The Prince George Spruce Kings will start the new B.C. Hockey League season with a home-ice doubleheader against the Merritt Centennials.
The Kings will skate against the Cents on Sept. 23-24, a Friday and Saturday. As per the BCHL schedule, which was released on Monday, the Kings will be on the road the following weekend for games against the Penticton Vees and Vernon Vipers.
The Centennials, an Interior Conference rival, are now the Kings' closest geographical opponent. That distinction used to belong to the Quesnel Millionaires but the financially-troubled Quesnel franchise folded in May and was sold to a new ownership group in Chilliwack. The Kings will get their first look at the Chilliwack Chiefs Nov. 4 at Chilliwack's Prospera Centre. The Chiefs will make their first visit to Prince George on Nov. 30.
The Kings will end their 60-game regular season with a March 10 home date against the Vees.
The Spruce Kings will be looking to improve upon a 2010-11 campaign that saw them post the BCHL's worst record, a mark of 13-40-1-6.
To make the challenge ahead of the Kings even tougher, they'll need a top-four finish instead of a top-seven result in the eight-team Interior Conference to make the playoffs. The new structure came into effect in May, when the league -- for reasons of cost efficiency, competitiveness and scheduling -- moved from four rounds of playoffs to three.
The complete BCHL schedule is available on the league's website.
