The Spruce Kings just refused to lie down, overcoming an early deficit for the second straight evening to beat Westside 5-2 on Friday night.
Just like the night before, Westside jumped out of the gate early and scored the first goal of the hockey game. On this night, Dru Morrison opened the scoring on the powerplay when his centring pass deflected off defender Trevor Esau and past Kirk Thompson.
But leading 1-0 after the first period, the Warriors were unable to fend off the plucky Spruce Kings, who struck three times in the second period, including a pair of goals from the BCHL’s leading scorer Paul De Jersey.
Ben Matthews added the other second period tally on a P.G. powerplay, while Leo Fitzgerald and Cody Bardock (his first BCHL goal) would give the home team some insurance in the third.
Westside’s opening goal came on a powerplay, and the Tribe would add another powerplay marker midway through the third when Marcus Basara fired a clever snap-shot past a screened Thompson.
But the Warriors struggled to generate enough offensive chances late in the game, and Prince George would clinch another pivotal victory.
“We’re pretty crushed, obviously, coming up here and taking two losses” says Westside forward Max French of the outcome. “But Sunday’s another game against Victoria, so we’ve just got to get ready for that.”
The Warriors now remain 12 points out of a playoff spot, with 24 games remaining in the season.
Sunday’s matchup against the Grizzlies begins at 2:30 p.m. at Royal LePage Place.
Get more in-depth coverage of the Westside Warriors at The General’s Report.
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