The Prince George Spruce Kings will be back on the B.C. Hockey League road this weekend in Powell River, trying to end a five-game losing streak.
They came close on Saturday at Kopar Memorial Arena, pushing the Chilliwack Chiefs to the bitter end in what was a 3-2 shootout loss.
Chiefs goalie Owen Breson stopped 40 of 42 shots in 70 minutes of game action to earn first star honours, while Kings goalie Carter Wishart was equally impressive in a 35-save performance as the second star.
Kings forward Carter Hesselgrave scored with 2:30 left in regulation time to force the 10-minutge overtime, after teammate Brody McNeil had opened the scoring in the first period.
The Chiefs responded in the second period with goals from Brady Milburn and Mateo Mrsic.
After 10 scoreless minutes of overtime, Dakota MacIntosh scored for Chilliwack in the first round of the shootout and the Kings tied it in the third round on a goal from leading scorer Ethan Montroy. Caleb Elfering ended it when he scored in the fifth round.
The Chiefs improved to 7-2-2-0-0, good for second place in the Coastal Conference.
Prince George (3-7-1-1-0) ranks eighth. With their shootout loss point they are two points ahead of the 10th-place Powell River Kings (2-7-2-0-0).
The Spruce Kings and Kings play Friday and Saturday in Powell River and the visitors will have to spend an extra night in a hotel because there are no ferries scheduled after their game Saturday.
The Spruce Kings have a new defenceman in the fold. They acquired 19-year-old Windsor, Ont., native Trent LeDrew and future considerations in a trade with the Blackfalds Bulldogs.
In exchange, the Spruce King sent 18-year-old defenceman Aidan Souligny and the BCHL rights to 17-year-old centre Jared Langdon.
LeDrew, listed at six-foot-two, 192 pounds, is in his fourth season of junior hockey. He had a goal and an assist in 10 games this season with the Bulldogs, after putting up four goals and 12 points in 47 games last season.
Prior to moving west, he played 103 games for Brockville of the Central Canada Hockey League and also played 18 games in the North American Hockey League for Wisconsin.
“Some changes are required to shore up certain areas of our team,” said Spruce Kings general manager Mike Hawes, “Trent is a player we’ve been trying to acquire for a while. We’re thrilled that it worked out. He will be able to play key minutes for us in all situations.”
Souligny, who has committed to Boston University, had a goal and three assists in 10 games with the Spruce Kings to start the year.
Langdon had five goals and eight assists in 41 games last season for Prince George. The Clarkson University recruit for 2025-26 is currently with the Omaha Lancers of the USHL.
The next home games for the Spruce Kings are set for Nov. 1-2 against the Victoria Grizzlies.
