Three years ago, on Sept 13, 2019, the last time the Victoria Grizzlies played in Prince George, they went back home to Victoria disappointed after the Spruce Kings handed them a 6-1 loss.
Back then, the Spruce Kings were still enjoying the afterglow from winning their first B.C. Hockey League championship that spring, a path to the Fred Page Cup Trophy that included a four-game sweep of the Grizzlies in the semifinal round.
The pandemic wiped out the playoffs in 2020 and 2021 and last year the Grizzlies were forced to stick to their conference to limit their travel while the world struggled to get a handle on the spread of COVID-19.
That veil has been lifted and this season all 18 BCHL teams will play each other at least once. For the Grizzlies, that opportunity to face the Spruce Kings happens tonight in downtown Prince George at Kopar Memorial Arena (7 p.m. start).
The Grizzlies are off to a 1-2-1 start, coming off a 3-0 win last Saturday at home over the Langley Rivermen. The Spruce Kings (3-1-0-0) will try to regain their winning form after suffering their first loss of the season Saturday at home, where the Vernon Vipers took the second game of the weekend series 5-1.
On Saturday (7 p.m.), the Spruce Kings host the Merritt Centennials in their first trip to P.G. this season.
Hockey world mouns death of former Spruce King Ciocco
LOOSE PUCKS: Former Spruce Kings winger Josh Ciocco has died of an undisclosed cause. Ciocco, 38, was in his fifth season as an assistant coach for Merrimack College Warriors, based in Andover, Mass. Merrimack announced his death on Tuesday. Prior to joining Merrimack, the Atco, N.J., native served two seasons an assistant coach at Brown University (2016-18) and spent three seasons (2013-16) as an assistant at Alaska-Anchorage. Ciocco played 1 1/2 seasons with the Spruce Kings before he was traded to the Vernon Vipers in January 2002. He ended his BCHL career with an 81-point season with the Salmon Arm Silverbacks and wet on to play the next four seasons at the University of New Hampshire. Ciocco also played in the ECHL for Wheeling and Fresno before he retired as player in 2008….
Anhorn making waves in U.S. college hockey
In other Spruce Kings alumni news, defenceman Dylan Anhorn of the St. Cloud University Huskies was selected as the defenceman of the week in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. Anhorn collected a goal and two assists in a 3-1 season-opening win over St. Thomas University, then had two more assists in a 4-0 victory over the Tommies on Sunday. Anhorn, a 23-year-old Calgary native, played two seasons for the Spruce Kings, from 2017-19 and was a key figure in the Kings’ run to the Fred Page Cup championship in 2019 and their first appearance in the BCHL final in 2018. He transferred to St. Cloud this year after two NCAA seasons at Union College.
