Two games. Two wins. Twelve goals.
That's how the Prince George Spruce Kings opened their 2014-15 season on the road at the B.C. Hockey League's Showcase in Chilliwack on the weekend.
The Kings edged the Alberni Valley Bulldogs 6-5 Sunday afternoon and clipped the Nanaimo Clippers 6-4 Saturday.
Trailing 6-2 going into the third period Sunday, the Bulldogs rallied with three straight goals on 21 shots, including one on the power play. Prince George, with only one shot on net, managed to hold on until the final buzzer and hang on for the win.
"We just stopped moving our feet in the third period," said Kings head coach Dave Dupas from the team's return bus trip back to Prince George. "If it wasn't for [netminder Alex] Brooks-Potts, it would have been much worse. The good thing is we can have a bad game and win with our goaltending and goal scoring. The bad thing is we gave up way too many goals and shots."
The Spruce Kings skated to a 3-0 lead in the first period, thanks to goals from veteran forwards Justin Rai, Jeremiah Luedtke and newcomer Michael Buonincontri. It was Buonincontri's first BCHL goal since he was acquired in the off-season from the Smiths Falls Bears of the Central Canada Hockey League.
The second period was a back-and-forth battle with the Bulldogs notching two goals and the Spruce Kings scoring three times with goals from Brogran O'Brien, Chad Staley and Rai with his second of the game.
Staley and Cole Todd each tallied two assists, while Marco Ballarin, Matthew Stief, Buonincontri, Rai, Jake LeBrun and alternate player Trevor Pereverzoff added single helpers.
The Kings were 1-3 with the man-advantage, while the Bulldogs scored two goals on seven power play opportunities.
"We had many, many good scoring chances [on the power play]," said Dupas.
Staley and Rai were named first and third stars of the game respectively.
Brooks-Potts, who arrived in Prince George in an off-season trade from the Kingston Voyageurs of the Ontario Junior Hockey League, was a stalwart in net, sweeping aside 48 of the 53 shots he faced earning Player of the Game honours.
Offensively, the Kings managed only 20 shots on Bulldogs netminders Nathan Warren and Billy Christopoulos.
Saturday against Nanaimo, Cole Todd scored the Kings fifth goal and eventual winner on an assist from Jake LeBrun mid-way through the third period to give Prince George a 5-3 lead.
Brett Roulston narrowed the deficit for the Clippers with a goal just under two minutes remaining in the game, but LeBrun added the insurance marker on an empty-netter with 34 seconds left in the game.
Taylor Allan, Rai and Todd all scored their first goals of the regular season to stake the Kings to a 3-0 lead in the second period.
Brent Lashuk notched his first of the season and fourth goal for the Kings early in the third period.
Prince George fired 39 shots on Clippers goalie Guillaume Decelles and Kings starting netminder Jesse Jenks made 36 stops on 40 shots to earn the win.
The Kings penalty kill was solid and didn't allow the Clippers to score on three power-play opportunities. Todd's first goal in the second period came with the man-advantage.
Luedtke and defenceman Matthew Stief each tallied two assists.
Dupas knows his team can't afford to take early leads and then let the other team back into the game.
"Today [Sunday] we didn't really deserve to win," said Dupas. "We started thinking we'll get the lead lead and everybody is feeling good and all it takes is one bad penalty or goal and all of a sudden the game has changed."
Prince George earned the two wins on the weekend without the help of half of its blueline - defencemen Karan Toor, Jake McCarthy and Valik Chichkin. Toor is dealing with a lingering groin injury while McCarthy and Chichkin have shoulder sprains.
In their place were alternate players Pereverezoff, Alex Stoley and Michael McEachern.
"[Matt] Stief and Jordan [Low] are raw rookies so we had five guys [defencemen] who've never played before and to come out of here with two wins and it's tough to throw all the guys out... I feel very blessed. I've been on the other side with this team where we've been outshot and lost."
The Kings remain on the road this weekend when the travel to Coquitlam to face their Mainland Division rival the Express Friday and Saturday, followed by a matinee game Sunday in Surrey.
The Kings' home-opening weekend is slated for Friday, Oct. 3 and Saturday, Oct. 4 at the Coliseum where they'll battle the Chilliwack Chiefs.
