It had been a long wait between wins for Prince George Spruce Kings goalie Sam Tanguay but his hard work on the ice finally paid off Thursday night at the Coliseum.
The 20-year-old from Beauport, Que., played a key role in ending a four-game B.C. Hockey League slump for his team while making 29 saves in a 6-4 come-from-behind win over the visiting Coquitlam Express. It was only the third win of the season for Tanguay, who came into the game with 13 losses.
Four unanswered goals in the second period put the Spruce Kings (8-21-0-2) in the driver's seat and they never looked back, posting their eight win of the season to move to within 10 points of the Express (12-13-13), who hold down the fourth and final playoff position in the Mainland Division.
Tanguay was at his best in the third period with 11 stops, including a shorthanded game-saver off the stick of Express sniper Colton Kerfoot with two minutes left.
The Spruce Kings' special teams provided the edge which turned the game in their favour in the second period. They'd just killed off a penalty to start the period and Cavin Tilsley jumped out of the box and gained the puck at the Kings blueline while Nick Guerra and Ryan Fritz took off on a 2-on-1 break. Guerra waited until he hit the face-off circle and tried to hit Fritz with a pass but the puck deflected off an Express defender into the net 1:45 into the period.
Bryan Basilico gave the Kings a lead they would never relinquish 3:10 into the second after an offensive zone face-off win on the power play. While Tilsley was denied the assist on Guerra's goal, the 17-year-old from Delta he made sure he got himself onto the scoresheet when he jammed the corner of the net and had three whacks at a loose puck before it finally went in. Corey Hoffman added to the Kings' count with his seventh of the season, 9:35 into the second period.
After seeing Lawson Fenton give up five goals on 20 shots, Express coach Barry Wolff replaced him with rookie Tyger Howat. The Express got back into the game in the third period with goals four minutes apart from Kerfoot and Owen Stout but that's as close as they could get.
Coquitlam's top scoring line - Kerfoot with Austin McIlmurray and Jackson Cressey and Kerfoot - combined to open the scoring. McIlmurray got open in the slot and hammered Cressey's centring feed into the corner behind Tanguay.
Not long after, Tanguay had trouble controlling a ricochet off the end boards and left an open net for Keegan Jones, who beat Stephen Penner to the puck for an easy tap-in.
The Spruce Kings had an answer for that, 39 seconds later. Kyle Johnson got down on one knee in perfect shooting position right outside the crease and rapped in a slap-pass from Tilsley which found the target behind Fenton.
LOOSE PUCKS: The Kings host the Island Division-leading Nanaimo Clippers tonight. Fans are being asked to bring non-perishable food items for the Five-Hole for Food promotion with proceeds going to the Salvation Army food bank.
