PHOTO: Mike Hockley
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JANUARY 13th, 2019
TRAIL, B.C. – The Trail Smoke Eaters got a pair of goals from Max Kryski in a Sunday matinee that had plenty of excitement and came down to a late 3rd period goal that saw the Victoria Grizzlies come away with a 5-4 decision at the Trail Memorial Centre.
A first period with plenty of pace was greeted with the Smoke Eaters opening the scoring at the 3:31 mark as Tyler Ghirardosi remained on his strong pace. Owen Ozar drove the puck to the middle of the ice before having it slip off of his stick in the slot where Ghirardosi collected and wristed a shot past the glove side of Grizzlies netminder Kurtis Chapman for his 9th goal of the season and scoring in his fourth consecutive game to give Trail an early 1-0 lead.
The Grizzlies were able to get the game evened up at 1-1 at the 7:04 mark of the opening period courtesy of their top line in the way of Alex Newhook, Alex Campbell and Riley Hughes. Newhook was able to slip away from a check and draw a penalty as he passed from the right side to the bottom of the left face-off circle for Campbell, who had his first shot stopped by the blocker of Smoke Eaters goaltender Adam Marcoux with Campbell collecting the rebound below the goal line and stuffing it inside the post to make it a 1-1 game.
The combo of Newhook and Campbell came together again as the Grizzlies jumped ahead by a 2-1 score at the 3:22 mark of the middle stanza after Carter Berger had his left point shot deflected down with the puck laying loose for Campbell as he passed to an open Newhook on the right side who tapped it into the empty goal on the glove side to give Victoria their first lead of the afternoon.
The Smoke Eaters were quick to counter, however, and tie the game at the 5:35 mark of the 2nd period with Max Kryski earning his 2nd goal of the season. Chase Stevenson worked the puck to the slot with his shot being stopped by Chapman but Kryski collected the rebound and beat Chapman on the blocker side to even the game 2-2.
Kent Johnson gave the Smoke Eaters their second lead of the game at the 14:01 mark of the 2nd period with a nifty shot over the shoulders of Chapman. Braeden Tuck worked to free the puck from below the goal line on the fore check and passed for Johnson on the blocker side as he lifted a shot over the blocker shoulder of Chapman for his 16th goal of the season and a 3-2 Smoke Eaters lead.
Just 1:02 later, the Grizzlies got the game even once again and came on a fortuitous bounce off the end boards and back to the front of the net. Newhook ranged into the zone with a shot off wide of the net on the blocker side before it bounced in front for Campbell, who chipped it by on the blocker side to tie the game at 3-3 at the 15:03 mark.
The 3rd period saw more pressure from both teams, including the second period in a row where the Smoke Eaters registered 19 shots on goal but the Grizzlies jumped ahead for the 4-3 lead. After a 5-on-3 power play, Carter Berger raced up the ice after getting out of the penalty box and dropping the puck for Jordan Guiney on the right wing before having it returned to him on the back door and beating Marcoux on the blocker side for a 4-3 lead.
The Smoke Eaters battled hard to get the game back on even terms with Kryski burying his second goal of the afternoon. Powell Connor had his shot from the right point stopped by Chapman with the rebound being deposited into the back of the net by Kryski from the left wing and beat the blocker side to tie the game at 4-4 at the 16:34 mark of the final period.
Newhook completed his four-point night with the game winning goal at the 18:55 mark late in the 3rd period as Berger led the rush down the right wing and cut to the net before being stopped by Marcoux with the rebound flipped over the glove side of Marcoux by a streaking Newhook to give Victoria a 5-4 and hold up for the win.
FINAL SCORE: 5-4 Grizzlies
SHOTS ON GOAL: 48-40 Smoke Eaters
SMOKE EATERS PP: 0/5
SMOKE EATERS PK: 5/5
3 STARS:
1) Alex Newhook (2-2-4)
2) Alex Campbell (2-1-3)
3) Carter Berger (1-2-3)
Fortis Energy Player of the Game: Max Kryski (2-0-2)
ATTENDANCE: 1,826
The Smoke Eaters (16-20-6-3) head out on the road for their next four games beginning with a back-to-back games south of the border to face-off against the Wenatchee Wild (25-15-2-0) starting on Friday night. Puck drop is slated for 7:05 PM with the game being broadcasted on mixlr.com/trail-smoke-eaters as well as HockeyTV.com beginning at 6:50 PM with the Voice of the Smoke Eaters, Trevor Miller.
