That’s one heck of a way to win a home game.
It was an enjoyable Friday night for local hockey fans who were treated to a back-and-forth 6-4 victory for the Prince George Spruce Kings over the Langley Rivermen in front of 1,503 attendees at the Kopar Memorial Arena.
An intense forecheck hemmed blitzed the Rivermen into submission during the opening 20 minutes, leading to a trio of Spruce King goals.
Marcus Lougheed opened the festivities back, handing a loose puck past a sprawled-out Maverick Avent.
The cycle game continued to work like charm for PG who continued to have the Rivermen on their heels. Dracen Campbell blasted a point shot from inside the Langley blueline inside the post and into the net past Avent.
Evan Bellamy made it 3-0 Spruce Kings as he completed a wraparound try, tucking the puck inside the post.
Game over, right?
Not a chance.
Langley woke up from their pre-game nap and came out in an owly mood for the second period.
Frederic Deschenes squeezed a blooper past PG netminder Colin Reay, trimming the deficit to 3-1.
About a minute later, Mason Loewen restored the three-goal edge driving wide past a Rivermen defender, tucking the puck short side.
However, the visitors failed to go quietly, striking 1:04 apart. Parker Forlin’s wrist shot from outside the face-off dot past Reay to make it 4-2.
Hunter Curtis notched his 2nd of the BCHL campaign, blasting a one timer into the goal, trimming the Spruce Kings’ edge to a single goal.
Reay allowed three goals on 12 shots and was replaced by Ryder Green.
A high-sticking minor from Curtis gave the Spruce Kings fourth-rated power-play a golden opportunity they would cash in on.
Michael Denney ripped a slapshot over the glove of Avent.
To cap off the eventful second period, Christian Chouha squeaked one past Green, to keep the healthy home crowd on the edge of its seat heading into the third period.
Isaac Holt iced the victory for the Spruce Kings with a short-handed empty-netter with 20 seconds left in the third period.
Prince George outshot the Rivermen 42-27 and went 1-for-2 on the power-play while the Rivermen were 0-for-1.
The Spruce Kings (17-13-1-0) are a point up on Langley (17-15-0-0) for second place in the Coastal East Division.
Green made 14 saves on 15 shots in relief.
Prior to the game, the Spruce Kings held a moment of silence and a pre-game ceremony for local Indigenous figure head and UHNBC drummer Wesley Mitchell who passed away this week.
Both teams are back in action tonight (Saturday) at 6pm from the Kopar Memorial Arena.
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