The Prince George Spruce Kings knew the Wenatchee Wild would be tough to beat on home ice.
Three other teams in the B.C. Hockey League playoffs this spring could not figure out how to win in Wenatchee and the Spruce Kings were left looking for answers after dropping a 4-0 decision Friday in the opening game of the Fred Page Cup championship.
Wild centre Jasper Weatherby kept up his torrid scoring pace in the playoffs, collecting a goal and two assists to solidify his lead atop the playoff scoring race. The 21-year-old from Lummi Island, Wash., scored his 14th of the playoffs on a Wild power play, 7:56 into the third period, to put the Wild up 3-0. Weatherby now has 33 points in just 16 playoff games.
Austin Park made 25 saves for his second shutout of the playoffs. Wenatchee outshot the Spruce Kings 56-25. The win, in front of a crowd of 3,309 at Town Toyota Centre, left the Wild with a 9-0 record on home ice this postseason. Wenatchee will try to make it 10 straight tonight in Game 2 (7:05 p.m., CFIS 93.1 FM).
The Wild pounced first, 9:03 into the second period. Josh Arnold of Cloverdale, one of two Canadians on the Wenatchee roster, was denied on a close-in shot from the side of the net but regained the puck behind the goal line, sending a pass back for Cooper Zech, who fed one to defence partner Slava Demin. Demin skated in and let go a low screened shot and the rebound bounced out to Sam Hesler, who backhanded it in past Kings goalie Evan DeBrouwer.
Just 57 seconds later, AJ Vanderbeck made it a 2-0 game. Weatherby, the BCHL’s most valuable player and scoring champion this season, tried to hit linemate Lucas Sowder with a pass through the crease but the puck slid to Vanderbeck, who scored his eighth of the playoffs from a sharp angle. That assist extended Weatherby’s playoff point streak to 10 games.
Forced to kill off two penalties in the second period, the Kings were outshot 26-6 in the period.
Neither team scored in the opening period. The Wild built a 17-8 shot advantage and had the Kings pinned in their own end on several occasions. Wenatchee’s best chance came on a power-play chance 13 minutes in. Zech carried the puck in from the point and let go a shot while cutting into the slot and DeBrouwer got his shoulder in front of it. Kyle Johnson came close to notching his seventh goal of the playoffs eight minutes into the game, set up at the side of the net by Ethan de Jong, but Park shot across the crease to take the angle away from the Kings captain.
Zak Galambos was credited for the fourth Wenatchee goal, 11:38 into the third period, also on the power play, a shot that deflected in off the shin pad of a Spruce Kings defender.
The Kings will try to even the series tonight and will be back on home ice at Rolling Mix Concrete Arena for Game 3 and 4 Monday and Tuesday. If it goes beyond that it will become a traveling series with Game 5, if needed, Thursday in Wenatchee, Game 6 next Saturday in Prince George, and if it goes that far, Game 7 set for the following Monday in Wenatchee.
LOOSE PUCKS: The winner of the series will advance to the Doyle Cup regional championship, April 27 to May 6 against the Alberta Junior Hockey League champion, either the Spruce Grove Saints or Okotoks Oilers. That best-of-seven Inter Pipeline Cup final series stated Friday in Okotoks. Josh Harris scored 3:46 into overtime to give the Saints a 4-3 victory... The BCHL winner will host the first two games of the Doyle Cup series, April 27 and 28. If one team wins the first two games, the rest of the series will be played in the home of the Alberta champion. If the first two games are split, a third game would be played in the BCHL rink on Sunday, April 29, with the rest of the series shifting to Alberta... The Doyle Cup winner will advance to the five-team RBC Cup national championship in Chilliwack, May 12-20.
B.C. Hockey League playoffs
Fred Page Cup championship
Prince George Spruce Kings. vs. Wenatchee Wild
(Wild leads best-of-seven final series 1-0)
Game 1
Friday's summary
Spruce Kings 0 at Wild 4
First Period
No scoring.
Penalties - Ahac PG (holding) 12:14.
Second Period
1. Wenatchee, Hesler 4 (Demin, Zech) 9:03
2. Wenatchee, Vanderbeck 8 (Weatherby, Sowder) 10:00
Penalties - Brar PG (hooking) 3:09, Keranen PG (hooking) 10:10.
Third Period
3. Wenatcheee, Weatherby 14 (Zech, Sowder) 7:56 (pp)
4. Wenatchee, Galambos 6 (Zech, Weatherby) 11:38 (pp)
Penalties - PG bench (too many men, Served by Min Lee) 7:03, Brar PG (cross-checking) 11:00, Welsh PG (cross-checking) 13:04, Stratton Wen (interference) 14:17.
Shots on goal by
Prince George 8 6 11 -25
Wenatchee 17 26 13 -56
Goal - Prince George, DeBrouwer (L,12-8); Wenatchee, Park (W,12-3).
Power plays - PG: 0-1; Wen: 2-6.
Referees - Steve Fleming; Erik Freeman; Linesmen - Chris Hastings, Carl March.
Attendance - 3,309.
Scratches - Prince George: D Oliver Lester (ankle injury), F Ben Poisson (ruptured spleen), F Spencer Chapman (concussion), F Cory Cunningham (healthy); Wenatchee: D Noah Kim (healthy), D Drake Usher (healthy), F August Van Ungern (injured).
