Kings getting southern exposure

As they close out the B.C. Hockey League regular season, the Prince George Spruce Kings will start to feel right at home in the Lower Mainland.

The Spruce Kings have five games left on their schedule, all of them in the Fraser Valley and Greater Vancouver areas. On Sunday (5 p.m. start), the Kings will skate in Chilliwack against the Chiefs. The next night, they’ll battle the Langley Rivermen. Then, after a short break in the action, the Kings will pay visits to Coquitlam, Langley and Chilliwack next Friday through Sunday.

The rematch with Chilliwack will mark the end of the regular season, which means the fourth-place Kings will start preparing for an opening-round playoff clash with either the Wenatchee Wild or the Chiefs, who are battling for top spot in the Mainland Division.

On Sunday, the Spruce Kings will try to break a four-game losing streak against the Chiefs. Prince George beat Chilliwack in the first meeting of the season (4-1 at Rolling Mix Concrete Arena on Oct. 20) but then dropped 3-2, 6-5, 5-2 and 7-3 decisions. The 6-5 setback, on Jan. 13 in Prince George, came in double overtime.

The two big guns for the Chiefs are forwards Jordan Kawaguchi and Kohen Olischefski. Entering play tonight, Kawaguchi leads Chilliwack with 77 points (35 goals, 42 assists) in 51 games while Olischefski has piled up 70 points (22 goals, 48 assists) in 54 contests.

When the Kings meet the Rivermen on Monday night, they’ll have to keep watch on forward Ryan Barrow, who has put up 65 points in 44 games. Barrow, recruited by the University of Denver (NCAA Division 1) has scored 27 goals and chipped in 38 assists for Langley.

The Spruce Kings held their annual awards banquet on Friday night at the Ramada.