Wednesday, November 25, 2015

Esposito Shuts Door on Spruce Kings


 




VS
                      0                                       Final Score                                        4

Goal Scorers
Mark Esposito, Lansdell, Kawaguchi, Shane
24
Total Shots
30
11
1st Period Shots
7
7
2nd Period Shots
15
6
3rd Period Shots
8
0 for 5
Power Play
1 for 4

3rd Star
Darien Craighead

2nd Star
Dennis Cholowski

1st Star
Matteo Esposito



7-19-0-2
Current Record
17-6-1-2

The Spruce Kings started off strong, but couldn’t find a way all game to beat Matteo Esposito of the Chilliwack Chiefs.     

Heading into the game, Prince George was coming off an up and down weekend when they beat nationally ranked Salmon Arm 4-3, then fell 7-3 the next to Powell River. As the coaches have said all season long, consistency has been an issue, so there were all kind of guesses as to what would happen against the powerhouse Chiefs.

PG outshot the home team 11-7 after the first period, but allowed a pair of goals. In the first game against they Chiefs they were held without a power play, but had two in the first period, and five total in the game. Scoring first was Mark Esposito with a wrist shot from the right point that found the top left corner, and then late in the period it was Jesse Lansdell getting a second tip on a shot from the point to fool McCloskey, and take a 2-0 lead into the second.

That’s where the Chiefs started to take over, and they smothered the Spruce King attack. Chilliwack burst out for 15 shots, while Prince George managed seven. Liam McCloskey managed to hold the opposition at bay, besides a nice feed from Austin Adam to Jordan Kawaguchi who was able to bat in the puck for his team leading 31st point of the year.

Once again the Spruce Kings were unable to respond, and eventually in the third allowed the final goal of the game in a scramble where Brendan Shane managed to shovel in the puck for his second goal of the year.

In the last game the two teams played, Braiden Epp scored the lone goal for PG, which was a tip from right in front of the net. Flash forward two weeks, and Epp had a chance midway through the third identical to the game two weeks back, but Matteo Esposito to come up with the big save to preserve his third shutout of the season in just 11 games.

Turning Point: Two power plays in the first gave the Spruce Kings a pair of chances to get on the board, but were shut down in both and unable to get any dangerous chances on either man advantages.


            The Spruce Kings continue their road trip Thursday in Langley at the Langley Event Centre, and will then travel to Coquitlam for PG’s first game this season at the Poirier Sports and Leisure Complex. 

SCORING SUMMARY
PERIOD 1
1-0 Chilliwack Chiefs at 11:39 Mark Esposito from Nolan Zweep and Kale Kane
2-0 Chilliwack Chiefs at 18:31 Jesse Lansdell from Kale Kane and Mark Esposito
PERIOD 2
3-0 Chilliwack Chiefs at 16:20 (PP) Jordan Kawaguchi from Darien Craighead and Dennis Cholowski
PERIOD 3
4-0 Chilliwack Chiefs at 6:56 Brendan Shane from Darien Craighead and Austin Adam

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