Game Preview: GM #31 Vees at Spruce Kings

BROADCAST INFORMATION

Game Time: 7:00 pm PST

Location: Kopar Memorial Arena, Prince George

Radio: Bounce 800 AM

Webcast: Flo Hockey 

Season Series

Oct. 11 Prince George 2 at Penticton 5

Nov. 17 Prince George 1 at Penticton 8

Dec. 1 Prince George 0 at Penticton 4

Jan. 5 Penticton at Prince George, 7:00 pm PST

Jan. 6 Penticton at Prince George, 6:00 pm PST

Feb. 10 Prince George at Penticton, 6:00 pm PST

Penticton Vees

GM & Head Coach: Fred Harbinson

Record : GP 30 21-5-2-2 (1^st, Interior)

Last Game: 3-0 win at Vernon (Dec. 31)

Home: 13-1-0-0

Away: 8-4-2-2

GF: 117

GA: 67

Power Play: 32/98 32.7% (1)

Penalty Kill: 19/84 77.4% (12)

Scoring Leader: Callum Arnott (16-15-31)

The Penticton Vees open the calendar year in B.C.’s Northern Capital, as they face the Prince George Spruce Kings in a weekend doubleheader.

Penticton is coming off a 3-0 win over the Vernon Vipers on New Year’s Eve. Andrew Ness picked up his second shutout of the season, as he made 19 saves in the win. Zack Stringer scored twice, and Callum Arnott scored the game-winner.

 Tonight, is the fourth of six meeting with the Spruce Kings. The Vees have won the previous three, including the last encounter on December 1^st, a 4-0 shutout at the SOEC. Thomas Pichette leads the Vees with six points (3-3-6) in three games against the Spruce Kings. Pichette, Conyr Hellyer, and James Fisher all have three goals against PG. Andrew Ness has won the previous three games against Prince George and has allowed just three goals in those three starts.

The Vees will ice the same lineup as they did in Vernon, with the one exception being in goal. Will Ingemann gets his first start against Prince George. Ingemann is looking for his first win since December 2^nd. Despite the four-game winless streak, the 18-year-old rookie has posted impressive numbers this year. Ingemann is 13-7, with a 2.02 GAA and .920 SV%.

Prince George Spruce Kings

GM: Mike Hawes

Head Coach: Alex Evin

2023-24 : GP 29 10-16-3-0 (8^th, Interior)

Last Game: 4-3 win (OT) vs. West Kelowna (Dec. 31)

Home: 8-5-2-0

Away: 2-11-1-0

GF: 81

GA: 124

Power Play: 27/117 23.1% (6)

Penalty Kill: 25/104 79.7% (14)

Scoring Leader: Kilian McGregor-Bennett (11-11-22)

Prince George split their weekend series with the West Kelowna Warriors last week. The Spruce Kings lost 5-3 on December 29^th but rebounded with a 4-3 overtime win the next night.

Prince George is at the tail end of a six-game home stand that began on December 15^th against Trail. The Spruce Kings are 2-2 so far during this home stretch, splitting the last two series with the Smoke Eaters and Warriors. It’s tough for road teams to come to PG and take both games in the two-game sets. So far this year, the Spruce Kings have split the previous four weekend series at home. They are 4-3-1-0 over those eight games. Eight of their 10 wins this season have come at Kopar Memorial Arena.

The Spruce Kings have struggled to produce offence this year. Prince George sits 14^th out of 17 teams with 81 goals through 29 games. They’re averaging 2.79 goals per-game. PG doesn’t have a player averKilian McGregor-Bennett leads the Spruce Kings with 22 points (11-11-22) in 29 games, which ranks him 47^th in the BCHL.