It was a royal showdown at the Hap this weekend when the Prince George Spruce Kings made their first visit to the Hap in 5 years. It was also parents weekend at the Hap with a number of the players parents in town to cheer on their boys. The big story entering the weekend though its the change behind the Kings bench with Stephan Seeger Jr. taking over for Glenn Anderson who stepped down earlier in the week.
In the first period on Friday the Kings dominated the shot clock 9-2 but were unable to get on the scoreboard. In the second the Kings had more opportunities to get the first goal which included a long 5 on 3 power play but they still couldn’t solve Carter Wishart in the Prince George net. Despite being heavily out shot the visitors would be the one to open the scoring on their sixth shot with just over 7:30 to go in the period. The Kings out shot the Spruce Kings 22-11 through 40 minutes but trailed by one.
Prince George saved their best hockey for the third period as they started to take over and get more pucks on goal. Lucas Veilleux scored his second of the game a 5:21 after Vincent Lamberti couldn’t slow the puck down behind the net to make it 2-0. The Kings finally found the scoreboard at 9:14 when Marek Beaudoin scored his 4th to cut the lead to one. However, it was all Spruce Kings after that scoring 3 more times and outshooting the Kings 16-7 to win 5-1.
Saturday the Kings looked for a big bounce back after a disappointing result the night before. Getting the start in net for the Kings was Elliott Pratt who was making his first appearance since September 29th It was a much better start for the home side as they managed to score the opening goal for just the second time this season when Niccoló Mansueto set up Tre Peck from behind the net at 8:28.
The one goal lead carried over to the second and the Kings found themselves on a big early PK down two men. With the help on some great goaltending from Pratt the Kings penalty kill which has been trending in the right direction thwarted the Prince George two man advantage. Unable to score a man up the Spruce Kings eventually found their way onto the board taking advantage of a bad Kings line change which led to a Lucas Veilleux breakaway to tie the game. Less than two minutes later the Kings wound up on the power play and after being ice cold the game before they found a way to score a man up when Axel Löfgren scored his 4th on a one timer to regain the lead. 1:05 later the Kings added another when Christian Maro knocked in a loose puck in the crease to make it 3-1. Later in the period the home team got on the scoreboard once again on the power play when Maro scored his second on the game with a shot from the left circle as the Kings held a 4-1 lead after two periods.
Prince George would get and early goal in the third to make it a two goal lead, but that is as close as they would come. Christian Maro completed the hat trick with an empty netter to seal a 5-2 win for the Kings. The goal would be the 6th for Maro which now leads the team. Meanwhile Elliott Pratt was solid in his return to the crease making 34 saves to claim his first BCHL win. The Kings power play went 2 for 3 on Saturday while the penalty kill was a perfect 10 for 10 over the weekend.
With October now complete, the Kings are 3-8-2-0 on the season. It is going to be a home heavy schedule coming up with the Kings playing 8 of the next 11 at the Hap. However, the Kings will hit the road next weekend to kick off November. It will be the first meeting with the Chilliwack Chiefs on Friday, then Saturday the Kings will face the Rivermen for the third time.
The next home game for the Kings is Tuesday November 5th at 7pm when the Surrey Eagles make their only stop at the Hap this season. Tickets are 2 for 1 for this game only. Buy 1 ticket and get a second of equal or lesser value free. Stop by the Kings office to get your 2 for 1 tickets.
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