Chad Staley scored unassisted at 8:56 of overtime on the power play to give the Prince George Spruce Kings a come from behind 5-4 victory over the Langley Rivermen and a 3-2 lead in the best of 7 BCHL Mainland Division semi-final. Staley also added a shorthanded tally and two assists for a four point game. P.G. trailed 2-1, 3-2 and 4-3 before 912 fans in Langley.
–The Spruce Kings host game six tonight at 7 at the Coliseum. A 7th game, if needed, would be played Wednesday in Langley.
Photo: Courtesy of the PG Spruce Kings
–In other BCHL playoff action: Chilliwack doubled Coquitlam 4-2 to win the series 4-1. Chilliwack will host either P.G. or Langley in game one of the Mainland Division final on Friday. Penticton and Vernon will meet in the Interior Division final. Penticton dumped West Kelowna 4 games to 1 while Vernon swept Merritt 4-0. On the Island, both first round series continue with Powell River up 3 games to 2 over Victoria and Nanaimo ahead of Alberni Valley 3-2.
–The Prince George Cougars play four of their final six regular season games against the Kamloops Blazers. The two teams face off Wednesday in Kamloops with the Cougars holding a four point lead over the Blazers in the race for a playoff spot and 3rd place in the BC Division. The Cats also play Friday in Tri-City and Saturday in Portland. The Blazers have a home and home this weekend against Kelowna.
–The PG Cougars 50-50 record jackpot winner is Anthony Santos who held lucky ticket number D-75142. The draw took place Monday afternoon at CN Centre. Santos, who purchased his ticket in the first period of Saturday’s game (won by the Victoria Royals 4-3 in a shootout) received a cheque for $33,533. The same amount will be given to the Shelly Mrkonjic ALS Research Fund. Shelly, the mother of Cougars forward Tyler Mrkonjic, died of ALS in 2006.
–In the BCMML, the Cariboo Cougars host the South Island Royals in a best of three semi-final series this weekend at Kin 1. Games are slated for Friday at 5pm, Saturday at 1pm & Sunday, if necessary at 8:15am. The 7th place Royals upset the Vancouver NW Giants in the opening round with all three games in that series decided in overtime.
–Megan Heinicke of Prince George was second of three Canadians and 28th overall in the women’s 10 km pursuit at the Biathlon World Championships in Finland. Earlier, Heinicke was 23rd out of a field of 106 in the 7.5km sprint for the top North American result.
–Olympic biathlete Tony Fiala (1992 and 98) edged Alex Nemethy by 1/2 a second in a photo finish to win the 30km Spirit of the Rivers cross country Loppet. The top female was Nikki Kassel.
–College Heights led the team results for Prince George at the provincial high school gymnastics championships in North Vancouver. College Heights placed 3rd in total team girls points and also came first in team awards for Level 4 and Level 5 girls. PGSS was third in Level 3 Girls.
–The Prince George Kodiaks club volleyball teams had success at the Okanagan Super Series. The 15U boys team, coached by Jay Guillet and Todd Kuc, finished 2nd out of 13. The PG 16U boys, coached by Linden Smith and Erik Minck, came 3rd out of 12. The previous weekend, the PG 14U boys were 2nd in the Okanagan.
–It was a 2nd place finish for the Jessie Withey rink of Prince George (along with 3rd Carly Connor, 2nd Hannah Lindner and lead Carsyn Hamilton) at the BC Juvenile Curling Championships at Lake Cowichan. Withey lost the girls division final 8-2 to Heather Drexel of Coquitlam. Alyssa Connell of PG failed to make the semis in the eight team event despite a 2-1 round robin record. The Connell foursome included 3rd Bailey Eberherr, 2nd Jordan Henson and lead Erin Ross. On the boys side, Coleton Vriesendorp of Prince George missed the playoffs with a 1-2 record. His rink included: 3rd James Brown, 2nd Alasdair Wilson and lead Tyler Slaney.
–The three judo clubs in Prince George combined for 13 medals (1G, 7S, 5B) at the Pacific International Judo Tournament in Richmond. The Hart Judo Academy finished with a gold (from Grace Northrop), three silver & two bronze. The PG Judo Club earned two silver and two bronze while the North Capital Judo Club ended up with a pair of silver and a bronze.