The Trail Smoke Eaters return home for the weekend with a pair of games against Island Division foes, beginning with a matchup versus the Cowichan Valley Capitals on Friday night at the Trail Memorial Centre.
Smoke Eaters vs. Capitals 2018/19 Schedule:
Friday, October 12th @ Trail Memorial Centre (7:00 PM)
Saturday, November 3rd @ Island Savings Centre (6:00 PM)
The Smoke Eaters swept the season series against the Capitals last season and have won four of the last five games against Cowichan Valley. Trail picked up a 4-1 home victory against the Caps in mid-October last season before earning a 7-4 victory in Duncan to close out the season sweep in early November. Braeden Tuck scored twice in the win for Trail to help them to the sweep of the season set.
Trail comes into Friday night after collecting four out of a possible six points during their three-game Island road swing, closing out the trip with a 4-3 shootout loss to the Nanaimo Clippers on Sunday afternoon. Kent Johnson had a pair of goals for the Smoke Eaters in regulation, including being the only scorer in the shootout, with affiliate player Michael Hagen also scoring. Adam Marcoux turned aside 23 of the 26 shots he faced in the game in his 4th loss of the season.
Smoke Eaters Leading Scorers:
Braeden Tuck (6-7-13)
Carter Jones (3-8-11)
Diarmad DiMurro (0-11-11)
Levi Glasman (3-7-10)
Kent Johnson (6-3-9)
For the first time this season, there will be a new face in the Smoke Eaters lineup via trade as Trevor Peca makes his debut for Trail tonight. Peca, 18, comes to the Smoke Eaters after playing with the Buffalo Jr. Sabres of the Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL) a season ago. The Clarence, New York native posted 12 goals and 48 points in 50 games last season before playing in 4 games with the Chilliwack Chiefs to begin this season and collected a goal and an assist. Peca’s father, Michael, played 13 seasons in the National Hockey League and comes to Trail committed to the University of Miami-Ohio.
An acquisition from the summer that is finding his way nicely in the BCHL’s first month or so is defenseman Diarmad DiMurro, who is tied for the league lead in scoring from the back end. The Highland Mills, New York native has yet to find the back of the net this season but has posted 11 assists on the year to lead all defenseman in that category as well as sit 4th in the overall ranks. DiMurro enjoyed the trip to Vancouver Island as he has registered back-to-back multi-assist games.
The Smoke Eaters continue their stretch of Island Division opponents this weekend with welcoming Cowichan Valley and Powell River to town. Five of the last six games have seen the Smoke Eaters pitted against their foes from Vancouver Island, holding a record of 2-1-1-1 in that span. Trail returns to divisional play next Wednesday with a trip to Kal Tire Place to take on the Vernon Vipers.
The Cowichan Valley Capitals enter Friday night’s action after a weekend at home, defeating the Merritt Centennials by a 4-2 score last Saturday but most recently falling by a 3-2 decision to the Langley Rivermen on Sunday. David Melaragni and Lucas Vanroboys each found the back of the net for the Caps before a late 3rd period goal by Langley sealed the victory. Matthew Waite turned aside 19 of the 22 shots he faced in his 2nd loss of the season.
Capitals Leading Scorers:
Vincent Millette (2-6-8)
Dimitri Mikrogiannakis (2-5-7)
David Melaragni (1-6-7)
Paul Selleck (3-2-5)
Lucas Vanroboys (3-2-5)
The Capitals have made many changes over the last year including bringing in a new General Manager and Head Coach in the way of Mike Vandekamp. Caleb Franklin, Cole Broadhurst, Boo Grist and Marshal Skapski are each of the returnees from last year’s Caps squad that finished just outside of a playoff position.
One of the many offseason acquisitions made by the Capitals was to bring in veteran forward and former Trail Smoke Eater Ryan Moon, who makes his return to Trail tonight after spending the last two seasons in the Kootenays. The Kelowna, BC native played in 89 games with the Black and Orange, earning 14 goals and 16 assists for 30 points. So far this season, Moon has collected two goals and four points with the Caps and, to top his return to Trail off, is set to play in his 100th career regular season BCHL game tonight.
Another key acquisition from the summer for Mike Vandekamp’s squad was to bring in Vincent Millette from the Nanaimo Clippers, part of a big six-player trade that also saw David Melaragni and Lucas Vanroboys move to Duncan. Millette was named captain at the beginning of the season and has led on and off the ice this year, posting a team leading 8 points in 11 games and comes into Trail with three assists in his last two games.
The Smoke Eaters and Capitals drop the puck at 7:00 PM from the Trail Memorial Centre with tickets available at the Smoke Eaters Main Office. Trail remains on home ice for a date with the Powell River Kings on Saturday night.
