After a two-year wait, the most wonderful time of the year in junior hockey has returned.
The playoffs.
For the Prince George Spruce Kings, they’ll be taking on an opponent heading into uncharted waters – the upstart Cranbrook Bucks.
During the regular season, the Spruce Kings went 3-0-2-0 against the BCHL’s newest franchise.
The only drawbacks came in a pair of overtime losses on December 11th and January 8th losing 4-3 and 1-0.
Even with the on-ice success, Spruce Kings captain Kolton Cousins isn’t taking Cranbrook for granted.
“They are a good team, you’ve got to give them a lot of credit. They are super-skilled, super-fast and we are trying to play hard, physical and structured. We are really excited to get things going.”
“We know that if we play hard within our structured game, good things will happen.”
Prince George finished the regular season with a record of 27-15-4–8 placing fourth in the ultra-competitive Interior Conference.
The Bucks, on the other hand, asserted themselves very well, placing fifth with a mark of 29-20-2-3.
However, records mean little this time of year according to Cousins.
“What we did in the regular season doesn’t matter anymore. It’s a new season in the playoffs as records start off 0-0 so we are looking to build on the postseason here.”
Cousins along with fellow overage forward Rowan Miller have the most playoff experience on the Spruce Kings roster.
Cousins was part of a Cowichan Valley Capitals team coached by Mike Vandekamp, who upset the top-ranked Penticton Vees in six games, despite being the 16th seed.
Cowichan then fell to the Wenatchee Wild in six games during the second round.
Miller, who played two seasons for the Powell River Kings, went to the second round that same year.
After dispatching the Nanaimo Clippers in five games, Powell River fell to the Victoria Grizzlies in seven games – a team that featured Colorado Avalanche forward Alex Newhook.
The Scottsdale, Arizona product is excited for the return of post-season play, especially in the friendly confines of the Rolling Mix Concrete Arena.
“I know that there are going to be butterflies as soon as you get out there, but once you do get out there and you hear everybody cheering us on. I think those butterflies will go away and you’re going to get excited to push the pace and bring it to Cranbrook.”
“Especially having the first two games at home, we know it is going to be loud and have everybody cheering us on so that is going to be most exciting is playing the two games here, and if you get those first two wins you kind of put the other team on its heels,” said Miller.
The Spruce Kings haven’t played a game since March 19th – a 4-1 victory over the Salmon Arm Silverbacks.
Despite being limited to practices, head coach Alex Evin stated the extended time at home has been beneficial.
“We haven’t been home in a while. We pretty much spent all of January and most of February on the road so being at home has been good. We’ve been training and practicing and using this time to team build and we feel like we will be ready to go.”
Puck drop for tonight and Saturday is 7 pm from the RMCA.
Games 3 and 4 in Cranbrook take place Monday and Tuesday.