FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NOVEMBER 21st, 2018
PRINCE GEORGE, B.C. – The Trail Smoke Eaters opened the scoring on Wednesday night but could not get much more than that as they fell to the Prince George Spruce Kings by a 4-1 score at the Rolling Mix Concrete Arena.
The opening period was a feeling out process between the two teams and resulted in a scoreless 1st frame. Adam Marcoux made 6 saves in the Smoke Eaters crease while Logan Neaton turned aside each of the two shots he faced in a defensive opening period of hockey.
The scoring started to get going in the 2nd period as newcomer Chase Stevenson collected his first goal as a Smoke Eater. After a pair of chances from Braeden Tuck and Carter Jones that were denied by Logan Neaton, a rebound came to the slot and Stevenson rifled in his 11th goal of the season and gave Trail a 1-0 lead at the 4:53 mark of the 2nd period on the power play.
Prince George started to apply pressure and eventually tie the game at the 13:13 mark of the period on an end wall bounce. The puck reverberated off the end boards with Corey Cunningham collecting in front of the net and beating Adam Marcoux on the glove side to tie the game at 1-1.
Spruce Kings captain Ben Poisson gave Prince George a 2-1 lead less than two minutes later at the 15:10 mark of the middle stanza. After some sustained pressure inside of the offensive zone, Poisson worked his way to the left face-off circle and shot through traffic and beat Marcoux through the legs to give the Spruce Kings their first lead of the game.
Poisson added his second goal of the night early in the 3rd period to give Prince George a 3-1 advantage as he worked his way into the slot and toe-dragged before snapping a shot past the glove side of Marcoux at the 3:18 mark of the final frame to increase the Spruce Kings lead to a two-goal advantage.
A power play goal from Dylan Anhorn would close out the scoring for the Spruce Kings, tipping in a Nick Bochen shot from the left point that he got a piece of from the left hashmark and gave Prince George a 4-1 lead, which would be the eventual final score.
Adam Marcoux was the best Smoke Eater on the ice, making 31 saves on 35 shots in his 12th loss of the season while Logan Neaton turned aside 17 of the 18 shots he faced in the game for his 15th win of the season.
FINAL SCORE: 4-1 Spruce Kings
SHOTS ON GOAL: 35-18 Spruce Kings
SMOKE EATERS PP: 1/4
SMOKE EATERS PK: 3/4
3 STARS:
1) Ben Poisson (2-0-2)
2) Max Coyle (0-1-1)
3) Adam Marcoux (31 saves on 35 shots)
Fortis Energy Player of the Game: Patrick Cozzi (0-1-1)
ATTENDANCE: 758
The Smoke Eaters (10-12-4-2) return home for their first visit of the season from the Merritt Centennials (17-9-0-1) to the Trail Memorial Centre. Puck drop is slated for 7:00 PM with tickets available for purchase at the Smoke Eaters Main Office as well as at the door ahead of the opening puck drop.
