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GAME PREVIEW: Smoke Eaters Begin Mainland Weekend In Coquitlam

PHOTO: Mike Wicentowich

The Trail Smoke Eaters open up a three-game Mainland Division road trip on Friday night as they take on the Coquitlam Express to conclude their season series at the Poirier Sports and Leisure Centre.

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Smoke Eaters vs. Express 2018/19 Regular Season Schedule:

Friday, November 9th @ Trail Memorial Centre (2-1 Express/SO) (BOXSCORE)

Friday, December 7th @ Poirier Sports and Leisure Centre (7:00 PM)

The Smoke Eaters and Express play the second of their two-game season series tonight with Coquitlam handing Trail a 2-1 shootout loss from the Trail Memorial Centre in early November. Mack Byers scored the lone goal in regulation for the Smoke Eaters on the power play to tie the game in the 2nd period before Kent Johnson was the only member of the Smoke Eaters to score in the shootout with Coquitlam coming away with the victory. Adam Marcoux turned aside 22 of the 23 shots he faced through 65 minutes before stopping one of the three shooters he faced in the shootout in the defeat.

Trail comes into Friday night looking to get back in the win column after a hard-fought 3-2 loss to the Penticton Vees last Saturday night at the South Okanagan Events Centre. Carter Jones scored a power play marker while Hayden Rowan found the back of the net in the final minute to make it a one-goal game in the 3rd period. Adam Marcoux made 18 saves on 21 shots in his 15th loss of the season.

Smoke Eaters Leading Scorers:

Chase Stevenson (12-15-27)

Carter Jones (10-17-27)

Braeden Tuck (10-16-26)

Kent Johnson (10-12-22)

Trevor Zins (6-15-21)

Hillyard, Washington native Carter Jones is tied for the lead in team scoring with 27 points in 32 games played and sits third on the team with 10 goals scored this season. Jones has points in four of his last five games, collecting two goals and three assists for five points over that span. The Bemidji State University opened the scoring for Trail on Saturday night in Penticton and is tied for the team lead with 12 power play points this season.

The Smoke Eaters will look to some recent success in the Poirier Sports and Leisure Centre to help start their road trip off on the right foot. Trail has won each of their last two games in Coquitlam, outscoring the Express by a 9-5 margin over that 120-minute span. Last season saw a tight 3-2 victory for the Smoke Eaters in the “Palace on Poirier” with Trevor Zins opening the scoring and Spencer McLean providing two assists to help with the offence.

The Coquitlam Express enter Friday night’s game with a 17-12-1-0 record and sit 3rd in the Mainland Division after a weekend on Vancouver Island which resulted in two wins in three games, concluding with a come-from-behind 5-3 victory over the Alberni Valley Bulldogs. Regan Kimens collected a hat-trick in the game while Danny Pearson and Joshua Wildauer tallied singles after erasing a 3-0 deficit. Kolby Matthews turned aside 24 of the 27 shots he faced in the game for his 9th win of the season.

Express Leading Scorers:

Joshua Wildauer (13-16-29)

Alex DiPaolo (11-16-27)

Regan Kimens (10-16-26)

Dallas Farrell (6-19-25)

Chase Danol (15-7-22)

University of Massachusetts-Amherst commit Alex DiPaolo has had a strong rookie season in the BC Hockey League and comes into Friday night’s contest playing very well as of late. The Oakville, Ontario native has registered points in five of his last six games, having a five-game point streak snapped on Sunday, collecting three goals and four assists for seven points over that span.

The Express return home to the Poirier Sports and Leisure Centre for the first time in almost two weeks and will look for their first win on home ice in a little over a month. Coquitlam comes into the game with a 9-5-1-0 record but have lost their last three contests on home ice, being outscored by a 16-8 margin over that span.

The Smoke Eaters and Express drop the puck on the first game of the three-game weekend at 7:00 PM from the Poirier Sports and Leisure Centre. The pre-game show hits the airwaves at 6:50 PM on mixlr.com/trail-smoke-eaters as well as HockeyTV.com with the Voice of the Smoke Eaters, Trevor Miller.