The Edmonton Oilers liked Vernon Vipers left winger Liam Coughlin enough to use a fifth-round draft pick to bring him under their protection last June.
Wednesday night at the Coliseum, Coughlin gave the Prince George Spruce Kings a glimpse of why he carries such high value as a pro hockey prospect. They were completely overwhelmed by a dominant effort from Coughlin and the Vipers, losing 3-0 in front of 1,054 witnesses.
Although held to an assist, Coughlin dictated play most of the game. Strong on his feet and slick with his decision-making on the fly, the six-foot-three, 201-pound Coughlin makes good things happen whenever he gets the puck, creating skating room for his linemates, and he gave the Spruce Kings many anxious moments.
The 20-year-old from South Boston, Mass., caught winger Anthony Latina at full stride to set up a 2-on-1 break that centre TJ Dumonceaux finished with a tap-in under the crossbar from close range to open the scoring 11 minutes into the game. Luke Shiplo and Liam Finlay also found the Kings' net.
"Vernon came in ready to play and our guys obviously weren't ready to play," said Kings general manager Mike Hawes. "Our veteran guys need to answer the bell a lot better than they did. Vernon took it to us. It was almost like the Vipers were playing a junior B team tonight, completely unacceptable."
Jarrod Schamerhorn made 23 stops to earn his first shutout of the season.
The Kings had to consider
themselves fortunate to get out of the first period down by only one goal.
Although they were only outshot 10-6, the Vipers owned the puck most of the period and took advantage of two Prince George penalties to hold the Kings prisoners in their own end most of the time.
Despite the Vipers' edge in territorial play, the Kings have had great success all season killing penalties, second-best in the 16-team BCHL, and held the Vipers' 15th-ranked power play off the scoresheet in four opportunities in the game.
Coughlin forced Kings goalie Jesse Jenks to make a couple of tough saves to start the second period and that set the tone for another one-sided, pressure-packed 20 minutes in which the Kings faced 19 shots.
The Vipers made it 2-0 six minutes into the second. Shiplo, a Western Michigan University recruit, left his point position to take a lead pass and won a footrace with Kings defenceman Alex Stoley, lifting a backhander in off the crossbar for his first goal of the season.
Finlay added to the total in the third period, cashing in on a rebound.
Jenks was sharp from the opening puck drop, finishing with 36 saves and kept the Kings in the game. But they had no answer for a fast and furious Vipers team that improved its third-place Interior Division record to 11-6-1-1.
"Both goaltenders were really good and we're a bit flattered by the score," added Hawes. "It could have been a lot worse if not for Jesse's heroics tonight."
The loss dropped the Kings to 12-8-0-2 but they remain first in the Mainland Division.
LOOSE PUCKS: D Ryan Fritz made his Coliseum debut in his first home game with the Kings since being traded from Coquitlam for Prince George minor hockey product D Jordan Low. Fritz was paired Thursday with Raymond Grewal... The Kings host the Surrey Eagles in a two-game series at the Coliseum Friday and Saturday.
