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Spruce Kings suffocate undisciplined Vipers

The veterans are setting the tone.

John Herrington, Ty Gagno and Ben Lefranc all registered multi-point efforts for the Prince George Spruce Kings in a 4-2 victory Friday night in front of 1,355 fans at the Kopar Memorial Arena.

It only took four minutes to get the skating legs working for the Spruce Kings. At 4:10 of the first period, a Herrington point shot on the power–play found its way to the top of the Vernon crease where Gagno was parked in front and deflected the puck past a screened Roan Clarke for a 1-0 edge.

Reagan Milburn of the Vipers took a needless boarding penalty against newly-acquired blueliner Kai Greaves, which led to a second consecutive man-advantage.

Less than a minute later, it was Lefranc’s turn to light the lamp as his lazy wrist shot handcuffed Clarke for a 2-0 lead.

Vernon responded with a power-play marker of their own at 8:01 as Luke Pakulak re-directed a Milburn feed past the outstretched pad of Spruce Kings goalie Jordan Fairlie.

In the second, the parade to the penalty box continued for the Vipers as they took six infractions, a recipe that led to more offensive success for PG.

Just after a Dylan Compton tripping call expired, Herrington wired a hard one-timer past Clarke to restore the two-goal advantage.

Plymouth, Minnesota product Jake Scheider would later get in on the act as his second BCHL goal extended the Spruce Kings edge to 4-1 after 40 minutes.

The chippiness between both teams boiled over in the third as Charlie Banquier leveled a pair of Vipers on the same shift, which drew the ire of Vipers defender Griffen Barr – leading to a spirited scrap and an early trip to the shower to go with it.

Isaac Tremblay added a late goal for Vernon who drops to (0-3) on the campaign.
PG outshot the Vipers 31-18 overall, including an 18-6 margin over the final two periods.

The Spruce Kings (3-0-0) went 3-for-10 on the man advantage while Vernon was 2-for-5.

Quesnel’s Carter Hesselgrave of the U-18 Cariboo Cougars was called up by PG due to injuries to Dom Murphy and Brayden Skogstad.

A pre-game ceremony was held in honour of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. The Spruce Kings wore special Indigenous-themed jerseys designed by Clayton Gauthier.

Both teams play the second half of the double header tonight (Saturday) at 7pm from the Kopar Memorial Arena.

Something going on in the Prince George area you think people should know about?
Send us a news tip by emailing [email protected].

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