Playoffs in the B.C. Hockey League don't start until early March.
Try telling that to the Prince George Spruce Kings and Wenatchee Wild.
It's still only a few weeks into the regular season but both teams brought the same kind of postseason puck intensity they displayed so prominently in the BCHL final last April, a five-game series that ended with the Wild claiming the Fred Page Cup.
In a fast-paced, wildly entertaining rematch of the league finalists Thursday night at Rolling Mix Concrete Arena the Spruce Kings set the tone early, using their speed to unleash a relentless forecheck that eventually wore the Wild down, winning 3-2.
The Spruce Kings dominated the opening period, taking advantage of back-to-back Wenatchee penalties and a lengthy two-man advantage to build up a 10-1 edge in shots. But none of them snuck past Austin Park, the 20-year-old Wild netminder.
It was much the same story in the second period and the Kings got out of it with a two-goal lead. Nolan Welsh got them started, taking a pass in the slot and firing it low to Park's blocker side after linemate Ben Poisson kicked in his afterburner to win a footrace for a loose puck in the corner. He put the puck right on Welsh's stick for his third goal of the season, just 23 seconds into the period.
The Wild tied it on their first power play of the game, 2:12 into the second, a skilful setup by Christophe Fillion, who took a cross-ice feed at the crease and faked a shot to force defenceman Liam Watson-Brawn out of position before rifling in a high wrister.
A power-play goal from Dustin Manz late in the period gave the Kings the lead back and Watson-Brawn picked an opportune time to collect his first of the year to put the Kings in front 3-1, 35 seconds before the second intermission.
But the Wild refused to go away quietly and scored 49 seconds into the third period to make it a one-goal game. Wild captain Lucas Sowder carried the puck into the corner and caught Kings goalie Logan Neaton not hugging the post as he fired off a high backhander from close range that found a sliver of net. That set the stage for a more evenly-played final 20 minutes and a few nailbiting moments for the pro-P.G. crowd of 912 in attendance.
"I thought we really dominated the first period and that set the tone for the rest of the game," said Kings general manager Mike Hawes. "Give the Wild credit, they did battle back hard in the second and third and made a real good game of it.
"I thought our veteran guys really led the way and we got some timely goals, which you need to defeat good teams. Our defence was the key tonight. Any time you can limit a team like that to 17 shots in a game you know you're doing something right."
The Wild had pressure in the final minute with the goalie out and had one last shot at the tying goal when Chad Sasaki let one go from the point in the dying seconds but defencemen Dylan Anhorn got his foot in the way just before the buzzer.
"Prince George came out with a bunch of fire," said Wild associate coach Chris Clark.
"We were just not ready to go, outshot 10-1 in the first period. We were on our toes for the first two periods. Parkie gave us a chance to win but you're not going to beat a team that's the quality of Prince George if you just show up for one period."
The shots were 30-17 in the Kings' favour.
"It was a great game right from the word go," said Hawes. "Those were two real good teams that battled tonight and that's what this league is about - speed and skill, and we saw that on display tonight."
The fans certainly got their money's worth watching 60 minutes of lightning-quick, cleanly-played hockey. About the only disappointment was the fact the Wild play in the Interior Division and won't be back this season unless the teams meet in the playoffs. We can only hope.
LOOSE PUCKS: The Island Division-leading Victoria Grizzlies are in town tonight for their one and only visit to Prince George this season. The Grizzlies feature 17-year-old centre Alex Newhook, rated as an A prospect and potential top-three overall pick in the 2019 NHL draft... The Spruce Kings dressed 15-year-old right winger Fin Williams, called up from the Burnaby Winter Club. Williams, a second-round pick of the Swift Current Broncos in the 2018 WHL bantam draft, made his BCHL debut wearing jersey No. 22 on a line with Tyler Schleppe and Layne Sniher. The Kings have tapped the Burnaby pipeline for one-third of their roster. Schleppe, Welsh, Watson-Brawn, Ben and Nick Poisson, Bradley Cooper and Nick Bochen are all Winter Club products... The three stars were: 1. Manz; 2. Brar; 3. Sowder. Anhorn was the Fortis energy player of the game.
