It what was a night of firsts for the Prince George Spruce Kings.
Not only did they pick up their first win of the 2018-19 BCHL Season against the Chilliwack Chiefs by a 5-1 score on Friday at the Rolling Mix Concrete Arena before 1,1136 fans, a few players celebrated some individual milestones.
For instance, Sam Kozlowski scored his first goal as a Spruce Kings while Nick Poisson also notched his first multi-point game in the Junior A ranks playing on the same team with his older brother Ben for the first time.
“I had a rough pre-season but today I kind of went out there and went back to basics and it worked, I slowed down the game for myself and allowed myself to play and skate,” said Nick Poisson.
The 17-year-old played on a very dominant line with Kozlowski and Corey Cunningham.
“They’re both top-level players and it was great playing with them because they are so aggressive in getting pucks and creating offense and anytime a fourth line can do that and change the game it’s a good sign and I just want to keep continuing to help out with that line.”
.@SpruceKings 1st goal of the 2018-19 season comes 14:45 into the 1st period by Nick Bochen, taking a 1-0 lead against the reigning #RBCCup champion @Chiefs_Hockey | #CityOfPG #Sports pic.twitter.com/MzLznXLJaD
— My Prince George Now (@mypgnow) September 8, 2018
The younger Poisson also got to witness some of the sacrifice and dedication it takes to make it back from an adverse situation by watching his older brother fully recover from a ruptured spleen and separated shoulder and make his way into the lineup in Game 4 of the Fred Page Cup Finals against the Wenatchee Wild.
“He (Ben) showed so much resilience and was just not willing to quit on himself he knew from day one he would be back in playoffs and he had a goal in mind and he did nothing else but rest and sleep and make sure he was ready to go for the playoffs, he wanted to be back as badly as anything.”
Ben Poisson notched three assists and was named first-star.
It was a dominant effort from start to finish for the defending Mainland Division champions who enjoyed period leads of 2-0 and 2-1 before pulling away in the third, making life miserable for Chiefs netminder Matheiu Caron who saw his team get outshot 42-16.
Nick Bochen, Nolan Welsh and Ben Brar added singles for the Spruce Kings who went two-for-six on the power-play.
Prince George welcomes the Chiefs back to the RMCA tonight at 7 PM.
Before the game, the Spruce Kings held a pre-game banner raising ceremony as well as honoured the Humboldt Broncos following last spring’s bus crash which was part of a CJHL wide infinitive.
.@SpruceKings unveil 3 banners, celebrating the most successful season in team history last year, including Mainland Division regular season, Mainland Division playoff, & @GoBCHL Coastal Conference Champions | #CityOfPG pic.twitter.com/X8UmQrdNnw
— My Prince George Now (@mypgnow) September 8, 2018
The BCHL club also paid tribute to Malcolm Poburan who spent over 35 years with the hockey club after he passed away in the spring following a battle with cancer.
.@SpruceKings also pay tribute to long-time Equipment Manager Malcolm “Relic” Pourban with a banner of his own & a ceremonial puck-drop | #CityOfPG pic.twitter.com/yV3jQnEbN3
— My Prince George Now (@mypgnow) September 8, 2018