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GAME RECAP: Tuck’s Monster Night Helps Smoke Eaters To 7-3 Victory

PHOTO: Mike Hockley

SEPTEMBER 28th, 2018

TRAIL, B.C. – The Trail Smoke Eaters erupted for a season-high seven goals as they snapped a two-game winless stretch with a 7-3 victory against the Alberni Valley Bulldogs on Friday night at the Trail Memorial Centre.

Braeden Tuck had an outstanding night with a pair of goals and two assists for four points with Levi Glasman, Kent Johnson, Jeremy Smith and Mack Byers collecting multi-point nights as the Smoke Eaters picked up their fourth win of the season against their Island Division foes in the Bulldogs.

The game didn’t start on the right foot for the Smoke Eaters as Alberni Valley opened the scoring 1:31 into the contest as Jackson Doucet snapped a shot from the right face-off circle through the legs of Smoke Eaters netminder Adam Marcoux for a 1-0 Bulldogs lead.

Trail answered back, gaining momentum on a couple of power plays and tied the game at the 10:30 mark of the 1st period as Tyler Ghirardosi knotted the game. Carter Jones won a face-off to the top of the right face-off circle as Ghirardosi ripped a shot over the blocker side of Bulldogs goaltender John Hawthorne for his 2nd goal of the season.

The Smoke Eaters took their first lead of the game at the 17:40 mark of the opening period while shorthanded. Hawthorne made a great stop in front of the net before the puck was kicked back to the slot where Tuck fed a pass to Mack Byers in the face-off circle to push the puck past the glove side for his 3rd goal of the season and a 2-1 advantage.

Trail scored three goals in the middle stanza, beginning with a Tuck marker at the 3:28 mark after receiving a stretch pass from Trevor Zins in his own zone. Zins spotted Tuck at the blue line as he cut behind the defense and tucked the puck home on his forehand for his 4th goal of the season and a 3-1 lead early in the 2nd period.

Jeremy Smith gave the Smoke Eaters a three-goal advantage at the 10:19 mark of the 2nd period with a shot from the right point deflecting off a body in front and in for a 4-1 lead before Kent Johnson extended the advantage with a goal on a scramble in front of the net to end Hawthorne’s night and give Trail a 5-1 lead at the 11:03 mark.

Johnson found the back of the net for the second time on the night at the 55-second mark of the final period after another scramble which saw the 15-year-old come away with the puck and beat new goaltender Cole Demers on the glove side for a 6-1 lead early into the 3rd period.

The Bulldogs worked their way back into the game with two goals a minute and 25 seconds apart in the final period with Nicholas Seitz and Isaac Tonkin-Palmer tallying to cut the deficit to 6-3.

The Smoke Eaters pushed their lead back to four goals at the 13:34 mark of the 3rd period with Tuck registering his second goal of the game on a 2-on-1 odd-man rush with Levi Glasman, who earned his third assist of the night with a pass for Tuck in the right circle before going up and over Demers for a 7-3 lead, the eventual final.

Adam Marcoux played a strong game after the first shot of the night beat him, turning aside 30 of the 33 shots he faced for his 4th win of the season while John Hawthorne stopped 20 of the 25 shots thrown his way before Cole Demers relieved him in the last 28:57 of the game, stopping 14 of the 16 shots he faced.

FINAL SCORE: 7-3 Smoke Eaters

SHOTS ON GOAL: 41-33 Smoke Eaters

SMOKE EATERS PP: 1/5

SMOKE EATERS PK: 4/5

3 STARS:

1) Braeden Tuck (2-2-4)

2) Kent Johnson (2-0-2)

3) Mack Byers (1-1-2)

Fortis Energy Player of the Game: Levi Glasman (0-3-3)

The Smoke Eaters (4-2-0-1) remain at home for a rematch of the 2018 Interior Division Final as the defending BCHL champion Wenatchee Wild (4-4-0-0) for a 7:00 PM puck drop at the Trail Memorial Centre. Tickets are available for purchase at the Smoke Eaters Main Office.