At least we've got the Spruce Kings.
Among Prince George's 'major' sports teams, the Kings are the only one with a winning record in the 2013-14 season of competition. Heading into a home game tonight against the Coquitlam Express, the Spruce Kings sit at 26-15-3-2, a mark that has them in second place in the Mainland Division and sixth overall in the B.C. Hockey League.
The crosstown Cougars? Even though they've won two in a row, they are 20-26-2-5 on the Western Hockey League season and in danger of missing the playoffs for the third consecutive year and the seventh time in the past 11. As the Cougars prepare for a game tonight in Moose Jaw, they are ninth in the 10-team Western Conference and 18th in the 22-team WHL.
Even the Cariboo Cougars -- traditionally one of the strongest teams in the B.C. Hockey Major Midget League -- are having their struggles. To date, the Cats have gone 13-15-2 and are sixth of 11 clubs. The Cougars will have a good chance to reach the .500 mark when they take on the last-place Kootenay Ice Saturday and Sunday in Nelson.
Jumping to UNBC athletics, both Timberwolves basketball teams have 4-12 records. The UNBC men are seventh in Canada West's eight-team Pacific Division and the women are fifth. With road games tonight against the University of Saskatchewan and Saturday against the University of Alberta, the T-wolves squads are still mathematically alive in the hunt for playoff spots but, realistically, will be on the outside looking in once the post-season begins a few weeks from now.
As for the UNBC soccer teams, they also experienced difficult seasons. The male T-wolves kicked to a 2-9-3 record, which gave them a last-place finish in the five-team Pacific Division and had them 10th of 11 in Canada West. The women's soccer team, meanwhile, went 1-9-2 and ended up 11th out of 13 Canada West clubs.
To date, the combined win/loss records of the Prince George Cougars, Cariboo Cougars and UNBC basketball and soccer teams (excluding WHL overtime losses and shootout losses) is an uninspiring 44-83.
The reasons for the overall futility are varied. In the case of the P.G. Cougars, injuries to key players have been a factor but the team has also been hampered by the wildly inconsistent play of the guys who have been in uniform. And let's not even get into the management and scouting issues that have contributed to the current state of affairs.
The Cariboo Cougars -- who have been managed tremendously well over the years -- are having a tough time because so many of their top-end players graduated out of the program last season. To make matters more difficult, they lost Brogan O'Brien to the Spruce Kings at the start of this season and O'Brien almost certainly would have been their offensive leader. Of the guys who are on the Cariboo roster, only four (forward Riley Pettitt, defencemen Bryan Allbee and Scott Cullen and goaltender Jeremy Matte) were in uniform on opening day of 2012-13.
At UNBC, the lack of victories on the basketball courts and soccer pitches is all part of the developmental process as the teams adjust from the B.C. college level to the Canadian university level. The UNBC teams are second-year probationary members in Canada West and are hoping to become full members at the conclusion of this season.
Anybody else miss the days of basketball dominance in the college league? Those provincial championships (two for the men, two for the women) and the men's national title in 2010 sure were nice.
And the success of the Spruce Kings is enjoyable now. Credit goes to general manager Mike Hawes for the recruiting job he has done in the past few seasons (long gone are the days when players wouldn't report to Prince George), to head coach Dave Dupas and his staff for their teaching and guidance, and to the players for their work ethic during practices and games.
But there is still much to be done. The Spruce Kings will ultimately be judged by how far they go in the playoffs, and, in the past two years, they haven't gone anywhere.
Two years ago, the Kings suffered a first-round sweep at the hands of the Merritt Centennials. Last year, they were knocked out in the opening round by the Chilliwack Chiefs, who won a best-of-five series in the maximum number of games.
When this year's playoffs begin in March, the Spruce Kings have to get past the first round and then make some serious noise. With leading scorer Chad Staley and a deep group of forwards, with a defence that offers a mix of mobility and grit, and with two of the league's more capable goalies in Alex Murray and Jesse Jenks, all the pieces are in place for some playoff magic.
If not now, when?
And hey, given the troubles of the other teams in town, local sports fans could really use the jolt of excitement.
