Rivermen-Spruce Kings prepare for first-place battle
On their last weekend before the Christmas break the Prince George Spruce Kings blew their chance to leapfrog the Langley Rivermen into first place.
Now they’ve have got the Rivermen right where they want them – playing them the next two nights in the quite unfriendly confines of Rolling Mix Concrete Arena.
No other B.C. Hockey League barn has been harder on opponents than the Spruce Kings’ concrete castle, where they’ve taken 30 of a possible 36 points this season. That adds up to a 14-2-1-1 record in 18 home games and that’s got the Spruce Kings (19-11-2-4, fifth overall in BCHL) into the Mainland Division’s upper echelon, just one point behind the Rivermen (17-9-9-2). The Kings have played one fewer game.
“This time of year, guys are back and rejuvenated from their break and you couldn’t pick a better opponent for us this weekend,” said Kings general manager Mike Hawes. “It should be a heckuva matchup between two evenlymatched teams battling for first place in the division and I know our players are really looking forward to it.”
The Kings are coming off a 5-2 loss to the Cowichan Valley Capitals Dec. 17 in Duncan, only their second loss in nine games. Before that, Prince George hadn’t lost since Nov. 18, a 4-2 defeat at home to West Kelowna.
The last time the Rivermen came to town, Nov. 3-4, the Kings posted a pair of one-goal victories, winning 4-3 and 2-1. In the only other meeting between the teams this season, Oct. 14 in Langley, the Rivermen edged the Kings 5-4. The Rivermen have a 2-4-0-1 record in December.
Tonight’s game (7 p.m. start) will feature four players who helped Canada West capture gold two weeks ago at the World Junior A Challenge in Truro, N.S. – Spruce Kings forwards Kyle Johnson and Ethan de Jong and Rivermen forwards Brendan Budy and Angus Crookshank.
They helped Canada West defeat the United States 5-1 in the final, Dec. 16. The Kings plan to salute their efforts in a pre-game ceremony tonight.
“It’s exciting for the fans who are coming out to watch this weekend to see players of that calibre that are now going to be competing against each other,” said Hawes.
“They worked together to win a gold medal and now they’re competitors again and it will be great to watch. These are four of the better players that were on Team Canada West and they really contributed a lot to their lineup.”
Budy, a 17-year-old Denver University recruit and the Langley captain, and Crookshank, 18, who signed an NCAA scholarship commitment with the University of New Hampshire, are Langley’s top two pointgetters. Through 30 games, Budy has 12 goals and 21 assists for 33 points, while Crookshank has 14 goals and 25 points in 22 games. Both scored in the World Junior A Challenge final and Crookshank’s first-period goal was the gamewinner.
De Jong, 18 leads the Kings in scoring with 38 points, including 12 goals. In September he signed with Quinnipiac University.
Johnson, 19, a Yale recruit for 2018-19, has 13 goals and 24 points in 30 games. He’s struck for four goals and two assists in his last eight games.
He and de Jong each drew assists in the championship game for Canada West. De Jong played on a line with Crookshank, his former minor hockey linemate at the Burnaby Winter Club.
The Kings hit the road next weekend for games in Penticton, Vernon and Salmon Arm.