To invoke the Tragically Hip, the Prince George Spruce Kings are showing a whole lot of courage against the Chilliwack Chiefs, the Coastal Conference’s top seed in the playoffs.
In another heated affair, Charles-Edward Gravel slammed the door shut on the high-flying Chiefs with a 43-save performance in a 5-2 Spruce Kings victory in front of 1,089 fans at the Kopar Memorial Arena on Wednesday.
To say PG was opportunistic would be a massive understatement, as Brock Cummings lit the lamp on the club’s first shot of the game, tipping home a Trent LeDrew point blast past Chilliwack goaltender Quentin Miller putting the hosts up 1-0 after one.
Brock Cummings with a perfect tip to open the scoring in Prince George! 👀
🎙️ @KCAndo23 | @SpruceKings pic.twitter.com/3Hx8K5L3yl
— BCHL (@BCHockeyLeague) April 10, 2025
Getting deflections towards the net was the early recipe for success as Spruce Kings captain Linden Makow scored his first of two on the night deflecting a Ludvig Basth slapshot past a screened Miller for a 2-0 edge at 6:39 of the second period.
Chilliwack was gifted a lengthy 5-on-3 power-play as LeDrew and Carter Hesselgrave received minor penalties 31 seconds apart. After a timeout was called, the Chiefs finally broke the ice as Caleb Elfring beat an outstretched Gravel to trim the deficit to 2-1.
Less than four minutes later, Mateo Mrsic notched his first of the post-season blasting a slapshot over the shoulder of Gravel to even the score at 2-2.
SNIPE 🎯
Mateo Mrsic breaks in and rips this one upstairs to get the Chiefs even! @Chiefs_Hockey pic.twitter.com/SwYugvzcvw
— BCHL (@BCHockeyLeague) April 10, 2025
The bad blood between these two rivals spilled over in front of the PG crease where Hesselgrave and Brady Milburn received coincidental minors. Roughly 30 seconds later, Chiefs defenseman Ty Campbell was called for tripping, gift-wrapping a 4-3 power-play.
Makow played hero for the second time in the contest as his sharp angle shot via a Cummings pass got past Miller.
Just over a minute later, PG caught Chilliwack on a 3-on-2. Nicholas Papineau led the rush up the ice and found Ryan Wachtel whose one-time shot found its way into the open cage giving the Spruce Kings a 4-2 lead at the end of 40 minutes.
Owen Goodbrand added a shorthanded empty netter with over a minute remaining to ice the game.
Chilliwack outshot Prince George 45-25. The Spruce Kings went 2-for-5 on the power-play while the Chiefs were 1-for-6.
LeDrew had a solid night on the Spruce Kings back-end with three assists while Cummings collected his series-leading fourth goal.
The best-of-seven is tied at 2-2 with Game Five set for Friday in Chilliwack at 7pm.
Through four games, the eighth seeded Spruce Kings have outscored the Chiefs by a 12-10 margin
The Chiefs currently have five forwards without a goal in the series. Brady Milburn has scored three times, all of which came on the power-play in Games One and Two.
PG has outscored Chilliwack through four games by a 12-10 margin.
From there, the series shifts back to PG for Game Six on Sunday where it will be a 6 o’clock start from the Kopar Memorial Arena.
Tickets are on sale now.
Tickets for Sunday night’s GAME SIX are on sale NOW! Don’t delay!
BUY HERE: https://t.co/Zkjx2lfOiT pic.twitter.com/4ieRY4wo8P
— Prince George Spruce Kings (@SpruceKings) April 10, 2025
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