It’s every goalie’s dream to pull off a playoff shutout and in his first postseason crack at blanking a B.C. Hockey League opponent, Aaron Trotter had that ambition well within his grasp with 25 seconds left on the clock Friday.
Unfortunately for Trotter, with victory already in the bag against the Cranbrook Bucks, the hockey gods were not smiling on the 20-year-old Prince George Spruce Kings goaltender.
The Bucks won a faceoff in the Kings’ end and Zeth Kindrachuk whipped a hard wrist shot into the net that sealed a 4-1 Spruce Kings’ win at Rolling Mix Concrete Arena.
“We got the win and that’s all that matters,” said Trotter, a University of St. Thomas NCAA recruit, who made 26 saves as the game’s first star.
“They’ve got a lot of young talent, so you can’t take a period off, they’re going to come at us. The guys definitely helped me out tonight, it’s always good when you’re scoring goals, so we’ve got to keep that momentum going tomorrow. We’ve got to worry about the next game now, we can’t get too high over this one.”
The Spruce Kings got a scare late in the opening period when Bucks forward Noah Quinn barged in from the right circle and came close to scoring when he let rip a hard shot from close range. Trotter flashed his glove to make the save and Quinn continued his charge, flattening the Kings’ goalie in the crease. Trotter remained down on the ice while trainer Michell Karapita rushed off the bench to check his condition but he was OK to continue.
Quinn, the Bucks’ top-line centre, was handed a five-minute major for goalie interference and a game misconduct. The play will be reviewed by the league office and Quinn, the Bucks’ second-leading scorer, could face supplementary discipline. In the BCHL, a major penalty carries an automatic two-game suspension but that could be lifted if it is determined the major was not warranted.
Simon Labelle, Nick Marciano, Ty Gagno and Luc Laylin provided the scoring punch the Spruce Kings needed to take Game 1 of the best-of-seven Interior Conference quarterfinal series.
“They played hard, they played to their brand and capitalized on their opportunities,” said Bucks head coach Ryan Donald.
The Kings set the tone early and were rewarded with the first strike of the series, 3:57 in. Rowan Miller’s backhander on net resulted a fat rebound and Labelle skated through the slot to bang the loose puck into the open side of the net for his first career BCHL goal.
Pointman Marciano picked the corner low from just inside the blueline to double the lead near the end of a Kings’ power play midway through the first period.
The Bucks had more jump in the second period and tested Trotter several times with grade-A chances. He dove across the crease to deny Tyson Dyck on a Cranbrook power play, six minutes into the period. Dyck led the Bucks with 34 goals and 75 points and was fourth in the BCHL scoring race but the Kings defenders, playing with a lead most of the game, rarely let the Bucks get set up in the offensive end and they held Dyck without a point. Trotter also looked especially sharp on two close-in chances in the second period that came off the stick of Kindrachuk.
Penalties disrupted the flow for the Bucks and the Spruce Kings took advantage of one of them to make it a 3-0 game. With Jimmy Johnson serving a boarding penalty, Marciano won a footrace for a loose puck deep in the Prince George end and started the rush with a burst of speed. He fed a lead pass to Kolton Cousins and the Kings’ captain spotted Gagno in front and he found a sliver of net just inside the post and under the glove of goalie Nathan Airey. Laylin made it a 4-0 count late in the third period, right after a Kings’ power play had expired.
“Obviously it’s nice to have a goalie like Trotter on our backs, it gives us more a little more confidence and as long as we stick to our game and play a defensive game we’ll be alright,” said Kings defenceman Dylan Schives. “We’re glad he finished the game and obviously he was solid back there even with (getting hit on) the head. They had their chances and he shut the door and he’s been doing that al season.
“We did our pre-scout and we know they’re a fast team and we kind of watched their tendencies tried to limit their opportunities and keep them outside the dots and we did a good job. Dyck is a helluva player and we’ve got to watch him.”
Kings left winger Luke German left the game 8:33 into the third period when he got nailed into the side boards with a high hit from Bucks centre Liam Hansson. Hansson was assessed a major hit-to-the-head penalty and game misconduct and unless the league decides otherwise he will miss at least the next two games of the series. That could leave the Bucks without Quinn and Hansson, their top two centres.
“They were both bang-bang plays and obviously they’ve got to make a judgement on ice and the call is based on what they see,” said Donald. It certainly doesn’t help when you lose two guys, whatever their position, forwards or defencemen. You’ve got to find other guys to slot into their spots and it certainly didn’t help us.”
The Kings got great efforts from their third and fourth lines and they had their chances. Vanderhoof product Linden Makow combined with Nathan Fox a couple times to generate quality shots on net.
Kings general manager Mike Hawes certainly liked what he saw from his troops and singled out his blueliners for keeping the Bucks away from the dangerous areas when they had the puck.
“I thought all six D did a tremendous job tonight limiting their chances, keeping them to the outside and the times they did get opportunities, Aaron was there to answer the bell,” said Hawes.
LOOSE PUCKS: The attendance for Friday’s game was 1,168. Game 2 of the best-of-seven series is set for Saturday (7 p.m.) at RMCA. Cranbrook will host Games 3 and 4 Monday and Tuesday….In other opening -round results Friday, Penticton beat Trail 5-1 to tie that series 1-1… In Friday’s other series-openers, Vernon topped West Kelowna 5-2, Chilliwack bet Coquitlam 6-3, Alberni Valley scored a 5-3 win over Cowichan Valley and Langley defeated Victoria 3-2…. The Wenatchee Wild are on the road to start their series Saturday against the Salon Arm Silverbacks.
CHL playoffs
Interior Conference quarterfinal
Prince George Spruce Kings vs. Cranbrook Bucks
(Spruce Kings lead best-of-seven series 1-0)
Game 1
Friday summary
Bucks 1 at Spruce Kings 4
First Period
1. Prince George, Labelle 1 (Miller, Rheaume) 3:57
2. Prince George, Marciano 1 (Gagno, Labelle) 9:18 (pp)
Penalties –Rogers CR (boarding) 7:37, Quinn CR (goalie interference major, served by Phoh, game misconduct) 17:09, Herrington PG (cross-checking) 19:48.
Second Period
3. Prince George, Gagno 1 (Cousins, Marciano) 12:03 (pp)
Penalties – Dyck CR (roughing), Rheaume PG (roughing) 0:25, Wright PG (tripping) 1:54, Cameron PG (tripping) 5:18, Smith CR (roughing), McGregor-Bennett PG (roughing) 8:16, Johnson CR (boarding) 11:30, Phoh CR (boarding) 17:08, Fraser PG (tripping) 19:33.
Third Period
4. Prince George, Laylin 1 (Rheaume, Wright) 17:37
5. Cranbrook, Kindrachuk 1 (Rogers, Ride) 19:35
Penalties – McGregor-Bennett PG (holding) 2:48, Hansson CR (check to the head major, served by Schmidt, game misconduct) 8:33, Miller PG (double high-sticking) 9:23, Kungle CR (cross-checking) 15:34.
Shots on goal by
Cranbrook 6 18 9 -27
Prince George 17 11 7 -34
Goal – Cranbrook, Airey (L,0-1); Prince George, Trotter (W,1-0)
Power play - CR: 0-4; PG: 2-7.
Referees – Jake Podann, Steve Brown; Linesmen – Rob Connelly, Anthony Maletta.
Attendance – 1,168.
Saturday game - Game 2: Cranbrook at Prince George, Saturday, 7 p.m.
