On a team still getting used to having a few new faces around, the Prince George Spruce Kings leaned on a known entity to show them the way to victory Sunday afternoon.
All-star forward Skogen Schrott used the Christmas break to rest up an injury that briefly sidelined him a couple weeks ago and was back in the lineup for Saturday’s 6-5 overtime loss to the Nanaimo Clippers. Held to one assist in that game, Schrott came back with a dominant performance as the first star in the rematch with the Clippers Sunday afternoon.
The 19-year-old Michigan Tech recruit scored a goal and assisted on two others to lead the Spruce Kings to a 4-1 triumph.
Schrott set up Brogan McNeil for the opening goal on a Spruce Kings power play, the only goal of the first period 14:48 in, then delivered a pass to Brock Cummings in the second period that gave the Kings a 2-0 lead to take into the second intermission.
Then in the third period, Schrott was fed the puck from teammate Maks Percic and made it count, scoring his ninth of the season with 12:23 gone.
In his BC Hockey League debut, Kings goalie Dylan Johnson stopped 27 of 28 Nanaimo shots – a memorable introduction for the 19-year-old native of Dallas, Texas to the partisan crowd of 1,002 at Kopar Memorial Arena.
The Clippers finally cracked Johnson’s armour with three minutes left. Luke Lavery connected on a Nanaimo power play to break up the shutout.
McNeil collected his second of the afternoon and eighth this season into the empty net with five seconds left.
Johnson signed with the Spruce Kings last week after the team learned 19-year-old goalie Colin Reay required season-ending surgery to repair a hip/groin injury.
The six-foot-one, 202-pound Johnson played six games in the USHL this season with Dubuque and Green Bay, combining his efforts for a 3-2 record with a 3.73 goals-against average and .853 save percentage.
Johnson ‘s junior hockey resume includes two seasons in the NAHL and he won the Robertson Cup with the Oklahoma Warriors in 2023. In 34 games, he posted a 14-15-1-2 record with a 2.81 GAA and .914 save rate.
“We are extremely fortunate that Dylan was available and was very interested in joining our team,” said Spruce Kings general manager Mike Hawes, “He’s a veteran goaltender who will come in and work with Ryder Green as we look to have a great second half of the season.”
The Spruce Kings (10-15-3-1, eighth in Coastal Conference) are tied in points with the Clippers (11-16-2-0, ninth in Coastal) each with 24 points.
The Spruce Kings begin their January schedule this weekend in the road. They play Friday in Surrey and Saturday in Chilliwack.
