The Prince George Spruce Kings are halfway to their first ever B.C. Hockey League (BCHL) championship.
After winning the first two games of the 2018-19 Fred Page Cup Final on home ice, 3-1 on Friday (April 12) and 4-1 on Saturday (April 13), the ‘Kings hit the road today (April 15) for Vernon, hoping to return to the northern capital later this week with the trophy on the bus.
Before they put the pedal to the pavement, the team was sent off by more than a dozen fans at the Rolling Mix Concrete Arena (RMCA) at Noon today (April 15), who wore jerseys, hugged the players, banged on drums as they boarded the bus, and even brought homemade cookies for the road trip.
.@SpruceKings are being escorted by @pgfirefighters out of the RMCA parking lot & on to #BCHwy97 as they embark on their road trip to Vernon 🚒 | #CityOfPG @GoBCHL @PGMatters pic.twitter.com/0cIfYWadlf
— Kyle Balzer (@KyleBalzer) April 15, 2019
Travel for the Fred Page Cup Finals this year is a little bit different compared to last for Prince George.
In 2018, the Wenatchee Wild hosted the first two games of the best-of-seven championship series, so the Spruce Kings endured a drive that, in one sitting, would last more than 11 hours.
The boys did spend a night in Osoyoos before crossing the Washington state border the next morning.
Luckily, the red, white, and blue will get to Vernon in one shot as the drive should only last seven to eight hours (plus-minus a bathroom break or two along the way).
This year, the @SpruceKings have a shorter road trip to their opponent’s city in the BCHL Fred Page Cup Final 🗺 @VernonVipers are only 7 hours away from the RMCA compared to an 11+ hour trip to Wenatchee in 2018 | #CityOfPG @GoBCHL @PGMatters pic.twitter.com/DByajMGjcy
— Kyle Balzer (@KyleBalzer) April 15, 2019
They take a 2-0 finals lead into Kal Tire Place.
Games Three and Four between the Spruce Kings and Vipers take place tomorrow night (April 16) and Wednesday (April 17), both with 7 p.m. puck-drops.
If the Vipers win at least one of those games, the Fred Page Cup Finals will head back to Prince George for Game Five on Friday (April 19) at the RMCA.
