Four out of six points after three straight road games, with nary a day off in between?
That’s what the Prince George Spruce Kings accomplished over the weekend when they visited the West Kootenays for a three-game B.C. Hockey League set against the Trail Smoke Eaters.
Unlike the first two games, Sunday’s finale ended in a Kings’ victory.
Auston Fraser’s one-timed power-play goal gave the Kings the early lead in the first period. An even-strength 2-on-1 counter from Luc Laylin, set up by a back-door pass from Nick Rheaume, put the Kings up 2-0 and they hung on to beat the Smokies 2-1.
Jordan Hendry made it interesting in the third period when he scored for Trail with 6:39 left, and the Smokies did test Aaron Trotter with a couple of close chances down the stretch, but the 20-year-old goalie was able to salt away his 12th win of the season.
“We played pretty good defensively, made smart line changes, we just knew it was going to be a 2-1 game and we had to buckle down a little bit in the harder areas and we did the job,” said King head coach Alex Evin .
Fraser is well known around the league for his intimidating style of play and crunching bodychecks but the 18-year-old native of West Vancouver can also put the puck away. He now has 10 goals in 26 games.
“He’s nasty, plays a physical brand of hockey, sometimes on the edge, but for the most part he’s pretty disciplined and he’s got a great shot and he’s scoring some goals, chipping in, and giving us some secondary scoring,” said Evin.
The win improved the Kings’ record to 19-9-2-3-0, while Trail dropped to 15-14-1-1-0. The Smoke Eaters won the opener 5-4 in a shootout and handed the Kings a 3-2 shootout loss Saturday.
Prince George remains third in the Interior Conference with a .652 winning percentage. The Kings haven’t lost in regulation time since Dec. 18 (a 2-1 loss in Vernon) and are 6-0-1-3-0 since returning from the Christmas break and Evin said his goalies, Trotter and Jordan Fairlie, are a big part of the reason for that. Evin is not concerned about the three losses in shootouts over the past month.
“There’s no shootouts in the playoffs,” he said.
The Kings host the Vernon Vipers this Friday and Saturday at Rolling Mix Concrete Arena. Friday’s game in 90’s night, part of the team’s 50th anniversary celebration, and alumni players who suited up for the team in ‘90s will be featured at the game. The current team will be wearing the old jerseys sporting the “angry Christmas tree” crest.
“I know the last time we honoured a decade team it was a real fun night and we had great support and hopefully we’ll get that again,” said Evin. “We have a real hard-working team and we think they’re fun to watch and they’re proud to be in the community of Prince George.
“Vernon’s going to be a good test for us. They’re healthier than they were early in the year and I’m sure the games are going to be really tight again. We have lots of bumps and bruises so I’m not sure where we’ll be at by Friday.”
