Winning hockey games has been a challenge all season for the Prince George Spruce Kings and their lack of success on the ice is the reason they’re stuck in ninth place in the BCHL’s Coastal Conference standings.
But there’s something brewing in the Spruce Kings’ camp that’s been missing since the season began in September and it showed in their play in a pair of weekend games at Kopar Memorial Arena.
They’re getting confidence that they can play with any team in the BC Hockey League and beat them.
Just like they did in sweeping a two-game series with the visiting Coquitlam Express.
It’s no coincidence the arrival of 20-year-old goalie Charles-Edward Gravel a week ago has put swagger in the skates of the Spruce Kings. Battle-tested in 4 1/2 seasons in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, Gravel was a stabilizing force for a fragile team that’s gone through more than its share of goalies this season and Gravel played a huge role in stopping the Express.
He made 32 saves to preserve a 3-2 win over Coquitlam on Saturday and was equally exquisite in his BCHL debut Friday when he turned aside 21 shots in a 3-2 overtime win.
“Everybody stepped up here, we know it’s crunch time, playoffs are coming up and we’re fighting for our spot and that was a great response, a great win,” said Kings 20-year-old captain Linden Makow. “We just need to carry this momentum we got here the past two games and keep it going.”
Kazumo Sasaki, the OT hero of Friday, scored two goals in the rematch, including the gamewinner, scoring his 15th of the season on a rebound. Swedish import defenceman Ludvig Basth made a superb play at the blueline under pressure to hold the zone and that sent Nick Metelkin in on goal with the original shot on Coquitlam goalie Logan Kennedy. Sasaki was there to drag the loose puck and tuck it in the open side 4:06 into the third period.
That gave the Kings the two-goal cushion they would need to hold their lead. Mason Kesselring scored the second Express goal with Kennedy on the bench in the final minute, but that’s as close as it got.
“We’re fighting for our spot in the playoffs and that’s the only thing on our minds right now, said Kings 20-year-old centre Owen Goodbrand. “We know we can control our own destiny, it doesn’t matter who we’re playing, we’re going to go out and play like that every night. We know we have a good group in there. Teams don’t like coming up here playing us in our rink, the boards are hard and it’s cold and they just want to get on the bus and get home and we’ve taken advantage of that.
“It was good game by us and good game by Gravy (Gravel). He’s a real good goalie and he gives our team confidence knowing he’s back there and can play the puck like he does.”
The 20-year-old from Levis, Que., a 4 1/2-year veteran of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League was dialed in from the opening puck-drop and the native of Levis, Que., was the reason the Kings trailed by only a goal after the opening period.
The Express, still smarting after they blew a two-goal lead in Friday’s loss, opened the scoring 4:33 in. Joseph Odyniec got to the rebound of a shot left at the side of the net after James Shannon unloaded from close range.
Coquitlam had at least four more good scoring chances in the opening period but Gravel was ready for them. Probably his best save of the game came with 4.3 seconds left, with Coquitlam on the power play. Nikita Sitnikov was standing in the circle and ripped a one-timer but Gravel was ready for it shot across his crease to rob him with a short-side stick save.
The Kings tightened up defensively in the second period and took advantage of an Express penalty to get their offence untracked. Will Moore got whacked in the face with a high stick from Cole Colwell, who was sent off for four minutes and at the tail end of the second penalty Metelkin was fed in the high slot by defenceman Trent Ledrew and Metelkin’s blast found the net.
The Spruce Kings kept their feet moving and won the loose puck battles and that led to some extended zone time that kept the heat on Coquitlam. With a couple minutes left in the period Ledrew forced a turnover at centre ice to set up a 2-on-1 break. Sasaki yelled for the puck and Ledrew dished it to him and the Japanese import make it count with a slick move in tight on Kennedy for a 2-1 lead.
With a minute left in the period the Express came close to getting the equalizer. David Brandes let go a sharp-angle shot that dropped in behind Gravel and he eventually smothered the puck but there was enough uncertainty for the officials to go to video review before it was ruled no goal.
The Spruce Kings (15-20-3-1) moved to within seven points of the eighth-place Langley Rivermen, who lost 6-5 in overtime Saturday in Nanaimo. There were more than a few fans among the Kopar crowd of 1,009 who left the rink thinking the Kings will soon close that gap, especially after seeing how well the team is coalescing with Gravel in goal.
“He’s excellent, he’s calm and he’s a veteran guy and you can just tell the confidence our players have with him back there,” said Kings general manager Mike Hawes. “It really showed through this weekend and so obviously we’re thrilled to have him.”
Only twice in the past two years have the Spruce Kings swept a two-game weekend series at home and Saturday’s win over the fourth-place Express (21-13-3-2) made it two in a row. They did the same to the Alberni Valley Bulldogs at Kopar two weeks ago.
“The guys really battled hard this weekend and I’m really proud of them,” said Hawes. “They know it’s crunch time, they know we need the points. All we can control right now is our game and our guys did their job this weekend.”
The Spruce Kings have endured a tumultuous season, losing five of their top players to the QMJHL in the past two months and they were without two of their designated leaders with assistant captain Goodbrand missing all but the past five games with an undisclosed medical condition and Makow sidelined for more than month with a separated shoulder that forced him out for 13 games. On Nov. 25 the Spruce Kings fired head coach Alex Evin and replaced him with associate coach Brad Tesink.
“There’s been a lot of adversity and I definitely have to give the group a lot of credit, including the coaches, together we’ve had to battle through a lot and it’s really coming together lately,” said Hawes. “The team’s really turned a corner and I think we’re going to make a real hard push here.”
The Spruce Kings hit the road this week for games Friday in Cowichan Valley and Saturday in Nanaimo.
