A new, yet old, rivalry will be refueled as the Prince George Spruce Kings head into the playoffs for the second straight season.
The Spruce Kings (25-21-1-8) will face the Chilliwack Chiefs (31-21-1-1) in a first round best-of-five B.C. Hockey League series in the Mainland division. Saturday night the Spruce Kings officially clinched third place in the division with a 4-1 win over the Langley Rivermen (24-24-1-5) - who clinched the fourth playoff spot Sunday after the Coquitlam Express lost 5-4 to the Salmon Arm Silverbacks - while the Chiefs secured second place with a 3-0 win over the Cowichan Valley Capitals.
Spruce Kings general manager Mike Hawes said the team reached its playoff goal and now, hopefully, they'll win their first playoff game - the Merritt Centennials swept the Kings in four straight games last season.
"We had a tremendous season last year and another one this year," said Hawes. "We'll see how well we can do in the second season."
This season the Spruce Kings and Chiefs faced each other eight times with the Chilliwack-based team posting a 6-2 record, but the Kings have won the last two meetings both on the road. In addition, the two teams have a long-standing rivalry from when the Chiefs where the Quesnel Millionaires - they moved south at the start of the 2011-12 season.
"There's a bit of a rivalry there that kind of carried over when they made the move down to Chilliwack," said Hawes. "[They're] a hardworking team that plays the game the right way and so do we so it should be an entertaining series."
The best-of-five series is slated to begin in Chilliwack on March 15 and 16 (Friday and Saturday) before the teams move north for Game 3 on March 18 (Monday). If necessary, Game 4 will also be played at the Coliseum March 19 with Game 5 shifting to Chilliwack on March 20.
It's a rivalry that's sure to continue to grow since, Hawes said the Spruce Kings have decided to remain in the Mainland division for the foreseeable future.
"We're happy with how the division's played out this year," said Hawes. "It's a competitive division, lots of parity and the travel is the same - eight hours for us in the Okanagan or eight hours for us to the Lower Mainland.
"It seems once we get down [to the Mainland] we can centralize a little better and the travel is easier once we get where we're going," he added. "From that standpoint it makes sense for us to stay where we're at."
The Spruce Kings were given the option to move back to the Interior conference for the 2013-14 season when the BCHL moved them, along with the Chiefs, to the Mainland division last spring.
Hawes said the hockey in the Spruce Kings new division suits them better.
"We're a blue-collar city and we like to have a blue-collar team that works hard and plays physical," said Hawes. "Langley does as well. Surrey is the same way, Chilliwack and Coquitlam too. We match up well with those teams so it's also a good fit for us."
In a meaningless game Sunday the Spruce Kings fell 8-4 to the Rivermen in front of 1,531 fans at the Coliseum. The Spruce Kings wrap up the regular season next Saturday when the Silverbacks visit Prince George at 7 p.m.
Playoff tickets available
Spruce Kings fans can pick up playoff tickets for Game 3 of the best-of-five series against the Chiefs now at the Kings' office inside the Prince George Coliseum or at the Treasure Cove Casino. The price for a single adult playoff ticket is $14 and for students and seniors it's $12 and for children $9.
The first two games of the first round Mainland division series will be played in Chilliwack with the series shifting to Prince George on Monday, March 18, 7 p.m. If necessary Game 4 would also be played at the Coliseum.
