Spruce Kings move into BCHL penthouse

The winning continues for the Prince George Spruce Kings.

Jarod Hovde banged in a rebound 1:43 into the third period to break a 3-3 deadlock and the Spruce Kings held off the Merritt Centennials the rest of the way for a 4-3 victory Friday morning at the B.C. Hockey League Showcase in Chilliwack.

The win was the fourth straight for the Kings (4-0-0-1), who took over as owners of the best record in the 17-team BCHL. They moved into a tie in points with the Vernon Vipers (4-1-1-0), who were edged 2-1 by Powell River Friday afternoon in Chilliwack, the first loss of the season for the Vipers.

Ethan de Jong, Dustin Manz and Ben Poisson also scored for Prince George. Henry Cleghorn, with the only goal of the first period, Chase Bell and Joey Berkopec were the Merritt goal-scorers.

“It was sloppy, for sure, a 10 a.m. morning game, not using it as an excuse, but you could tell the guys weren’t used to the start time and getting up at 6:30,” said Kings head coach Adam Maglio.

“The third period was our best period for sure. Hovde is one of our most consistent players every night and every day in practice and in the gym. There’s a common theme for him, consistency, and we rely on him for a lot of leadership.”

Poisson and de Jong were the wingers on a line centred by Shawn Kennedy and that trio was in on two of the goals. Kennedy assisted on Manz’s power-play goal which tied the game 2-2, 6:28 into the second period.

“That was definitely our best line – they kept us in it most of the game, they were real solid for 200 feet today,” said Maglio.

Brad Copper made 33 saves for his second win of the season in the Prince George nets. Jacob Berger stopped 35 of 39 shots the Kings fired his way.

The Spruce Kings went 1-for-6 on the power play. The Cents (06-0-0) did not score on their lone power-play chance, late in the first period.

The Kings will turn their attention to the Victoria Grizzlies (22-0-0), their opponents Saturday in Chilliwack. The game starts at 4 p.m.

“They’re going to give us a good test, they’re a bit bigger than they were last year but they play fast and they play hard,” said Maglio, who plans to start 20-year-old Evan DeBrouwer in net.