Weekend Recap – September 6 & 7

The Prince George Spruce Kings kicked off the 2024 Pre-Season with a pair of games in the Lower Mainland on the weekend.

Friday September 6th @ Coquitlam

The Spruce Kings got on the board in the opening frame when Antonio Bevacqua banked the puck in off of Express netminder Eric Young, after Brogan McNeil battled the puck to the net to start the scoring chance.

Just 15 seconds after that opening marker, the Express would tie the game up at one with a goal from Matson Waring, who beat Ryder Green from the right point.

There was no scoring in the middle frame, as Green finished up his time in goal stopping 21 of 22 shots in 40 minutes of action.

Just 5 minutes into the 3rd period, Nate Crema was able to slip by the Spruce Kings and get the puck to the net, slipping it under Andrik Lygas to take a 2-1 lead.

With just over 5 minutes remaining in the period, and the Spruce Kings on the penalty kill, Brogan McNeil stole the puck in the defensive zone and looked to have created a clean break. After stumbling against the defense of David Brandes, McNeil would regain his footing and snap a shot under the cross bar to make it a 2-2 game.

The game would need overtime, and Maks Perčič would score the winner as he went end to end, cutting down to the goal line and beating Young to make it a 3-2 Spruce Kings victory. Final Shots on goal were 39-29 Prince George

 

Saturday September 7th @ Surrey

After a scoreless first period, the Spruce Kings got on the board in the second period as Linden Makow walked down the left side and beat Colton Jugnauth with a wrister to open the scoring.

Carter Wishart got the start in net for Prince George and was solid through 30:27 of action, stopping all 21 shots he faced. His best efforts came right before the 2nd period media timeout, as he made 4 consecutive saves during offensive pressure from the Eagles.

The Eagles came to life starting on a delayed penalty call, as they tied the game up at one when Brandon Gill converted a Sam Elliott pass who beat Ryder Green on the blocker side.

Under two minutes later, Brady Kudrick would get a power-play goal as his redirect snuck over the goal line, before Davis Hails scored on a similar play just 1:29 later.

Then, on a Spruce Kings power play, Ryan Evanhuis was able to walk in alone and beat Green to open up a 4-1 Eagles lead. All told, the Eagles scored 4 times in 5:05 of action.

The third period had the Eagles capitalize on another power play, as Kudrick converted again for his second of the game to stretch the lead to 5-1.

In the final seconds, Cooper Williams beat Jugnauth to make it 5-2 with just 2.8 seconds on the clock. Brogan McNeil picked up the assist. Final Shots were 34-22 in favour of Surrey.

 

Next Games:

The Spruce Kings welcome the Langley Rivermen to Kopar Memorial Arena for a pair of games next weekend. Friday night puck drop is at 7:00 pm, while Saturday is a 2:00 matinee. Tickets are $10 for Adults and Seniors, and $5 for youth. Tickets available here: https://bit.ly/PGSK20242025Tickets