Spruce Kings jump to top of division

On Saturday, the Prince George Spruce Kings pulled off their biggest win of the season so far, defeating the team with the best record in the B.C. Hockey League.

They beat the Vernon Vipers 3-2 in Vernon. Less than a day later, the Kings pushed the Salmon Arm Silverbacks to overtime to clinch another point, but lost 3-2.

Combined with their 2-1 overtime loss to the Penticton Vees Friday in Penticton, the Spruce Kings came home with four of a possible six points to solidify their claim on first place in the Mainland Division.

Silverbacks forward Nick Unruh was set up in the slot on a long shot that bounced off the glass and he put the puck past Kings goalie Bradley Cooper for the winning goal, 2:48 into OT.

Akito Hirose scored twice for Salmon Arm. He opened the scoring 57 seconds in, taking advantage of a delay of game penalty handed to the Kings before the start of the game. Hirose also scored in the third period.

Dylan Anhorn and Layton Ahac, both defencemen, scored the Kings goals. Dustin Manz had two assists.

Cooper made 31 saves in net for the Kings, who were outshot 33-27. Reid Cooper picked up the win in goal for Salmon Arm.

Prince George (21-12-4-4) is now tied in points with the second-place Langley Rivermen (19-11-10-2), each with 50 points, but Prince George has more wins (21) than the Rivermen (19), who have played one more game than Prince George. They defeated the Chilliwack Chiefs 5-2 Sunday in Langley.

In Vernon, the Vipers peppered Kings goalie Evan DeBrouwer with 26 shots in the first period but led by only the slimmest of margins heading into the intermission.

Ethan de Jong scored shorthanded to give the Kings a 1-0 lead, 11:27 into the game. Jagger Williamson and Nico Karamanis scored in the first period for the Vipers.

After getting outshot 26-9 in the first period, the Spruce Kings got used to playing in the tight confines of Vernon Civic Centre in front of a sold-out crowd of 2,011 to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the rink, which is slated for demolition.

The Kings found the Vernon net on their first two shots of the second period to grab the lead. Jarod Hovde beat goalie Ty Taylor with an unassisted effort, 1:25 into the second and Ben Brar scored the winner on the power play.

DeBouwer made 42 saves to earn his 17th win of the season. Shots were 44-31 in the Vipers’ favour.

On Friday the Kings host the Cowichan Valley Capitals in their only regular season visit to Rolling Mix Concrete Arena this season.