Kobe for the win!
The Prince George Spruce Kings bounced back Friday night (April 16) with a 5-0 win over Merritt after falling to Chilliwack 2-0 less than 24 hours earlier.
Goaltender Kobe Grant, in his second career BCHL game, his first as a starter and in the 2020-21 pod season, turned away all 19 pucks shot his direction from the designated visitors for his first career junior 'A' shutout.
The 19-year-old's teammates dominated once more on offence against the Centennials, outshooting them with 35 shots of their own.
Christian Buono led the scoresheet with a three-point performance, including one goal and two assists, all coming in the third period.
However, Prince George endured a slow start by only firing five pucks to Merritt netminder Josh Dias while Grant faced 11, but no teams found a lane to the net and the contest was scoreless after the first period.
It only took Rowan Miller 66 seconds to open the flood gates and give the Spruce Kings a 1-0 advantage, with assists from Simon Labelle and Nick Rheaume.
Andrew Seaman increased his team-high scoring to six goals after potting his first shorthanded marker of the 20-game campaign.
The American forward charged the net and went backhand on Dias' blocker side unassisted after racing for the loose puck along the right-side neutral-zone boards.
His team initially cleared the zone on the penalty kill and caught the Cents sleeping while on a change, which led to the 2-0 lead after 40 minutes.
The Spruce Kings ran away in the final frame with three unanswered goals; Buono scored 22 seconds in, then assisted on John Herrington's and Mason Waite's markers before the final buzzer.
Waite's goal allowed Prince George to finish one-for-seven on power-plays, while also going 100 per cent on six penalty kills.
With the win, the Spruce Kings improve to 5-3 for 2020-21 thus far, currently tied at the top of the Chilliwack pod with the host-Chiefs with 10 points each.
The 2019 Fred Page and Doyle Cup champions will now get a day's break before starting another back-to-back stint.
Prince George will look to redeem themselves against Chilliwack on Sunday (April 18) before meeting Merritt once more on Monday (April 19), both matches with a 5 p.m. puck drop.
