The Chilliwack Chiefs know they can bank on Jordan Kawaguchi for goal production.
He made that abundantly Thursday night at the Coliseum, making four separate net deposits on the way to a 7-3 victory over the Prince George Spruce Kings.
The 18-year-old Chiefs captain scored twice in the first period and added two more in the second to raise his season totals to 22 goals in just 29 games. His four-point night left Kawaguchi with 39 for the season, good enough to join the B.C. Hockey League's top-10 scoring list.
The Spruce Kings knew they were in tough against the Chiefs, who came into the game sharing first place in the Mainland Division with the Wenatchee Wild. The win left the Chiefs (20-6-1-3), 26 points ahead of Prince George (8-23-0-2, fifth in Mainland).
"There were too many breakdowns, too many turnovers in the neutral zone and even in the D-zone the coverage wasn't great," said Spruce Kings assistant coach Jason Garneau.
"It's more a mental problem for us, rather than actual execution. If you can't think the game properly you're not going to be successful.
"They're a good hockey team, highly-skilled, and they played a good road game, especially in the third period. They shut us down offensively for sure."
The Kings earned their second lead of the game just 28 seconds into the second period. Corey Hoffman made a long lateral move with puck at the blueline and floated in a wrist shot through a screen in front of goalie Aidan Pelino.
But Kawaguchi, the Chiefs' scoring leader, replied with a pair of goals eight seconds apart just past the five-minute mark of middle frame, his sixth and seventh goals against the Spruce Kings in three games this season (all Chiefs' wins). Kings goalie Sam Tanguay had difficulty with a shot from the slot and Kawaguchi had an open net for his hat-trick goal, and on the ensuing face-off he was left open in front for an easy tap-in fed by a pass from linemate Darien Craighead.
The Kings' fate was pretty much sealed at that point.
"It's pretty tough for any team to recover after that," said Garneau. "We're a young team and we're fragile mentally, so any time stuff like that happens it's going to affect us in a negative way. We need to be better in all three zones. With teams like Chiliwack you can't afford to makes mistakes like that."
Chiefs defenceman Austin Adam, who played four seasons in the WHL with Moose Jaw and Everett, made it a 5-3 game before the second intermission. Kohen Olischefski and Eric Benshadle, with the net empty while on a penalty kill late in the game, added to the Chiefs' total in the third period.
Chase DuBois, an affiliate player up from the Cariboo Cougars major midget ranks, made his BCHL debut playing on the Kings' fourth line with Jordan Funk and top-line centre Hoffman. It didn't take long for the 17-year-old from Williams Lake to get his name on the scoresheet. DuBois tied the game 2-2 late in the first period with a slick one-timer off a centring feed in front from Matthew Stief.
Kings winger Nick Guerra opened the scoring 38 seconds into the game with his fourth of the season.
LOOSE PUCKS: The same teams meet again tonight (7 p.m.) at the Coliseum. Tonight is the Kings' annual Drop the Gloves, and Sock It To 'Em promotion. Fans are encouraged to throw their donations of gloves, toques, socks and winter wear onto the ice after the Kings score their first goal of the game. The clothing will be distributed by the St. Vincent de Paul Society... Tonight's game is the last home date of 2015 for the Kings. They visit Nanaimo, Cowichan Valley and Langley next weekend and don't play at home again until Jan. 14, when the host Trail... DuBois currently leads the Cariboo Cougars in scoring with 10 goals and 26 points in 20 games. The Cougars host the North Island Silvertips in a two-game BCMMHL series Saturday night and Sunday morning at Kin 1... NCAA Division 1 scouts from Ohio State and Sacred Heart (Fairfield, Conn) were among the crowd of 791 watching Thursday's game.
