It might seem like just two points are on the line when the Prince George Spruce Kings begin a three-game road trip tonight (7 p.m.) in Penticton against the Vees but this matchup of B.C. Hockey League frontrunners could well have playoff implications.
Right now the Interior Division-leading Vees (28-12-1-2) hold a two-point edge over the Spruce Kings (26-11-1-4, second in the Mainland Division).
While that might not mean much now, if the teams meet in the playoffs in what would be the BCHL final the team with the most regular-season points gets home-ice advantage.
There's still a lot of hockey to be played to get to that point. Prince George and Penticton would have to win three playoff series each to get to the final. The Vees have 15 games left in their 58-game schedule and the Spruce Kings still have 16, including their Saturday night game against the Vipers in Vernon (6 p.m.) and a Sunday (noon) encounter with the West Kelowna Warriors.
"We're battling for first place in the league and against Penticton, as much as it isn't a big division game it's a big swing in points here," said Spruce Kings head coach Adam Maglio. "We can jump two ahead and these games will matter in the end if we want to win a league championship."
The Spruce Kings and Vees will face each other three times this season and the Kings have won both games so far. They defeated Penticton 3-2 at the BCHL Showcase in Chilliwack Sept. 21, then hung another 3-2 loss on the Vees Nov. 3 at Rolling Mix Concrete Arena, winning on Ben Poisson's overtime goal.
The Vees are on a four-game winning streak, having won seven of their last eight games. The Spruce Kings have cooled off slightly in the new year, losing four of five after zipping through December at a 5-1 clip, but they're only two points back of the Mainland-leading Chilliwack Chiefs (29-11-1-0).
"This is a tough road swing again and it's a 12 p.m. game on Sunday and we do need to be real cautious of our shift lengths through Friday and Saturday's game, there's not a lot of turnaround on Sunday," said Maglio.
"It's a fun trip for the guys, these are all good teams and lots of the Lower Mainland families come down on this trip."
The Spruce Kings are coming off a 4-3 shootout loss Sunday in Chilliwack, after posting a 3-0 shutout win Friday at home over the visiting Cowichan Valley Capitals. The Kings started January losing in a shootout in Merritt, followed by regulation losses in Cowichan and Victoria. That marked the first road trip all season the Kings failed to get at least one victory.
"That was probably one of our tougher travel schedules, there was a lot of miles put on even on game day trying to get over to the Island and the start in Cowichan was indicative of the travel and we got better as the game went on (eventually losing 5-2)," said Maglio.
"Our home game against them was the way we wanted to play the week before, for sure. Sunday's game I thought we played well. One goes off our D in front of the net and we're down 3-1. I thought we outchanced (the Chiefs) and we stuck to our game plan and it was a good resilient effort from our group."
Shootouts have not been kind to the Spruce Kings this season: they're 0-4 in the first year the BCHL has adopted the format as a tiebreaker.
"We try and touch on it once a week in practice but the problem with the shootout is it doesn't happen in the playoffs," said Maglio. "It is important and I guess we're realizing that. There are points on the line and maybe we need to spend a little more time on it."
The Kings expect to have 20-year-old defenceman Max Coyle back in the lineup tonight. He missed the Chilliwack game with a lower-body injury. Centre Nolan Welsh, who suffered a lower-body injury in the game against the Caps last week, remains sidelined.
Former Spruce King defenceman Adam Brubacher, who now plays college hockey at RIT in Troy, N.Y., is one of 15 BCHL alumni being considered for the Hobey Baker Award as the most outstanding NCAA player.
