A playoff reunion between a pair of longtime rivals has been rather one-sided to this point.
A four-goal explosion in the second period propelled the Prince George Spruce Kings to a convincing 7-2 victory Saturday over the Chilliwack Chiefs in front of 1,089 fans at the Rolling Mix Concrete Arena.
Carter Hesselgrave was the catalyst for the offensive surge as he found a crease inside the Chilliwack slot, re-directing the puck past goaltender Vladislav Bryzgalov giving the hosts a 3-2 edge early in the second period via the power-play.
The play was set up by a sharp corner pass by Marcus Lougheed, one of his trio of helpers on the evening.
Special teams proved vital five minutes later, as Ryan Wachtel rifled a blast over the glove of Bryzgalov, tallying the Spruce Kings second consecutive power-play goal.
“Those next couple power-plays we had the 4-on-3 on and a 5-on-4 and we just came to the mindset of just refresh from that shorthanded goal and we did,” added Wachtel.
“I was just looking to make a switch play to confuse the killers and then Ben Vreugdenhill set up a nice screen and gave me half the net so that the goalie couldn’t see anything.”
A minute later, both teams got into a bit of a track meet, which suited Cooper Faughnan just fine. He put his running shoes on and sped into the Chiefs zone, exposing the five-hole of Bryzgalov for a 5-2 Spruce Kings lead.
PG leads the best-of-seven series 2-0.
Chilliwack couldn’t enter the dressing room fast enough, but not before allowing a late marker.
Wachtel notched his second of the contest thanks to Michael Denney who found him in the corner of his eye, breaking down the loose defensive coverage and bringing the home crowd to its feet.
“Denney made a great pass to me initially and I missed the net. I looked up in the air and wanted that one back – but he found me again on the left circle and found that one.”
In the third, Chiefs head coach and general manager Bryan Maloney opted to switch Bryzgalov in favour of David Di Girolama.
Denney made sure it was a rude welcome for the back-up goalie as he out waited Di Girolama on a wrap-around tucking it into the short side for a commanding 7-2 lead.
Hulking Chilliwack defenseman Jayden Veney took a high-sticking minor with less than 30 seconds remaining and was awarded a game misconduct after voicing his displeasure with referee Braiden Epp.
For the second straight night, Chilliwack struck first as a slick power-play goal from Koby Francis beat local product Ryder Green. Green didn’t have much chance on the shot as it was a quick one-time blast that whistled past the glove side.
Prince George continued to get offense from the defence in Game 2. Dracen Campbell slipped a point shot past the glove of Bryzgalov to even the score at 1-1.
Soup goes on the TOP SHELF 🥫🎯
Dracen Campbell gets the Spruce Kings even in Game 2
🎙️ @KCAndo23 #BCHL | @SpruceKings pic.twitter.com/MOrK7HrJv3
— BCHL (@BCHockeyLeague) April 19, 2026
Before the passionate crowd could blink, the Spruce Kings pulled ahead as Mason Loewen deflected a hard blast from inside the Chilliwack blueline from Evan Bellamy.
A sloppy man advantage by PG in the middle frame gave the Chiefs a glimmer of hope gift-wrapping them a shorthanded goal.
A brilliant stop by Green on AJ Schaff was foiled as the puck bounced to the blade of Sam Auld who made no mistake tying the contest at 2-2.
PG and Chilliwack ended by tied in shots with 30 each. The Spruce Kings went 2-for-5 on the power-play while the Chiefs were 1-for-4.
Green picked up his first win of the 2026 BCHL postseason, collecting 28 saves.
Bryzgalov made 16 saves on 22 shots and was replaced by Di Girolama who tallied seven saves on eight PG shots.
Games 3 and 4 shifts to Chilliwack Tuesday and Wednesday (both 7pm) from the Chilliwack Coliseum.
“We have to go down with the mindset that it’s going to be tough but stick to our game plan. The last couple games that is what we have done, and it has worked well for us.”
PG’s defensive prowess seems to be working as Chiefs scoring forwards Boris Borin and Nico Grabas have combined for one assist thru two games.
Chilliwack was without fellow 20-year-old and ex-PG Cougar Arjun Bawa due to injury as well as prolific scorer Reese Shaw.
Shaw, from Coon Rapids, Minnesota 27 goals and 40 assists in 45 games and has not seen any postseason action since Game 2 of the Coquitlam series.
Jack Plandowski has also had a tough time against Prince George as he was held pointless in the northern capital. He had 75 points in the regular season.
The Spruce Kings depth on the other hand is shining brightly as Denney, Lougheed and Wachtel had three point nights.
Denney returned from an injury of his own halfway through the team’s first round matchup against the Rivermen and is slowly rounding back into form.
“It’s good to be at home and get that momentum in the second period. It is all our system and playing our game that has been successful for us all year.”
“When we are flying on their D they don’t really want to get the puck. We just must keep sending our guys in hard and trust that we will get the puck and get rewarded,” added Denney.
Loewen and Hesselgrave tallied a goal and an assist each.
The last sixteen meetings between the two sides including regular season and playoffs, the home team has come out on top.
PG was once again without Tai Ushio due to injury. He has not seen action since Game 6 of the first round against Langley while Nick Bianchi also sat out for the second straight night after taking a hit to the knee from a Rivermen player in Tuesday’s Game 7 showdown.
Elsewhere in the BCHL Playoffs, the Nanaimo Clippers took a 2-0 series lead after claiming Game 2 in Duncan against the Cowichan Valley Capitals by a 5-3 score.
In the Interior, the Brooks Bandits evened up their best-of-seven with a 6-2 thumping over the Sherwood Park Crusaders.
Salmon Arm took an early stranglehold in its series against the Cranbrook Bucks after a 2-1 overtime win Saturday night. The Silverbacks came back to win on Friday by a 4-2 score.
Here is how we stand after tonight’s slate of Game 2’s 📝 pic.twitter.com/V6v9VfcHPA
— BCHL (@BCHockeyLeague) April 19, 2026
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