Venue: Rolling Mix Concrete Arena, Prince George
Game Time: Thursday February 9th 2017, 7pm
Five players will be playing their old teams tonight. Tanner Campbell came to the Prince George Spruce Kings last season at the trade deadline from the West Kelowna Warriors, and Brett Mennear arrived after winning a triple crown in the form of the Fred Page Cup, Western Canada Cup, and RBC Cup. In late September, the two sides made a player for player for trade. The Spruce Kings received Tyler Anderson who leads defensemen in the BCHL for scoring with 16 goals. Braiden Epp who went to West K moved from the island to Prince George for hockey played for the Cariboo Cougars, and then spent three season with Prince George. A few weeks later, the trade pipe opened once again for the two teams with Cavin Tilsley being shipped to the Warriors for future considerations.
The two teams have already met once this season, and thanks to a big special teams win, Prince George emerged victorious. Going three for seven on the power play, the Spruce Kings cruised to a 6-1 win. Braiden Epp was a member of the Warriors at that time, but was unable to play following a suspension. The trio of former West Kelowna Warriors all had a nice return home combining for seven points.
Prince George is coming home after a string of eight consecutive road games. Their latest road trip started well winning 9-0 against the Surrey Eagles, and ending a Langley Rivermen streak of wins that had gone eight games by defeating them 5-2. The last game was the toughest, and the Chilliwack Chiefs showed why they’re one of the best in the country winning 7-3. The bright spot for PG was the play of Kyle Johnson who had a hat-trick for his first in the BCHL. Line mate Tanner Campbell had an assist on all three goals with AP Ryan Stack racking up two assists for his first multi-point game in the league.
Tonight marks the final home game of the regular season for Prince George. They will head back on the road tomorrow as they play down in Surrey on Saturday and Sunday.
BROADCAST LINKS
WATCH on HockeyTV
LISTEN on 99.3 The Drive
STANDINGS:
After having their eight game winning streak end courtesy of Prince George, the Langley Rivermen rattled off a pair of wins and are now 11 points ahead of the Spruce Kings. Each team has eight points remaining, so Langley needs just three wins in their final eight game to clinch third. Wenatchee and Chilliwack are in the midst of a fight up in the top of standings, and the Chiefs are gaining on the Wild, three points back. now with an extra game played.
West Kelowna locked in a playoff spot as well last week, and the fight will now be for the three, four, and five spots in the division. Vernon is nine points ahead in second, so it looks as if it will be Merritt, Trail, and West Kelowna for those three spots. None will gain a playoff bye, but home advantage will be awarded to the three/four spots.
WHO TO WATCH:
PRINCE GEORGE:
Brett Mennear – FWD: A catalyst in the first game, Mennear will want to repeat that tonight as he plays host to his old squad. In West Kelowna, Mennear had one goal and two assists. He was held off the score sheet Saturday against Chilliwack, but had ten points in his previous five games.
Tyler Anderson – DEF: Two of his 16 goals this season came in the one game this year against his old team, and after getting a number of assists the last few weeks shots that were tipped, you can bet Anderson would like to end his eight game goal drought. That’s his longest stretch since joining Prince George.
WEST KELOWNA:
Braiden Epp – FWD: He missed the first game against the Spruce Kings, and you can bet he’ll have a number of family and friends cheering him on tonight in the RMCA. In 38 games with West Kelowna, the forward has 27 points. That comes after posting three points in six games for PG.
Cavin Tilsley – FWD: After missing nearly a month to injury, Tilsley is back in the lineup for West Kelowna. He didn’t record a point in his last outing, but scored in the Saturday 10-2 thumping of Coquitlam.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE:
Spruce Kings @ Surrey Eagles – Saturday February 11th, 6:30pm – South Surrey Arena
Spruce Kings @ Surrey Eagles – Sunday February 12th, 4:00pm – South Surrey Arena
Spruce Kings @ Chilliwack Chiefs – Sunday February 21st, 5pm – Prospera Centre
