Get ready Spruce Kings fans.
The two biggest games of the season are happening this weekend in Prince George at Kopar Memorial Arena.
This could be make-it or break-it time for the Spruce Kings.
There’s four points up for grabs in the Friday-Saturday series and if the Kings win both games in regulation they will leapfrog the Rivermen into eighth place in the BCHL Coastal Conference.
The Spruce Kings (18-24-3-1) are just three points behind Langley (17-20-8-1), a small miracle considering that on Feb. 1st, the night they lost 6-1 in Victoria, Prince George was eight points back of the Rivermen.
The Kings’ February surge in which they went 5-4-0 coincided with the return of 20-year-old veteran forwards Linden Makow and Owen Goodbrand from longterm injuries and the addition of 20-year-old Quebec Major Junior Hockey League veteran goalie Charles-Edward Gravel.
Gravel, a native of Levis, Que., committed to Mercyhurst University next season, has made a big impression in his BCHL debut, sporting a 5-2 record with a sparkling 1.95 goals-against average and .929 save percentage.
Goodbrand, a Bentley University recruit, has three goals and three assists in 12 games since he played his first games of the season Jan. 29. Makow, a native of Vanderhoof and the Kings captain, has two goals and five assists in 11 games. The Kings captain also returned from the injury shelf on Jan. 29.
The Rivermen went 2-5-2 in February, allowing Prince George to gain some ground.
But don’t expect them to roll over this weekend. Chris Shaw’s troops have owned the Spruce Kings this season, winning four of the five head-to-head encounters. Three of those games were played in Langley.
The teams split in their most recent meetings. Langley beat the Kings 5-4 on Dec. 13 at Kopar and the Kings won the following night 6-3.
Friday’s game starts at 7 p.m. and the rematch Saturday is at 6 p.m.
