It’s not often the first shift of the game is the most important, but for the Prince George Spruce Kings (12-7-0-0) it led to another victory.
A Colton Cameron wrist shot 18 seconds into the first period set the tone for the BCHL’s most northern franchise, enroute to a 3-0 triumph over the Cranbrook Bucks (10-9-1-0) on Thursday in front of 577 fans at the Rolling Mix Concrete Arena.
After falling behind and getting outshot 12-2 in the opening 20 minutes, Bucks netminder Nathan Airey was spectacular between the pipes and kept his team in the game.
Both Airey and Spruce Kings goalie Jordan Fairlie put on a clinic in the second period making several point black stops to keep the spread to a single goal.
The best stop of the frame was saved for last when PG forward John Herrington fired a hard slapshot and Airey snatched the puck away by flashing the leather.
Cranbrook hung around by a thread, courtesy of Airey until the dam finally broke at the 14:36 of the third period.
Ty Gagno rifled a Killian McGregor-Bennett from right in the slot and roofed it past Airey to give the Spruce Kings the 2-0 edge.
Less than two minutes later, Austin Fraser pounced on a juicy Bucks turnover and buried into the yawning cage past Airey to salt the game away.
Despite the fact the Bucks were just a shot away for the better part of two and a half periods, Fairlie stated the team’s even-keel demeanor was key.
“We didn’t want to let it get to us. We just tried to stay optimistic and we knew if we kept on getting shots the goals would come. It’s all about stay positive and knowing the right time will come.”
The Spruce Kings outshot Cranbrook 44-20. The Bucks went 0-for-3 on the power-play while PG failed to score in its lone chance.
After the game, Fairlie explained to MyPGNow.com how he managed to stay mentally engaged despite only seeing half the workload of his Cranbrook counterpart.
“You have to stay ready even when the puck is not in your end because you know you will get another shot against so you have to stay in the zone and be ready for the next save.”
Fairlie now has back-to-back shutouts for the Spruce Kings, bringing his numbers to 5-2-0-0 with a 1.65 goals against average along with a .920 save percentage.
The game also marked the debut of defenseman Nick Marciano who was acquired last week from the Cowichan Valley Capitals in exchange for Connor Elliot.
This was the first of three consecutive meetings between the two teams as the Spruce Kings will host Cranbrook tomorrow and Saturday at 7pm from the RMCA.
“The win sets the tone for the whole weekend. I think we showed them what we can do tonight and come back at them tomorrow (Friday),” added Fairlie.