Dropping the gloves in anger has gone the way of the dinosaur in the B.C. Hockey League.
A fight means an early shower for those who partake so you rarely see anybody socking it to 'em.
Except for this time of year.
It's nearly Christmas and Prince George Spruce Kings centre Dustin Manz is already in the spirit. He made sure the fans who brought their warm clothing donations to the rink at Rolling Mix Concrete Arena for the St. Vincent de Paul Society for the Drop The Gloves and Sock It To 'Em promotion didn't have to hang onto them for long Friday night.
He caught a hard pass from linemate Ben Brar on the backhand side of his stick blade while parked just outside the Surrey Eagles' crease, dragged it to his forehand and let go a shot for a 1-0 lead. The power-play goal came 18:47 into the first period and it triggered the tosses from a season-high crowd of 1,335.
The first-overall Spruce Kings are used to having it their way this season against most BCHL opponents and they managed to keep their No. 1 status intact, leaning on Manz and his two-goal performance in a 2-1 squeaker over an injury-delpeted Surrey team that refused to go down quietly.
With just 2:15 left on the clock, Manz gave the Kings what they needed to lock away their 24th win in 35 games. He took a pass from defenceman Jay Keranen and let go a hard shot from the slot that caught a piece of the glove of goalie Hayden Missler and bounced over his shoulder into the net.
For Manz, a native of Vanderbilt, Mich., it was his 20th goal of the season and fifth in two games. He notched his second hat trick of the season a week ago in a 5-3 win over Nanaimo.
"Dustin is such a hardworking guy and he doesn't let anything faze him on the ice," said Spruce Kings general manager Mike Hawes. "I would bet he's probably the best power forward in the league right now the way he's playing and Lake Superior State's sure got a good one with him."
The Spruce Kings improved to 24-8-1-2 at the expense of the last-place Eagles, who dropped to 7-25-1-2. That win, coupled with the Chilliwack Chiefs' 10-5 loss in Coquitlam, left the Spruce Kings three points ahead of the Chiefs (24-11-0-0), who remained second overall.
The Kings doubled the Eagles in shots, 34-17
"We played well in spurts but there were times when we didn't play as well as we wanted tonight and we gave up a few too many Grade-A chances in those 17 shots, but give Surrey credit, they battled hard," said Hawes.
"They were short-staffed, they only had 16 skaters and they played awfully hard for a group that's depleted. Credit to the guys for buckling down and getting it done in the end."
The Eagles were missing leading scorer Tyler Westgard and four other regulars who were either injured or suspended but found a way to tie it with six minutes left. Holden Katzalay got his stick on a point shot from Tyler Pang and deflected in past goalie Logan Neaton.
But thanks to Manz, Neaton did not have to wait long for the celebratory taps and hugs from his teammates as he celebrated his 20th victory of the season.
"Logan's been steady and we know what we're getting from him every night," said Hawes. "When I talked to him early in the season I said I don't care about any of the stats other than wins and for him to get to 20 this early is very impressive."
Neither team scored in the second period. Surrey defenceman Jeremy Smith had the hit of the game, six minutes in when he stuck out his hip to flatten Manz breaking in at full speed along the left wing wall. Smith drew the wrath of the Spruce Kings late in the period when he went knee-on-knee with Manz as the Kings forward carried the puck into the Eagles' zone. Manz went down briefly but didn't miss a shift.
LOOSE PUCKS: Newly-acquired centre Spencer DenBeste made his BCHL debut with the Spruce Kings and had a couple quality shots on goal. The former Springfield Blue (NAHL) was the pivot on a line with Corey Cunningham and Chong Min Lee... The King called up affiliated defenceman Skyler Cameron from the Burnaby Winter Club prep team. The 16-year-old lined up on the blueline with Nick Bochen, one of seven BWC alumni now on the Prince George roster... The same teams meet again tonight (7 p.m.) at Rolling Mix, the last home game of 2018 for the Spruce Kings. They'll travel to Surrey to play the Eagles again on Thursday, then play the Rivermen in Langley on Friday. The Kings will reconvene with a three-game road trip Jan. 4-6 that will take them to Merritt, Cowichan Valley and Victoria.
