It was another tightly contested game, with Prince George refusing to give anything away as they held the Smoke Eaters off for a 2-1 win in regulation, ending their road trip off on a positive note.
The Smoke Eaters, on their fourth game in five nights and third straight game of the weekend faced the most composed and Structured version of Prince George yet. After the opening handful of shifts that were positive for the Smoke Eaters, the Spruce Kings turned up the tempo and controlled much of the play through the first period. The Smoke Eaters held firm though aside from a powerplay goal that tipped off the stick of Kabore Dunn and past Cole Tisdale, the Spruce Kings weren’t given may good looks and when they did shots were either blocked or missed the net. On the other side of the Ice the Spruce Kings also got in front of a lot of shots the Smoke Eaters sent towards the Spruce Kings net.
Jumping ahead to the second Prince George would double their lead on a 2-on-1 as Nick Rheaume gave the puck back to Luc Laylin who got just enough of the puck, despite a great backcheck by the Smoke Eater forward to attempt to break up the play. Teddy Lagerback would put one off the post in the dying moments of the second period but couldn’t get the Smoke Eaters a much needed goal to get them on the board.
In the third Prince George continued to play a solid defensive game, blocking shots and limiting the Smoke Eaters opportunities. One of their few errors however the Smoke Eaters would jump on as Evan Bushy held the blueline, got the puck deep for Connor Michaud who’s centering pass ended up on the stick of Jordan Hendry, who got his shot through to score his second goal of the week, getting the Smoke Eaters on the board.
That would be as close as the Smoke Eaters would get however. Parsons put one off the post, Strobel was denied in close, the Smoke Eaters pushed late but couldn’t get the tying goal that Prince George found the night before. The Smoke Eaters end a busy week with five of eight points through four games. They’ll now enjoy a short break before they hit the road for two games next week, starting in Merritt on Friday night.
