The Smoke Eaters head to BC’s Northern Capital as they begin a three game set against the Prince George Spruce Kings, with the Smoke Eaters looking to get back in the win column.
Season Series Against Prince George:
Nov. 18 Prince George 4 at Trail 3 Final
Jan. 27 Trail at Prince George 7:00 pm PST
Jan. 28 Trail at Prince George 7:00 pm PST
Jan. 29 Trail at Prince George 3:00 pm PST
Feb. 4 Prince George at Trail 7:00 pm PST
The Smoke Eaters return from the All-Star break focused on the task at hand, and that’s getting back to what made them successful through late November and all of December, that allowed them to shoot up the Interior standings. Now after a run of games that haven’t gone the Smoke Eaters way, they take on the Spruce Kings who sit 7 points ahead if the Smoke Eaters in fourth place. In the lone meeting this year the Smoke Eaters came from behind in the third period on home ice but allowed a goal in the final minutes to see that game, and at the very least, a point slip away. With three games to play in the next 60 hours the Smoke Eaters, like the Spruce Kings will have to focus in taking this mini series one game at a time, one period at a time. Trail also gets some help up front as Cobetto-Roy returns from suspension, which not only helps the forward depth but also the powerplay for the Smoke Eaters. Through December the powerplay was one of the best in the league but has struggled to capitalize on it’s opportunities as of late. With a smaller ice surface in PG the setting for these three games, taking the chances they will get, like on the powerplay will be key.
Smoke Eaters leading scorers:
Hunter (8-21-29)
Cobetto-Roy (9-19-28)
Remissong (14-10-24)
Fechko (9-14-23)
Bushy (3-20-23)
The Spruce Kings have lost three of their last five games but have picked up big wins against Penticton and Wenatchee prior to the All-Star break. As is typical of Prince George, they are a hard team to beat on home ice and don’t allow many goals on home ice either. With one of the lowest goals against in the BCHL the Spruce Kings, backed by goaltender Jordan Fairlie, have consistently been a hard team to score against. John Herrington, who joined Fairlie at the BCHL’s all star game last week leads the way offensively for the Spruce Kings and scored the late game winner in the last meeting to help the Spruce Kings pick up the two points. THe Spruce Kings will be looking to secure their hold on fourth place this weekend, as they hold a slim one point lead over the Silverbacks.
Spruce Kings leading scorers:
Herrington (17-15-32)
Schneider (14-13-27)
Fraser (10-16-26)
Primerano (6-18-24)
McGregor-Bennett (7-16-23)
Puck drop from Prince George in the first of a triple header goes tonight at 7pm. The Smoke Eaters, looking to get back in the win column will look to set the tone early. Catch all the action on HockeyTV or listen on mixlr, with the pregame show starting at 6:50pm
