The Prince George Spruce Kings know they're heading right into a bee's nest tonight in Wenatchee.
The honey they're after is kept locked up in the Town Toyota Center, guarded tenaciously by the Wenatchee Wild. They're looking for points in what rates for visiting teams as the toughest rink in the B.C. Hockey League.
Now in their second season in the BCHL, the Wild has set the bar with a league-leading 33-6-4-0 record good for 70 points, 27 ahead of the Spruce Kings (19-18-3-2). The Wild has has yet to lose in regulation time on home ice this season, sporting a 21-0-2-0 record. The only blemishes were two overtime losses to the Chilliwack Chiefs, Dec. 30-31. The Spruce Kings haven't come to close to beating Wenatchee. In five meetings this season with the Wild they've been outscored a combined 35-8.
"We've got to go in there and play our game for 60 minutes," said Spruce Kings head coach Chad van Diemen. "We've got to be sharp with the puck and be ready every shift. That's a team, when we've deviated from our gameplan, they've got to us. We're looking at it as a challenge to go down there and get some points, which not many teams have done."
Last weekend at Rolling Mix Concrete Arena the Kings pushed the Chiefs to double-overtime Friday, losing the first game 3-2, then had a disappointing effort in front of standing-room-only crowd Saturday, losing 5-2 to Chilliwack.
"We have to get to a point where we get a lead that we just lock it down," said van Diemen. "(In Friday's game) when we had a 3-1 lead and 4-2 lead, we didn't do a good job of managing the game and that's what good teams do. They keep the lead protected and capitalize on opportunities when they come up."
The Wild has obviously excelled in that department. They've outscored the opposition 218-105 this season through 43 games, holding a 128-39 edge in their 23 home games.
Eleven Wenatchee players have already signed scholarship agreements to play NCAA Division 1 hockey including Bemidji State recruits Brendan Harris (18g-57a-75pts in 43 games) and Charlie Combs (39-25-64), who rank 1-2 in the BCHL scoring race.
Four other college-bound Wild forwards have been producing at a point-per-pace or better, including: Troy Conzo (14-43-57, Colorado College), A.J. Vanderbeck (30-19-49, Colorado College), Colin Burston (19-28-47, Brown) and Brian Williams (14-30-44, Massachusetts). Two Wild defencemen, Slava Demin (Denver, 2018-19) and Jacob Modry (RPI, 2017-18) also have their NCAA futures mapped out.
One element in the Kings' favour this weekend is they're 100 per cent healthy, with 13 forwards, seven defenceman and two goalies along for the trip. Nineteen-year-old winger Tanner Campbell (5-14-19 in 25 games) has had three games to try to regain his scoring touch after missing nearly two months with a neck injury.
"He's a pretty offensive guy and he missed some time and is still getting back into game shape and he can be a big boost to our lineup," said van Diemen. "In three games back he's been a little inconsistent and we're going to need him to find his game and be a guy to contribute down the stretch here."
Centre Ethan O'Rourke has been held scoreless in three BCHL games since he was reassigned to the Spruce Kings from the WHL Cougars. The smooth-skating six-foot-five, 200-pound native of Penticton will likely be handed more special teams roles as the Spruce Kings try to lock up a playoff position after missing the BCHL postseason last year.
"Ethan had a great attitude and wants to improve, he's very businesslike in his approach and he prepares well," said van Diemen. "At 17, there's going to be a few growing mistakes there but we're really excited to work with him and he can be a big part of our group. He makes some good decisions with the puck and we want to get him to the point where he's chipping in offensively but also a responsible 200-foot player, taking care of both ends of the rink.
"He's good on draws and he's a guy we can use as a forward on the penalty-kill and hopefully we can continue to help him develop his hockey career here."
O'Rourke and Campbell, a right winger, are linemates on the third line with Ben Poisson.
One constant for the Kings this season has been the play of centre Brett Mennear and defenceman Tyler Anderson, both 20-year-olds acquired in separate deals from the defending RBC Cup-champion West Kelowna Warriors.
Mennear, a Bentley University recruit, deserves consideration as the BCHL's most valuable player for his contributions to the Spruce Kings. With 20 goals and 40 assists for 60 points he ranks third in BCHL scoring and proves his versatility as a gamebreaker on a nightly basis, excelling on special teams and winning key face-offs. Mennear centres the top line with Ben Brar and Chong Hyun Lee on the wings.
Anderson (16-21-37) ranks second in Kings' scoring and fifth among BCHL defencemen, possessing one of the hardest shots in the league. The six-foot-four, 215-pound native of Niverville, Man., also sets the tone for his team as a physical presence around the net.
All five of the Spruce Kings' remaining games this month and all but one of their 11 February games will be played on the road. Their only regular season home game left is on Thursday, Feb. 9 against West Kelowna.
"Our goal over the next month-and-a-half is to learn how to grind out wins and get the team to pile up some greasy road wins," said van Diemen. "Winning on the road is a lot harder and it's a tough challenge ahead of us but we have to embrace that. It's an opportunity for us to grow as a group and gain some trust for each other and create some momentum."
LOOSE PUCKS: Tonight's game will be webcast live on mixlr.com/sprucekings with Kings communication director Ryan Lepper describing the play-by-play action. Game time is 7 p.m... The Spruce Kings awards banquet is set for Friday, Feb. 17 at the Ramada Hotel ballroom. Tickets are $40 per person or $350 for a table of 10, available at the Kings' office at the main entrance to RMCA.
