By Nick Dube

Spruce Kings

Spruce Kings prepared to host Rivermen in round one of BCHL playoffs

Apr 1, 2026 | 5:13 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – The Prince George Spruce Kings look to reap the rewards of their first division title since 2018 as they host the Langley Rivermen this weekend in the first two games of round one of the BCHL playoffs. The Spruce Kings are in unfamiliar territory as unlike last years team that just made the playoffs this team is the freshly crowned top dog in the coastal east division. With the first division crown in 8 years comes expectations as the team knows they are in the crosshairs this time around.

“We want to be at the top and I think through the course of 54 games are our team has defined who they are. Expectations for us haven’t changed and we want to go out there and be the hardest working team for 60 minutes. The seeding at this point doesn’t matter and it’s just it’s placement at this point. Now you need to be better than your opponent every night.” said Spruce Kings Head Coach Brad Tesink.

The Kings and Rivermen are familiar with each other having met six times this season with Prince George coming out on top in four of the six meetings including this past Friday’s 3-2 victory in Langley. The Kings come into the playoffs boasting the BCHL’s second best powerplay unit in addition to a stellar penalty kill and both will be important when called upon if the Kings hope to have success.

“I don’t expect there to be a lot of power play opportunities on each side. I think obviously when you break it down to a playoff structure, you’re probably going to get 2 to 3 opportunities a night and you have to execute because those can be big momentum shifting changes. Obviously our PK has been much improved since the start of the season and our power plays continue to roll. We’re going to going to find some bumps in the road here at some point and we’re going to face some adversity. I think our staff has done a good job of preparing our guys for those opportunities.” said Tesink.

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Despite the added expectations and pressure the Spruce Kings locker room remained focused on the task at hand this week and ready for what they hope will be a very long playoff run.

“I know from the guys last year they kind of squeaked into the playoffs and it was a push right at the end of the season. For us, we’ve been kind of preparing for it for a little while now and I know everyone’s really excited. The energy has been really high and we’ve just kind of been refining and fine tuning what we’ve done all year. So it’s been a good week with lots of energy and lots of fun.” said Spruce Kings forward Marcus Lougheed.

The Prince George Spruce Kings host the Langley Rivermen in round one action at Kopar Memorial Arena with game one set for 7pm Friday and game two at 6pm Saturday.