Despite just one win in three games, the Trail Smoke Eaters climbed the Interior Division standings over the weekend on its three-games-in-three-days Island Division road trip.
Trail (5-3-2-1) moved into second place in the Interior, one point behind the Merritt Centennials, with a big 3-1 win over Powell River Friday night, followed by a 4-3 overtime loss to Alberni Valley, and a 4-3 shootout loss to the Nanaimo Clippers Sunday.
Trail earned four of a possible six points for the win and two extra points gained from the overtime and shootout losses for 13 points on the season, while surprisingly, Penticton, Vernon, and Wenatchee stumbled and are all tied for last place with 10 points.
In Sunday’s match against the Clippers, fatigue may have been a factor, as the Smoke Eaters jumped out to a 3-0 first-period lead, but, Nanaimo, fresh off an eight-day rest, came back to tie the game to force OT, then win it in a shootout at the Frank Crane Arena.
Rookie forward Kent Johnson gave Trail a 1-0 lead on the power play, cutting to the front of the net, then roofing a backhand over the glove of Nanaimo netminder Jordan Naylor for his fifth goal of the season at the 7:18 mark.
Trail affiliate player Michael Hagen, on loan from the Beaver Valley Nitehawks, scored at 9:32 to make it 2-0 for his first BCHL goal. Hagen stole the puck from the Clipper defender then set up Tyler Ghirardosi in the slot. His shot was stopped by Naylor but Hagen slipped in the rebound for a two-goal cushion.
Johnson netted his sixth of the year to put the Smokies up 3-0 with 2:50 to play in the opening frame on the power play. Johnson took a pass from Diarmad DuMurro, then made a move towards the goal when the puck bounced off a Clipper defender and past the Nanaimo keeper.
With 36 seconds remaining in the period, Nanaimo got on the board as Tyler Williams put a rebound past Smoke Eaters netminder Adam Marcoux to cut the lead to 3-1 heading for two as the Smokies outshot the Clips 17-7.
The Clippers came all the way back in the second period. After Smokies forward Michael Hodge was sent off for hooking, Mackenzie Merriman finished off a pretty passing play with Danny Gatenby and Jonathan Stein, with a tap-in, power-play goal to cut Trail’s lead to 3-2 at 12:56.
Nanaimo tied the game 68 seconds later, when Stein made a great rush down the left wing and beat Marcoux low glove to get the Clippers back to even. Trail held a 10-7 edge in shots in the period.
A cautious third period saw Trail play conservative hockey generating just six shots in the final frame to nine for Nanaimo to force an extra five-minute, 3-on-3 overtime period.
Trail dominated the OT frame and created the best chances with Braeden Tuck stymied on three good looks that kept the game going. Then with 15 seconds remaining in the fourth period, Marcoux came up with a breakaway stop on Merriman to force a shootout.
In Trail’s first shootout of the season, Johnson scored a highlight-reel goal to lead off, going backhand-forehand to beat Naylor. The Clippers Gunnar Wegleitner replied to even the score, but after two Smokies misses, Merriman beat Marcoux to give Nanaimo the 4-3 victory.
The Smoke Eaters outshot Nanaimo 38-26 and went 2-for-6 on the power play, while Nanaimo was 1-for-3. Merriman earned first star, Stein second star, and 15-year-old Johnson third star.
On Saturday, Trail defenceman Trevor Zins scored with 30 seconds left on the clock to tie the game against the Alberni Valley Bulldogs at three, and force the extra frame. Trail earned a point, after Keaton Mastrodonato scored at 1:46 of overtime to give the Bulldogs the 4-3 victory and their fourth win of the season.
Ghirardosi opened the scoring, but the Bulldogs tied it two minutes later in a wild first period that saw both Smokies goalie Tanner Marshall and the Bulldogs Cole Demers stand tall in their respective nets with the Bulldogs outshooting Trail 15-14.
Trail took a 2-1 lead when Carter Jones scooped up a rebound and wrapped it around Demers for his third tally of the season. Mastrodonato tied the game at 14:39 banging in a rebound out of midair, and Ryan Miotto gave Alberni a 3-2 lead on a screen shot from the point.
Then with Marshall on the bench for the extra attacker, Zins blasted a shot from the point that went through traffic and in to tie the game 3-3 and force OT.
Marshall was the game’s first star for stopping 38 of 41 shots, with Demers earning second star with 21 saves, and Mastrodonato the third star.
On Friday night in Powell River, the Smoke Eaters rode a 31-save performance from Marcoux and avenged an earlier 2-1 loss to the Kings, with a 3-1 victory at Hap Parker Arena.
Smoke Eater forward Blake Sidoni scored his first goal of the season 6:35 into the first period on a nice setup from Jones off the face off. Sidoni returned the favour, taking a pass from Ghirardosi, then finding Jones in the low circle, who fired it past Kings goalie Hayden Missler for a 2-0 lead at 7:52.
Following a scoreless second period, the Kings drew within a goal with just over five minutes remaining when Ben Berard beat Marcoux on a backdoor pass. Trail played tight defensively in the the final minutes and Tuck scored into an empty net with 43 seconds remaining for the 3-1 final.
Marcoux was excellent on the night stopping 31 shots, compared to 20 for Missler. Trail was 0-for-4 on the power play, while the Kings went 1-for-5 with the extra man.
First star honours went to Marcoux with Sidoni and Jones earning second and third stars respectively.
Trail returns home this weekend hosting the Cowichan Valley Capitals on Friday and the Powell River Kings Saturday at the Cominco Arena with the puck drop at 7 p.m.