Trail native Trevor Johnson led HC Valpellice Bulldogs to the Coppa Italia hockey championship on Sunday with a 4-3 victory over Val Pusteria.
The 33-year-old former Trail Smoke Eater led all Valpellice defencemen in scoring and was tied for third overall with a goal and five assists as the Bulldogs went undefeated through the four-game tournament.
Italian born Marco Pozzi scored with 3:48 remaining in regulation to break a 1-1 tie and lift the Bulldogs to its second Coppa Italia win in three years. Aleksandr Petrov, from Estonia, scored an empty net goal with 22 seconds left to make it 3-1. It was the second cup win for Johnson as the team captain of a Valpellice team that last won the Coppa in 2013.
The Bulldogs beat last year’s champion and Italian League leaders SV Renon 4-3 in the semifinal on Saturday to advance to Sunday’s finale. Valpellice advanced to the four-team playoff after winning a two-game series against Fassa Falcons with a 5-4 win and 4-4 tie.
Johnson leads Valpellice in scoring this season with 17 points in 21 games. The Bulldogs play in the Series A league in Italy.