An 8 game home stand for the Prince George Spruce Kings ended on a sour note on Friday courtesy of a controversial 2-1 overtime loss to the Langley Rivermen at the RMCA.
It was also Teddy Bear Toss night at the rink as Ethan De Jong lit the lamp for Prince George and sent the crowd into a frenzy flooding the ice with plush bears.
The Spruce Kings were pretty strong through the first 40 minutes but only had a 1-0 lead to show for it thanks to a solid effort between the pipes by Langley goaltender Bo Didur.
The Rivermen picked up steam in the third period out shooting Prince George 11-6 with the equalizer coming off the stick of McKay Flanagan who beat Spruce Kings netminder Tavin Grant.
Both teams took turns going up and down the ice during both overtime sessions until a missed offside call and too many men sequence went undetected by the officials leading to the game winning marker by Zac Masson giving Langley the 2-1 victory.
Spruce Kings forward Ethan De Jong says the end result kind of puts a damper on the eight game stretch at home. “We were kind of off our game plan, they outsmarted and outhustled us. It was a not a good ending and we need to get that hustle back.”
Spruce Kings Head Coach Chad Van Diemen believes the level of officiating wasn’t up to snuff. “It’s frustrating in a lot of ways especially when you can take your pick at either too many men on the ice or the guy is 15 feet offside and is right by the linesman, to miss that on December 9th is unacceptable. This is not an exhibition game anymore, it’s terrible and shouldn’t have got to that point and I thought both teams did enough to win the game and to see it end this way is pretty frustrating.”
Langley went 0 for 3 on the power-play while Prince George failed to strike during its lone opportunity.
Grant made 34 saves in defeat.
Cariboo Cougar players Devin Sutton and Marcus Allen both suited up for the second consecutive night for Prince George.
Sutton received a regular shift for most of the night and even skated with Brett Mennear and Chong Lee at one point.
With the victory, the Rivermen are just 5 points back of the Spruce Kings for 3rd place in the Mainland Division.
The first half schedule concludes next weekend for Prince George with three road games in Coquitlam, Victoria and Cowichan Valley.
BCHL Scoreboard
Nanaimo Clippers 4 Wenatchee Wild 3 (2OT)
Vernon Vipers 4 Salmon Arm Silverbacks 4
West Kelowna Warriors 3 Merritt Centennials 2 (OT)
Powell River Kings 5 Alberni Valley Bulldogs 4 (2 OT)
Cowichan Valley Capitals 4 Trail Smoke Eaters 3 (OT)
Something going on in the Prince George area you think people should know about?
Send us a news tip by emailing [email protected].
