The Prince George Spruce Kings and their improbable dream of pulling off a colossal upset over top-seeded Chilliwack Chiefs’ season ended abruptly Tuesday night in Chilliwack.
A 4-0 loss to the Chiefs in Game 7 of their BC Hockey League Coastal Conference quarterfinal was all she wrote for the Spruce Kings, the final chapter of a season miraculously salvaged by a late surge that got them into the playoffs as unlikely participants.
Given that shot as the Coastal Conference’s eighth seed, they pushed the top-ranked Chiefs to the limit in the series, but could not get the road victory they so badly needed.
Caleb Elfering scored two goals and goalie Quentin Miller was unbeatable in goal, making 33 saves in his best performance of the playoffs to propel the Chiefs on to Round 2.
“I think we pushed hard there for 60 minutes, we had a tough time winning a few pucks, but our guys gave it their all and that’s all we asked of them tonight,” said Spruce Kings head coach Brad Tesink.
“Give props to Chilliwack, they kept pushing back in the series every time we would push forward. It was a series of home-ice advantage. They took care of what they needed to at home and so did we and unfortunately, one game short.”
Chilliwack scored twice in the second period to take a 2-0 lead into the break.
Off a face-off in the Prince George end, Elfering was left unguarded in the right circle and Caleb Malhotra found him for the one-timer, spinning a perfect pass as he pivoted out from behind the goal line with 1:45 gone in the period.
That served as a bit of a wake-up call for the Spruce Kings’ offence and they finally started generating some offensive pressure in that second period, looking much more lively than they were in the opening 20 minutes. The Chiefs took the first penalty of the game midway though the second and Brock Cummings came close to tying it up during the power play but his shot from the slot went wide.
Cummings, looking for his sixth goal of the playoffs, got another chance with the team back to even strength but his labelled shot from close range was turned aside by the leg of goalie Miller. At that point, 14 minutes into the period, the shots were even 11-11. Not long after that, Will Moore was denied by another Miller pad after a toe-drag move into the slot set up a dangerous chance
The Chiefs found a way to double their lead with four minutes left in the period. Olivier Beaulieu’s from the point through a maze of bodies left a rebound and defenceman Adam Boatter jumped into the play and batted the loose puck in from the side.
Just after the goal was announced to the Chilliwack Coliseum crowd of 2,393, Cummings got the puck all alone in the slot when three Chiefs overskated it and he ripped a hard wrister but Miller, the Montreal Canadiens fourth-rounder, made the save with his trapper.
Matched against the powerhouse Chiefs, who led the BCHL in goals scored this season, Cummings was consistently one of the top forwards throughout the series, finishing with five goals and six points in seven games.
“He’s been doing that all year for us, stepping up in big moments, he’s a quiet kid off the ice but his game speaks volumes, he leads the charge for us,” said Tesink. “He’s a coach’s dream to have on the ice.”
Elfering scored his second of the game early in the third period to make 3-0. The Kings had the puck after a neutral-zone face-off win but Elfering was all over Trent Ballentyne’s errant pass attempt from the boards and made the interception in the high slot. His shot was blocked by Isaac Holt but Elfering got to the rebound and slid it through a crowd in front of goalie Charles-Edward Gravel.
Nathan Morin scored into an empty net to cap the scoring.
The shots ended up 43-33 in the Chiefs’ favour.
The Chiefs will advance to the Coastal Conference second round against the No. 7 Alberni Valley Bulldogs, who pulled off a five-game series upset over the second-ranked Surrey Eagles.
The home team won every game in the series.
The Chiefs took the first two in Chilliwack, 3-2 and 4-2, then it was the Spruce Kings winning 3-1 and 5-2. Game 5 in Chilliwack was a 2-1 nailbiter thanks largely to Gravel and he came up big again two nights later when the Spruce Kings blanked the Chiefs 2-0 in Game 6 Sunday at Kopar Memorial Arena.
The Spruce Kings closed an eight-point gap on the Langley Rivermen in the final month of the season to qualify for the playoffs. The Chiefs actually did the Spruce Kings a favour when they beat Langley in regulation time in their last game of the season.
The Spruce Kings had a slow start to their season, much of it precipitated by inconsistent goaltending, resulted in the firing of head coach Alex Evin on Nov. 25. Tesink was promoted from his associate coaching role and Taylor Harnett was brought in shortly after as the new associate.
The team met with more adversity in December and January when five of their top players jumped to the QMJHL after the NCAA changed its eligibility rules to allow major junior players to qualify for U.S. college scholarships starting in September.
“I’m very proud of our group, we had guys all season long step up and take bigger responsibilities, bigger roles, some of them a bit earlier than they needed to,” said Tesink.
“But for us, we’re excited what the future holds. In the long run we’re better off for this series. It hurts right now but at the end of the day we have some guys who have been battle-tested and next season they will be able to step into bigger roles and know what to expect come playoff time. Hopefully we can push forward early in the season to set ourselves up into a better position come playoffs.”
Their climb into a playoff position started the day Gravel arrived from the QMJHL in early February and brought stellar netminding and it was a different Spruce Kings team from then on as the players’ confidence grew.
“When you bring in a player like that, Charles showed a true professionalism on and off ice,” said Tesink. “He’s been able to mentor our young goalies and some of our younger players and he’s going to have a great career in the NCAA and after that I see a lot of pro hockey in his future.
“It’s a group effort back there (on defence) and they really showed their true character in the series being able to for the most part shut sown a very strong Chilliwack forward group and they were able to chip a little along the way as well. I think it was eye-opening for a lot of people in the league to see those players play big minutes.”
Tuesday’s game is the final appearance for Spruce Kings 20-year-olds Gravel (Mercyhurst University), Ballentyne (Tennessee State), Moore (Rochester Institute of Technology), Nicolas Papineau, Maks Perčič (Michigan Tech), Linden Makow and Owen Goodbrand (Bentley), as well as 19-year-olds Cummings (Dartmouth College) and Isaac Holt (Robert Morris University), and 18-year-old Ryan Wachtel (Princeton University).
LOOSE PUCKS: In the other Coastal Conference semifinal matchup starting Friday, the No. 3 Cowichan Valley Capitals host No. 4 Victoria Grizzlies. In the Interior Conference semifinals, the top-ranked Penticton Vees host the No. 6 Cranbrook Bucks, while the No. 2 Brooks Bandits will face the N0. 5 Sherwood Park Crusaders.
