Kings poised for jump into first place

Must beat Cents tonight at RMCA

After taking on the leagueleading Chilliwack Chiefs in a two-game series last weekend and gaining ground on them, the Prince George Spruce Kings have another stress test ahead of them on home ice tonight.

They host the Merritt Centennials, who are neck-and-neck with the Penticton Vees in the race for first place in the B.C. Hockey League’s Interior Division.

The Spruce Kings, who scored a 6-3 regulation win and lost 3-2 in a shootout on the road in Chilliwack, are now within one point of catching the Chiefs and could take over first place overall in the league with a win tonight as they begin a seven-game homestand at Rolling Mix Concrete Arena.

The Cents (18-9-1-1) trail Penticton by just one point and have a chance to leapfrog the Vees if they defeat the Spruce Kings tonight, depending on how Penticton does on the road tonight in Wenatchee.

The Cents boast the second-most potent offence in the BCHL, having scored 113 goals in 29 games, an average 3.90 per game. Only the Victoria Grizzlies, with 116 goals in 28 games, have scored more than Merritt.

Bradley Cocca, a 19-year-old Harvard recruit from Mississauga, Ont., leads the Cents in scoring with 41 points (14 goals, 27 assists in 29 games) and ranks third in the BCHL scoring race. Merritt has three other players producing a point or more every game, including Nick Grancowicz (Michigan University, 20-18-38 in 29 games), Mathieu Gosselin (13-30-33 in 29 games) and Matthew Kopperud (12-9-21 in 21 games).

The Spruce Kings are the toughest BCHL team to score against, having allowed only 63 goals in 29 games – a 2.17 average. Ben Brar (19-13-32 in 29 games) ranks 14th in league scoring and Dustin Manz (1318-31 in 29 games) moved into the top-20 after picking up three goals and an assist in the Chilliwack series.

Spruce Kings starting goalie Logan Neaton continues to lead the league with a 1.98 goals-against average and his .913 save percentage is fifth-best.

Game time is 7 p.m.