Game Recap VS Trail Smoke Eaters

VS
3                                       Final Score                                        7
Brubacher, Johnson, Hoffman	Goal Scorers	Sande, Hallorin (2), Newton, Armour, Laurito, Leitch
26	Total Shots	27
6	1st Period Shots	8
8	2nd Period Shots	7
13	3rd Period Shots	11
0 for 3	Power Play	0 for 5
	3rd Star	Spencer McLean
	2nd Star	Max Newton
	1st Star	Nick Halloran
1-7-0-0	Current Record	3-6-0-0

The Spruce Kings came out firing, but slid downhill from there.

In his first shift of the game, Adam Brubacher rushed down the left side, and fired a shot intentionally off the back boards. It bounced right to the slot, and he was there to pick it, and fire it past Linden Marshall. Less then five minutes later though, Trail would tie it up with Cooper Sande picking up the tying goal.

In the second it was all Trail, as they would score three unanswered goals on seven shots. First it was Nick Hallorin coming down the right shot snapping a shot past Tanguay. Just over a minute later Max Newton scored for his second of the season, and Ross Armour rounded out the scoring to make it 4-1 heading to the third.

The final period started out with a goalie change for the Spruce Kings, as Liam McCloskey was brought in to finish the game. Things started off with a bang, as Jarod Hovde did his best to get the team going down 4-1. The young forward listed at 5’8 160lbs dropped the gloves with the 5’10 190lb Nii Noi Tetteh.

The fight did give the Spruce Kings an extra step, as two minutes later Braiden Epp made a nice play at his own blueline to hold onto the puck, and sprung Kyle Johnson on the far left side of the ice. Johnson would drive down, but the defense dropped back to much he went right into the slot with all the time in the world, and fired a shot past Marshall to bring the score within two. That wouldn’t last very long though, as a minute and a half later the US Military Academy committed John Laurito burst down, and beat McCloskey for his first BCHL goal making the score 5-2.

Prince George would get within two goals one again though, and Corey Hoffman had a goal similar to Johnson’s where he came down the left side and cut to the middle in the slot without any pressure before putting the puck past Marshall for his team leading third goal of the season. That’s as close as the Spruce Kings would get though, as ex-teammate Cooper Leitch broke down on a breakaway, and beat McCloskey. With three points already on the night, Nick Hallorin wasn’t done, and got sent down on another breakaway, this time shorthanded and scored for his second of the night to set the score at 7-3. The goal was the second time this season Prince George has been scored upon shorthanded.

Turning Point:

In the second period, the Smoke Eaters broke out with three goals, and had control of the game from there on.

Special Teams: 

Heading into the game, the Spruce Kings were last in powerplay success, and second last for penalty killing. The first man advantage in Prince George’s favour was a strong outing, as the team did well at moving the puck around, and getting opportunities. They wound up going 0 for 3, and remain with the worst powerplay in the BCHL. The bright spot to take from Friday’s game, was the dominance of the penalty kill. On five chances for Trail, Prince George shut the door every time, and did a good job of limiting any serious scoring chances. They still rank second last in the BCHL, but going 5 for 5 definitely brought them closer to the teams they are chancing that aspect.

Going Forward:

Prince George will continue their road trip in the Interior tonight when they take on the Vernon Vipers at 6pm, and then tomorrow will play Salmon Arm at 3. Next weekend will mark another trip to the tough Interior Division, as the team will travel to play Merritt, Penticton, and West Kelowna.

SCORING SUMMARY

PERIOD 1

1-0 Prince George Spruce Kings at 1:36 - Adam Brubacher (unassisted)

1-1 Trail Smoke Eaters at 5:13 - Cooper Sande from Nick Halloran and Spencer McLean

PERIOD 2

2-1 Trail Smoke Eaters at 12:10 - Nick Halloran (unassisted)

3-1 Trail Smoke Eaters at 13:24 - Max Newton from Connor Brown-Maloski

4-1 Trail Smoke Eaters at 18:47 - Ross Armour from Nick Halloran and Spencer McLean

PERIOD 3

4-2 Prince George Spruce Kings at 3:26 - Kyle Johnson from Braiden Epp

5-2 Trail Smoke Eaters at 4:57 - John Laurito from Rhett Willcox and Harlan Orr

5-3 Prince George Spruce Kings at 7:44 - Corey Hoffman from Braiden Epp and Adam Brubacher

6-3 Trail Smoke Eaters at 9:55 - Cooper Leitch from Max Newton

7-3 Trail Smoke Eaters at 14:55 (SH) - Nick Halloran from Max Newton