Prince George Spruce Kings head coach Dave Dupas is convinced he has the top dogs in the BCHL goalie food chain.
The numbers this season for Jesse Jenks and Alex Murray seem to back that notion up.
As newcomers to the league they've kept their team in the hunt for its first BCHL division crown, and both goalies are posting statistics that are making college scouts take notice.
Heading into the weekend, the 18-year-old Jenks ranked third in the BCHL with a 2.34 goals-against average and .920 save percentage and Murray, a 20-year-old, wasn't far behind, sixth in the goalie standings with a 2.50 average and .912 save percentage with two shutouts. Murray has spent twice as much time in the Kings' nets as Jenks has, and both are fine with that.
"We consider them both No. 1 goaltenders," said Dupas. "Alex, being the 20-year-old, is going to get the lion's share of it. We're trying to get him a scholarship too and get him some games in front of the scouts and he'll get in the majority of games. These guys understand they both deserve to be in there and they'll step aside and let the other guy play."
The Kings' are allowing 2.53 goals per game, third-best in the 16-team BCHL, and that's not just a sign of the team's overall commitment to defence.
"When you have both goalies near the top of the standings, a lot of times that reflects pure team defence and the way a team plays, but for us it's not that way," said Dupas. "They both deserve those stats, based on the saves they're making and the amount of times they're keeping us in games."
Murray, a six-foot, 190-pound native of Burlington, Ont., played two full seasons for the Burlington Cougars of the Ontario Junior Hockey League and wanted to come west to play in the more prominent BCHL, which has a better reputation for producing college-calibre players. He came to the Kings over the summer in a trade for future considerations.
While the six-foot-two, 180-pound Jenks prides himself in playing a technical style, staying square to the shooter and rarely caught out of position, Murray is more of a reactionary, making use of his body in unorthodox ways to move in the crease and stop the puck.
"Our team has great defence, they block a lot of shots and make it a lot easier for Jesse and me to control the rebounds and they clear guys in front so we see everything," said Murray. "We push each other and it's a friendly competition between us two. We both want to to get in there as much as we can so we think the better we play the better the chance we'll stay in the net."
The Kings play a lot of three-game weekends on the road and that's a novelty to Murray. In the Ontario League, where his furthest road destination was 1 1/2 hours away, there were no overnight stays.
"We've been on the road a lot, I like being on the road, it's nice in hotels, you get to hang out with the guys all day and I love that, you become tighter as a team and it's pretty fun," said Murray. "I'm having the best time. It's a great team, great coaching and great fans and it's a great community."
Jenks was the go-to goalie last month for Team Canada West at the World Junior A Hockey Challenge in Nova Scotia. He played in all five games and backed his team to the bronze medal, which peaked the interest of NCAA scouts.
"I didn't expect to go there and play all five games, it was an awesome time there, the way we got treated and the exposure to the scouts, it was great to be there," said Jenks. "I don't think the schools who have talked to me even know who I was before that tournament and that's what a high-level tournament like that will do for you."
Both goalies plan to write their SAT college entrance exams in January.
Jenks, a native of Crofton, ended up on the Spruce Kings' radar in March, when he came to Prince George with his South Island Royals midget team to play the Cariboo Cougars in the BCMMHL playoffs. The Royals lost both games and were eliminated, but Jenks clearly stood out.
"I'm super happy with how I've been welcomed on the team and with how the team has played in front of me," said Jenks. "I've worked a lot on footwork and being technically sound and getting to places before the puck so I can make a simple save. I don't usually have to dive. I know Murray is kind of the opposite, he gets his body in front of the puck and it's been working awesome for him."
The Spruce Kings (18-10-2-2) host the Chilliwack Chiefs (7-22-1-2) in a two-game series at the Coliseum Sunday and Monday nights (7 p.m. starts), in games that were rescheduled due to a strike action from the city's unionized employees. The Kings started the weekend trailing first-place Langley by three points while holding two games in hand over the Rivermen. Regardless of where they end up in the standings, the Kings plan on making it a long season.
"I think we have a good playoff team, we play a playoff style, we're a hard-checking team and a shutdown team and that's what you need in the playoffs to be successful," said Murray.
