With the B.C. Hockey League playoffs looming next week, the Prince George Spruce Kings make their final regular season stand tonight and Friday night at home against the Langley Rivermen.
Murray started the trip in Coquitlam with a 32-save outing that ended in a 4-1 Spruce Kings' win.
The Langley-Prince George matchup has been tight all season. Each team has three wins, three losses and a tie. Not only have all those games been close, they've been intense.
"There's a bit of a hatred between the two teams and once the guys get out there they start playing like everything's on the line," said coach Dave Dupas. "They're a big tough team that likes to intimidate and we just don't get intimidated by them and it turns into a good game."
D Karan Toor has a bruised foot and won't likely play for the Kings this weekend. D Cooper Rush, who played just part of a game for Prince George after being traded from Chilliwack in early January, got bad news from his doctor on Tuesday when he told his knee injury would keep him off the ice for at least another two weeks.
The second-place Kings open the playoffs Tuesday and Wednesday at the Coliseum against third-place Coquitlam, with Games 3 and 4 of the best-of-seven series in Coquitlam Friday and Saturday. If the series goes beyond that, Game 5 would be played in Prince George, Monday, March 10, switching to Coquitlam the following night for Game 6. If needed, a seventh game would be played Wednesday, March 12 at the Coliseum. The Kings have a 7-1-1 record against the Express this season.
Langley will play fourth-place Surrey in the opening round. The other first-round matchups in the Interior and Island Divisions have yet to be determined. In the Interior, Penticton and West Kelowna are tied for first, each with 74 points, while Vernon is four points behind On the Island, Victoria is two points up on Powell River. Each of those teams have two games left.
Alex Murray, the league player of the week, is expected to get the start for the Kings tonight at the Coliseum (7 p.m. face off).
