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Friday, February 7, 2014
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Kings set sights on top spot Allan Wishart allanw@pgfreepress.com The Prince George Spruce accomplished two goals with a pair of home-ice wins on the weekend against the Coquitlam Express. “It was what we needed to some breathing room,” coach Dave Dupas said of the wins at the Coliseum, which moved the Kings 10 points ahead of the Express in second place in the BCHL’s Mainland Division. “Now we can look ahead, without worrying too much about who’s behind us.” The Kings won Friday night’s game 7-4 behind a hat trick from Chad Staley, then got a goal halfway through the third period Saturday from Justin Rai for a 3-2 win. The two wins moved the Spruce Kings to just six points behind the Langley Rivermen for top spot in the division, with a game in hand. “We play Langley five of our last eight games,” Dupas said. “When you’re chasing
a team, you want to play them. If you win, you gain ground and don’t give up any games in hand.” For this weekend, though, the focus is on the Alberni Valley Bulldogs, who will be at the Coliseum tonight (Friday) at 7 p.m.. In what is a rare event for the Spruce Kings, they’ll have two home games this weekend against two different opponents, as the West Kelowna Warriors furnish the opposition on Saturday. “The good thing about that,” Dupas said, “is it means both of them will be doing some travelling to get here, and them travelling never hurts us.” Both of this weekend’s opponents are in playoff fights of their own, with Alberni Valley in a dogfight with Cowichan Valley for the fourth and final playoff spot in the Island Division, while West Kelowna is neck-andneck with Penticton for top spot in the Interior Division, with Vernon, Salmon Arm and Merritt all right behind them. “Both teams are battling
Allan WISHART/Free Press Jeremiah Luedtke of the Prince George Spruce Kings doesn’t let a loss of balance stop him from getting off a shot Saturday night against the Coquitlam Express. The Cougars beat the Express 3-2 at the Prince George Coliseum, their third straight win over their division rivals.
hard,” Dupas said, “so that should mean some good hockey this weekend.” The Spruce Kings made a bit of news earlier in
the week on the nationals stage, as they received an Honourable Mention in the latest Canadian Junior Hockey League rankings.
The Powell River Kings are ranked eighth of the 20 teams, while the Rivermen are 11th. “It gets our name out
there,” Dupas said of the ranking, “but we can’t look at those as having more importance than they really do.”
Cougars come back home after winning four in a row on the road Allan Wishart allanw@pgfreepress.com When the Prince George Cougars started a six-game WHL eastern road trip with an 8-0 loss in Regina, there were probably a lot of concerns among the fans in Prince George. They lost 6--3 to Brandon in the second game, then came back with four wins in a row to finish the trip. Coach Mark Holick said they only played one bad game. “We got off to a really bad start. I thought we played better in Brandon, and kept getting better as we went along.” They edged Prince Albert 6-5 in a shootout to get things turned around, then scored
seven goals in the first period en route to a 10-6 win in Saskatoon. “We were the beneficiaries of some subpar goaltending,” was how Holick put it, “but sometimes you get games like that. It makes up for the games when you play really well and don’t get anything to show for it.” The Cougars made it three in a row with a 2-1 win in Moose Jaw, with Todd Fiddler getting the winner against the team which traded him to the Cougars earlier this season. “I was happy for Todd when he got that one,” Holick said. “He’s been a big addition for us, and for him to do that against the team that traded him, I think was something he enjoyed.” The Cougars wrapped up the trip with a
6-2 win in Swift Current, leaving them six points behind the Tri-City Americans in the race for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. The Cougars are home for their next four games, starting with a Friday-Saturday doubleheader against the Red Deer Rebels. That will be followed by a split doubleheader against the Portland Winterhawks. The teams will meet Feb. 10 at 2 p.m. in a Family Day matinee, then again on Feb. 12 at 7 p.m. Right now, though, Holick isn’t thinking about Portland. “I’m just concerned with Red Deer right now,” he said. “They’ve played well lately. They have a couple of games on their way up here, so that means they’ll be doing some travelling, which may be to our advantage.
“We’ll watch the tapes of those two games, and be ready to go Friday.” The Feb. 10 days will be a Family Day extravaganza, with special ticket deals for families and a family skate from 5 to 6 p.m. with popcorn and hot chocolate provided. Fiddler Tops Scoring the game-winning goal in Moose Jaw may have been the most meaningful goal of January for Todd Fiddler, but his work the whole month earned him WHL Player of the Month honours. Fiddler had 16 goals and 13 assists in 14 games in January, including five goals on the power play and two shorthanded. He scored or assisted on 49 per cent of the Cougars’ goals in regulation time in the month.
TONIGHT - 7:00pm • Feb. 7 • REMATCH - 7:00pm Sat. Feb. 8 vs Red Deer Rebels MONDAY - 2:00pm • Feb. 10 vs Portland Winterhawks Family Day - February 10th Brought to you by 4 Ticket Family Pack • (2 adults & 2 children) - $39 Cougars Family Skate 5-6 pm after game Popcorn and hot chocolate provided.
Red Deer Rebels
Portland Winterhawks