Just when you thought it wasn’t possible, Prince George Spruce Kings goalie Charles-Edward Gravel found a way to raise his game another notch.
He stopped everything the Chilliwack Chiefs fired his way Sunday night at Kopar Memorial Arena and his 24-save shutout performance was the golden ticket in a 2-0 victory that’s got the Spruce Kings headed to Chilliwack for a seventh game Tuesday night to decide the BCHL Coastal Conference quarterfinal series.
Will Moore and Nick Metelkin took care of the goal scoring and the Spruce Kings did everything necessary in front of Gravel to hold the most potent offence in the BCHL without a goal for the first time all season.
“I tried to do my best and the boys played super-well in front of me, I didn’t get too many high scoring chances because the d-men were helping me a lot and I think it was a team effort at the end of the day,” said the 20-year-old Gravel.
It was that, to a large degree.
The Spruce Kings carried much of the play and outshot the Chiefs 27-24, but there’s no denying Gravel was superb when he had to be. Like when he absolutely robbed Chiefs right winger Dwayne Jean Jr. to keep it a 2-0 game with seven minutes gone in the third period.
Chilliwack defenceman Jayden Veney’s point shot into a crowd in front of the crease didn’t get through to Gravel but the puck ticked off a stick and landed on the blade of Jean Jr.’s stick. He had a foot of net showing when he fired from the side thinking sure-goal just as Gravel dove back and laid down his glove on the ice to make the save.
Gravel has made dozens of incredible saves since he joined the Spruce Kings from the QMJHL in early February but none as important as that one to keep the Chiefs off the scoreboard at such a critical moment and the partisan crowd of 1,543 roared its approval.
“I just saw the puck get tipped on my right so I just tried to put down my glove and the guy shot into it and that’s how I got it,” said Gravel.
“Today was pretty much packed, a great atmosphere, it was awesome and it helps us a lot to win for them. We’re going to give them another series.”
In Game 5 Friday, Gravel was the story in Chilliwack especially in the first two periods when the Kings were outshot 40-6.
“It’s unbelievable, he just seems to get better and better,” said Moore. “It brings great confidence to our team, knowing we have a goaltender like that and it makes a huge difference for us. Obviously he’s a game-changer for us. He still amazes me every night and I think we’re going to accomplish a ton with him in net.”
The Spruce Kings broke a scoreless draw 47 seconds into the second period. Owen Goodbrand set up a 2-on-1 rush with Linden Makow and Makow failed to get a shot away but took the puck into the corner and centred it into the crease. Goodbrand missed the return feed but winger Moore was in perfect position to fire in the rebound for his first BCHL playoff goal.
The Kings made it 2-0 at the 8:35 mark of the second. Defenceman Trent Ballentyne sent a shot-pass the length of the ice from deep in the Prince George end with Ryan Wachtel breaking into the Chiefs’ zone on the right side a stride or two ahead of Chiefs defender Lucas Sorace. The puck ricocheted off the end dasher right out to Wachtel who took a hard shot and the rebound popped out to Metelkin and he pounded the puck into the open side.
“When our backs are against the wall we don’t give up or back down under pressure when the stakes are high, our team comes to play,” said Moore, a native of Westfield, Ind.
“I’ve been getting a lot of chances but haven’t been able to bury. Linden made a great play and was able to find me. It happened quick. It was an exciting one for sure.”
Although the action was fast and furious, there were few penalties called and both teams pretty much stuck to the rules. The Chiefs’ power play has been a factor in their three wins in Chilliwack this series.
The Spruce Kings maintained tight discipline and their penalty killers were called into action just once, midway through the second period, but they kept the Chiefs at bay, aided by some aggressive sticks from Makow and Goodbrand to break up the attack from the blueline.
The Kings had three power-play chances, including a back-to-back session when Dru Mushumanski clipped Isaac Holt with a high stick. The Kings had some zone time during that four-minute stretch but couldn’t muster anything dangerous on goalie Quentin Miller.
Chiefs head coach and general manager Brian Maloney was disappointed with the intensity of his team and knows they will have to be much better on Tuesday to beat the Spruce Kings and move on to the second round.
“I expected more from our group, to be honest with you, they looked super-tired and (the Kings) looked like they wanted to go to Game 7 so good on them, I thought they outworked us physically,” said Maloney, whose team averaged 4.7 goals per game through the regular season.
“We’ll certainly have to do a lot better to score one on his kid (Gravel). He’s playing out of this world and good on him, he’s giving his team a chance to beat a first-place team. Offence has been a grind, it’s been a different series, it hasn’t been the regular-season series. Our forwards are certainly not getting time and space out there to create anything. It’s ugly hockey.”
As has been their habit in the series, the Chiefs came out with an early flurry that led to scoring chances that forced Gravel had to come up with some key saves to keep the game scoreless.
But it was obvious watching their breakouts from defence to offence the Spruce Kings are much more comfortable playing on their own rink than they are at Chilliwack Coliseum. They connected on stretch passes across the blueline, looked confident carrying the puck out of the zone and were quicker to get to the Chiefs sticks to force turnovers than they did in Friday’s 2-1 loss in Chilliwack. They matched well against the speed and skill of the Chiefs playing on an ice surface that’s 10 feet shy of NHL dimensions.
“When you’re able to play in front of a community like Prince George that comes out to support us like they did tonight, it gives the guys a little extra incentive,” said Spruce Kings head coach Brad Tesink. “The crowd was loud, they were into the game and any energy come playoffs is huge. Our guys really appreciate the support they’ve had and now we’ve got to find a way to win in their rink.”
Heading into the third period holding a two-goal lead against a team that led the BCHL in goals scored in the regular season, the Spruce Kings did not sit back and continued to pressure the Chiefs in all three zones. Aside from that Jean Jr. chance, Gravel was never out of his comfort zone the rest of the game.
“They’re a very dangerous team on the other side and we don’t take that lightly,” said Tesink. “We think if we close down some time and space that’s where we’re at out best and that’s where we’ve had success against them in the series. So keeping on them and on the front foot and not sitting back in those situations has been part of the process.”
As badly as they were outplayed in Game 5 in Chilliwack the Spruce Kings won the third period that night and were one shot away from forcing overtime. The difference in his team coming out from the second intermission was stark and Tesink said there might been some carryover that helped them pull it out in Game 6.
“That came right from the dressing room,” Tesink said. “Guys understood that we weren’t up to our standard and we made it a point to make sure they had no momentum coming out of that even if they took the win, that we had the momentum coming up this way, and I think we did that. We’ve turned this into a one-game series.”
Now it’s up to the Spruce Kings to prove they can win in the Chiefs’ rink.
“I think we just need more buy-in from everyone, we need to be more accountable in our own end and obviously we’ve got to be harder on them,” said Ballentyne.
“They’re a good team, especially in their barn. We were too timid and they were pushing us around and we can’t have that happen.”
Game time Tuesday is 7 p.m.
LOOSE PUCKS: The Spruce Kings are hosting their annual Prospects Camp, April 25-27 at Kopar. This year the club has added a Futures Camp for players under the age of 15 and will have two full rosters of 20. All camp participants will go through practices and scrimmages, as well as nutrition/conditioning and mental preparation seminars during the weekend event.
