The Terrace River Kings are battling to break their second place tie with Smithers Steelheads here in Terrace, B.C. this Saturday.
Both Terrace and Smithers have 16 points in 11 games, and the Williams Lake Stampeders stand only two points above them with 18 points in 12 games.
Coach Kevin Legros said the River Kings have a few players still on holidays and Luke Gordon, Corbin Legros and Liam Albright are injured.
“But we’re still putting forth a good team on the ice… If we are disciplined and skate for 60 minutes, we should be successful,” said Legros.
The key to victory will be avoiding penalties, he added, noting that Smithers has a great power play.
With 16 games in the regular season, the River Kings have only five games left before playoffs, with only two of those games at home on Jan. 7 and Jan. 21.
The winner of the face off with Smithers this weekend could propel one team into a tie for first with Williams Lake, provided the game doesn’t go into overtime.
The top finisher in the season will get a bye past the first-round in the playoffs, which every team plays. There are three playoff rounds, with each round involving a best-of-three game series.
The playoff winner will complete in the Coy Cup, which is in Whitehorse this year.
