Kings fall short in comeback attempt
The Prince George Spruce Kings were in position to put the Chilliwack Chiefs on the brink of elimination in their first-round B.C. Hockey League playoff series. But, to take a three-games-to-one lead in the Mainland Division semifinal, the Kings had to find a way to win without the services of the suspended Blake Hayward.
They couldn’t do it.
In Tuesday night’s fourth game, held at Chilliwack’s Prospera Place, the Chiefs played a dominant second period and defeated the Spruce Kings 3-2. A pivotal Game 5 of the series will be played Thursday (7 p.m. start) at Rolling Mix Concrete Arena.
Hayward, a 19-year-old forward who had two assists through the first three games, was serving the first of a four-game suspension handed down by the league after Prince George’s 2-1 overtime win on Monday. His ban came after a request to review a play at the end of Monday’s second period. Upon review, Hayward was penalized for a check to the head of Chilliwack forward Skyler Brind’Amour, who was in uniform on Tuesday.
For Hayward to see any further action in the playoffs, the Kings will have to advance to the next round.
Hayward, a six-foot-one, 200-pounder from Vancouver who had been skating with Patrick Cozzi and Dustin Manz in the playoffs, had 11 goals and 17 points in 35 regular-season appearances. Hayward has shown the ability to be an impact player, and his skills have already earned him an NCAA Division 1 scholarship to Union College next season.
After a scoreless first period on Tuesday, the Chiefs outshot the Kings 18-3 in the second and put three pucks behind Prince George goaltender Evan DeBrouwer. Ryan Bowen got the Chiefs started when he stepped off the side boards and beat DeBrouwer with a quick release at the 8:58 mark. About 90 seconds later, P.G. product Bryan Allbee gave Chilliwack a 2-0 lead with a power-play one-timer from just inside the blueline.
The Spruce Kings fought back when, at 16:50, Ethan de Jong deked Chilliwack goalie Daniel Chenard to finish off a shorthanded breakaway. Any momentum the Kings could have gained was snuffed out a little more than a minute later when Chilliwack’s Jake Gresh scored just after a Prince George penalty had expired. Gresh picked the top corner on DeBrouwer, who, moments earlier, had given up a rebound.
As was the case in the second period, the Chiefs gave the Spruce Kings little room to operate in the third period but the Kings managed to pull into a 3-2 deficit at 15:12 on a goal that was credited to Nolan Welsh.
Prince George had a late power play – its fifth of the game overall – and pulled DeBrouwer for a brief six-on-four advantage but couldn’t score. DeBrouwer was pulled again moments later in favour of an extra attacker. However, the Kings weren’t able to get a puck past Chenard.
The Chiefs were deserving of the victory, as they outplayed the Kings and outshot them 32-17.