One more game for all the marbles!
That’s what’s in store for the Prince George Spruce Kings tomorrow afternoon (May 19), advancing to the National Junior ‘A’ Championship final after beating the Oakville Blades 2-1 in their semi-final match this evening (May 18).
One last conquest 👑 @SpruceKings will play against @BrooksBandits for the 2019 @HC_NJAC trophy after beating the @OakvilleBlades 2-1 in their semi-final match! It’s the 2nd time in team history they’ll compete for the title | #CityOfPG @GoBCHL @PGMatters pic.twitter.com/0doOQp77dn
— Kyle Balzer (@KyleBalzer) May 19, 2019
The ‘Kings won both meetings in the tournament against the Central Region champions that wear the same coloured sweaters as they do.
Prince George will face a familiar foe for a second time in four days as the host-Brooks Bandits won the afternoon semi 4-3 over the Ottawa Jr. Senators.
Since the Doyle Cup series began over three weeks ago (Apr. 26), the Spruce Kings hold the advantage on paper against Brooks with four wins in seven meetings.
Ben Brar potted the game-winning goal with over two minutes left in the second period, which was at the tail end of a sequence when all three goals in the game were scored in a span of 105 seconds.
👀 @brarzan drives to the net and tucks it around Barber to restore the @SpruceKings lead at 2-1.#NJAC pic.twitter.com/B1BhFPmUzu
— National Junior A Championship (@HC_NJAC) May 19, 2019
Nick Poisson scored his fifth goal in five tournament games, giving Prince George the 1-0 lead on a power-play at the 15:59 mark of the middle frame.
Oakville lit the tying 1-1 lamp just 63 seconds later, but Brar came back to regain the one-goal advantage.
The 2-1 score would stand for the remainder of the semi-final contest as netminder Logan Neaton stopped all 18 shots in the final period, double the amount he faced in the second.
All in all, the Nationals’ Top Goaltender made 32 saves on 33 shots, while Will Barber stopped 30 of 32 shots in the Blades’ last game of the year.
Captain Ben Poisson was given a game-misconduct less than four minutes into the third period due to a kneeing major.
The nationally-televised championship final between Prince George and Brooks is tomorrow (May 19) at 2 p.m. Pacific from the Centennial Regional Arena (CRA) in Brooks, Alberta.
This is the second Nationals final appearance in team history for Prince George (2007, 2019).
Where were you on May 12, 2007?
— National Junior A Championship (@HC_NJAC) May 19, 2019
Relive the longest game in #NJAC history – the quintuple-overtime semifinal between the @SpruceKings and @camrosekodiaks – through the eyes of those who were part of that historic night (and morning).
📖 https://t.co/WdeNDapwLy pic.twitter.com/WCvzW7pPEw
