Spruce Kings (5-1-0-0-0, second in Interior Conference) left town early this morning and will be in Vernon tonight (7 p.m.) to play the Vipers (3-3-0-0-0, seventh in Interior) , then will head west to take on the Salmon Arm Silverbacks Saturday night (6 p.m. start).
Before their equipment has had a chance to dry, the Kings will pack up after that game and head back up Highway 97 for a couple days at home before they have to round up their gear for another trip south to the B.C. Hockey League Showcase in Chilliwack on Tuesday. All 18 BCHL teams will be there from Monday-Thursday.
Last year, the league tied its own record with 173 players committed to NCAA Division 1 teams. Seven BCHL players were selected in the 2022 NHL draft in Montreal. So for the Spruce Kings, especially those looking to lock up their college hockey futures, the Showcase gives them an opportunity to impress the NCAA and NHL scouts.
The Spruce Kings play what is considered a road game on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. in Chilliwack against the Coquitlam Express. Then on Thursday, at 4 p.m., Prince George will be the home team when the Kings take on the Surrey Eagles.
The longest roadtrip of the season, will continue next Friday night in Vernon, for a rematch with the Vipers. They’ll board the bus right after that game for the seven-hour drive back to P.G.
The Vipers split a two-game series with the Kings earlier in the season, handing them their only loss do far, a 5-1 defeat on Oct. 1 at Kopar Memoria Arena. The Spruce Kings return to their own rink Oct. 28-29 to face the Wenatchee Wild.
The Kings are coming off a perfect weekend with wins at Kopar over Victoria (3-1) and Merritt (6-4) which kept them within two points of the league-leading Penticton Vees (6-0-0-0).
Ethan Ready’s play-by-play webcasts of Spruce Kings games can be heard on the Mixlr website.
LOOSE PUCKS: Chris Jandric, a 24-year-old Prince George minor hockey product who played two seasons in the BCHL with Vernon before going on to the University of Alaska-Anchorage, is now in his second season at the University of North Dakota this week he was named defenceman of the week in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference. Jandric had three assists in a 6-0 win over Holy Cross and also has three shot blocks, four shots on goal and finished the game a +3.
