The Prince George Spruce Kings stopped the Coquitlam Express in their tracks Saturday with a 3-2 win at home.
It was the fourth game of a four-game series at the Coliseum between the two B.C. Hockey League Mainland Division rivals.
Justin Rai scored the winner, his second of the game, half-way through the third period in a goal-mouth scramble to break a 2-2 tie.
"We came out flying, we could have had three or four goals in the first period," said Kings head coach Dave Dupas. "Their goaltender [Express goalie Gordie Defiel] played great but I liked the way we moved our feet. The second period was not so great, and they're a very good team. We did well to defend in the third."
Both teams traded goals in the first period on tallies by Kings forward Jake LeBrun and Coquitlam forward Canon Pieper.
Rai scored his first of the game on a wrist shot when both teams were four-on-four in the middle frame. Ryan Rosenthal answered that goal with his 27th of the year when the Kings failed to clear their own zone.
In the third, the teams kept trading scoring chances as the Express kept rolling and rolling until Rai broke the tie.
The Kings peppered 39 shots on Defiel over the entire 60 minutes, while the Express countered with 27 of their own on Kings' netminder Alex Murray.
The victory gave Prince George seven out of a possible eight points during the four-game series and gives them some breathing room in the standings between themselves and the Express.
The Kings improve to 28-15-3-2 with 61 points to remain in second place in the Mainland Division. The Express are now 23-22-2-3 in third place with 51 points.
"Seven of eight points is good, I would've taken five or six from them," said Dupas. "It's good for us."
Prince George is now only six points back of division leading Langley Rivermen with 10 games left in the season.
The Rivermen only have nine games remaining in the season.
The Spruce Kings host Alberni Valley Bulldogs Friday and West Kelowna Saturday. They also have five games left to play against Langley.
Notes:
Rai collected seven points during the two-game set against the Express on the weekend, with four goals and three assists. He now has 41 points for the season and sits fourth on team-scoring. Chad Staley leads the team with 53 points, followed by Jeremiah Luedtke in second with 47 points and Christian Wiedhauer in third with 44 points.
"Justin's playing phenomenal right now," said Dupas. "He's full of confidence. He's always had the talent but now he has the work ethic and drive when he's playing like that. He's so good on his skates, he's got good hands and can score."
Rookie defenceman Danny Kiraly, who suffered a concussion when he was hit into the boards against the Express Jan. 25, remained out of the lineup. He was skating during practice last week with no contact allowed, and has passed concussion protocol tests.
"We're hoping Danny's back next weekend, he's feeling better now," said Dupas. We have our fingers crossed, but we'll see."
