The Prince George Spruce Kings were desperate for victory and with 12 minutes left in the game Friday and 5-0 lead over the Salmon Arm Silverbacks to work with, everyone in the building thought that win was in the bag.
Even the Silverbacks were ready to concede the two points.
Nobody in their right mind figured the visitors would score five unanswered goals in the third period and win it 6-5 in overtime, but that’s exactly what they did.
The Silverbacks made a stunning comeback that ruined it for the Spruce Kings and their partisan crowd of 859 watching from the stands at Rolling Mix Concrete Arena.
Noah Serdachny took a goalmouth pass from linemate Simon Tassy and rifled a shot in behind goalie Aaron Trotter. The Silverbacks took advantage of tired trio of Kings with Kolton Cousins, Nick Rheaume and Colton Cameron caught in their own zone far too long in their 3-on-3 overtime shift. Just before Serdachny scored, Cameron came up with a game-saving shot block to stop Daniel Panetta from ending it.
“That’s one of the craziest games I’ve been a part of, honestly,” said Serdachny. “5-0, you just kind of hope to get a couple to make it a respectable score, but we just kept on coming. There’s no quit in this group and I’m so proud of the boys for pulling through, we needed that.
“It was just aa unbelievable job of our guys stepping up. Scoring five in a row is hard, especially against a good team like Prince George. Our coaches were saying they’re tired, don’t let them change and I kind of just picked it off at the blueline and gave it to Tass and was able to finish it off.”
With the win the Silverbacks improved their record to 36-10-4-2-0 and they clinched second place in the BCHL’s Interior Conference.
It was one of the most colossal collapses in recent memory for the Spruce Kings in their 50-year history and one that especially hurts their chances of opening the first round of the B.C. Hockey League playoffs on home ice.
“I think we played a not-bad 50 minutes and had a decent start, I think our starts have been struggling a bit lately and it was good to get a couple and start strong,” said Cousins, the Kings’ captain.
“Obviously the last couple minutes there, that’s unacceptable, not how we want to play and we definitely have to learn from it and come back stronger tomorrow. You’ve got to give Salmon Arm some credit, they’re a strong team and they’ve got lots of skill so in 3-on-3 they’ve got lots of speed and skill and it can haunt you.”
The loss dropped the Kings to 26-15-4-8. They haven’t won a game in overtime since Dec. 22, 2019.
“I think we’re just snakebitten right now,” said Cousins. “We’re a good 5-on-5 team but overtime hasn’t been nice to us this year but we’re doing our best and hopefully we can improve on it.”
The Spruce Kings got off to a great start, scoring two goals on six shots in the first period. Rowan Miller circled behind the net and walked out into the slot to fire in his 22nd goal of the season 9:12 in and about a minute later Kings defenceman Ben LeFranc let go a wrist hot that was tipped in by Nick Rheaume for his team-leading 29th goal.
Not long into the second period, Nathan Fox won a face-off win in the Salmon Arm end and ended up with the puck in the left circle. Goalie Liam Vanderkoot stopped Fox on a close-in shot but he got to the rebound and found the net with a backhander as he crossed through the crease to make it a 3-0 count.
The Kings kept up the pressure and dominated the period, outshooting the Silverbacks 18-8. Vanderkooi kept them in game but he couldn’t stop John Herrington late in the period. The 20-year-old from Hudson’s Hope spun out of the corner and his shot was blocked but he kept his feet moving and retrieved the puck and roofed it into the net for a 4-0 lead.
In the third period, Luc Laylin scored on a spectacular rush up the right wing, using his speed to leave defenceman Tucker Hartmann in his wake before lifting a high wrist shot in. At that point it seemed like a done deal, with the Kings poised to win for only the second time in 10 games.
Not so fast.
Zack Smith scored his first of two goals in the third period on a 2-on-1 at 8:38. Then Tassy put one through Aaron Trotter’s legs on a shorthanded breakaway at 12:49. The Silverbacks kept coming and defenceman Owen Desiltis let go a quick low shot that got through a pile of bodies just inside the point to make it 5-3. The Silverbacks got their goalie to the bench and Brandon Santa Juana jammed one in from the side of the net with 1:09 left on the clock.
The tying goal, with 43 seconds left, came off the rush. Tassy took a shot-pass that found the stick of Smith in the high slot and the puck sailed in past a helpless Trotter.
The Kings have one game left in their 54-game regular season schedule, the rematch with the Silvertips on Saturday. Prince George needs to win that game to have a hope of clinching fourth place in the Interior Conference and home ice advantage for the first round of playoffs, which start April 1.
But they don’t control their own destiny, not after the fifth-place Cranbrook Bucks beat the Penticton Vees to move within three points of the Spruce Kings. The Bucks have two games left – this Saturday against Penticton and next Saturday when they host Trail.
If the Spruce Kings lose in regulation Saturday to the Silverbacks, and Cranbrook wins one of its two remaining games and gains a point in the other game would leave the Bucks tied with the Spruce Kings but Cranbrook would get the nod for fourth based on the fact they would have more wins than Prince George.
“We have the best fans in the league and playing at home is a huge advantage for us so hopefully we get two points tomorrow and we can have home ice in the playoffs, said Cousins.
Friday BCHL summary
Silverbacks 6 at Spruce Kings 5 (OT)
First Period
1. Prince George, Miller 22 (Cousins) 9:12
2. Prince George, Rheaume 29 (Labelle, LeFranc) 10:23
Penalties – Cameron PG (tripping) 2:20, PG bench (too many men, served by Fedele) 10:56, Santa Juana SA (boarding) 19:05.
Second Period
3. Prince George, Fox 3 (German, Fedele) 2:50
4.Prince George, Herrington 24 (Wright, Schives) 19:38
Penalties – None.
Third Period
5. Prince George, Laylin 13, 6:56
6. Salmon Arm, Smith 9 (Santa Juana) 8:48
7. Salmon Arm, Tassy 38, 12:49 (sh)
8. Salmon Arm, Desilets 2 (Santa Juana) 17:37
9. Salmon Arm, Santa Juana 16 (Serdachny, Tassy)18:51
10. Salmon Arm, Smith 10 (Tassy) 19:16
Penalties – Cobetto-Roy SA (hooking) 0:43, Smith SA (high-sticking) 11:07.
Overtime
11. Salmon Arm, Serdachny 25 (Tassy) 3:01
Shots on goal by
Salmon Arm 9 7 12 1 -29
Prince George 8 18 14 -41
Goal – Salmon Arm, Vanderkooi (W,13-1-1); Prince George, Trotter (L,19-11-5).
Power plays – SA: 0-1; PG: 0-3.
Referees – Shayne Aylward, Jake Podann; Linesmen - Jack McNaab; Blair Scott.
Attendance – 859.
