Daniel Chenard kept the Chilliwack Chiefs in it for as long as he could but in the end it wasn’t quite enough as the Prince George Spruce Kings became the first team in the BCHL to advance to round three.
Max Coyle and Chong Min Lee set the tone early for the hosts scoring twice in the first period giving the Spruce Kings the series clinching 3-1 victory on Tuesday in front of a crowd of 1,847 fans at the Rolling Mix Concrete Arena.
The Spruce Kings have won 13 consecutive games on home ice, dating back to mid-December.
Handshakes in Prince George! The @SpruceKings have ended the season of the reigning @HC_NJAC champions.
Spruce Kings sweep the Chiefs 4 games to 0. #BCHLPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/ORVBApmFpm
— BC Hockey League (@GoBCHL) March 20, 2019
Prince George now awaits the winner of the Island Division battle between the Victoria Grizzlies and the Powell River Kings, which is knotted up at 2-2 much to the delight of Lucas Vanroboys who wants both teams to go the distance.
“Oh yeah, we want that to go seven for sure.”
“It’s huge getting this series done in four games as were getting late into playoffs now and some guys are dinged up and soar so getting that extra rest on whoever we play next is huge and I think that will be a big factor for sure.”
In what was supposed to be a clash of the titans in round two between the Chiefs and Spruce Kings who were the top two teams in the regular season based on points and record, didn’t turn out that way at all as Prince George outscored Chilliwack by a whopping 21-3 margin in the four games.
Vanroboys attributes the team’s success in the middle round to their system and film study, giving the highly-touted Chiefs little to work with.
“I think that’s the best they could have done against an elite team. We didn’t give them very much at all and like I said we pre-scouted them real hard and they had nothing as you can see.”
Lucas Vanroboys of the @SpruceKings speaks with @mypgnow following 3-1 win over @Chiefs_Hockey to advance to round 3 of @GoBCHL playoffs #cityofpg #sports pic.twitter.com/EBSCGqTqyk
— My Prince George Now (@mypgnow) March 20, 2019
Dustin Manz put the finishing touches on the series lofting an empty-netter into the Chilliwack goal as Chenard was pulled for the extra attacker.
The only bit of offense the Chiefs could muster was a fluky shorthanded goal from Brett Rylance who took advantage of a funny hop off the glass.
All in all, the big guns of the Spruce Kings shined the brightest, quite possibly none more so than Patrick Cozzi who had nine assists playing alongside Manz and Ben Brar.
“That helps me a lot getting both of them the puck as they are two natural goal scorers and then our power-has been clicking very well, Layton (Ahac) has been scoring, Max Coyle has been scoring so I am just trying to get them the puck as much as possible and they have been burying them so it’s been nice to get a few apples and help the team win.”
.@Patrick_Cozzi speaks with @mypgnow after @SpruceKings clinch 3-1 victory over @Chiefs_Hockey on Tuesday in @GoBCHL playoff action #CityOfPG #Sports pic.twitter.com/qB0KJixbqj
— My Prince George Now (@mypgnow) March 20, 2019
Prince George outshot Chilliwack 36-16 overall, giving Logan Neaton an easy 15-save victory.
Local product and former Cariboo Cougar Colten Kitchen was scratched from the Chiefs lineup as well as Jacob Slipec and Chase Nemeth.
The Spruce Kings had the same three scratches as they had all playoffs in Craig MacDonald, Jason Chu and Nick Wilson.
It was a tight night across the BCHL with the Vernon Vipers edging the Trail Smoke Eaters 4-3 (Smoke Eaters lead the series 2-1) while the Cowichan Valley Capitals outlasted the Wenatchee Wild 5-3 to also go up 2-1 in their respective series.
Both game fours will be played tonight (Wednesday) respectively in Duncan and Trail.
Another exciting night of the #BCHLPlayoffs is in the books! Prince George is on to round three, Cowichan Valley keeps it rolling, Vernon stuns Trail in the third, and Powell River evens their series in overtime.
Check the highlights in #BCHLin60! pic.twitter.com/08zwDnL6js
— BC Hockey League (@GoBCHL) March 20, 2019