A balanced attack and some parental support helped the Trail Smoke Eaters to two big wins over the Victoria Grizzlies and Salmon Arm Silverbacks on the weekend at the Cominco Arena.
On a weekend that saw the Smokies host the players’ parents and its reverse draw banquet, bookended by a pair of games Friday and Sunday, the Trail team put in two stellar performances capped off with an exciting 4-3 victory over the Victoria Grizzlies on Sunday.
“We’re pretty excited, it’s a really big win for us,” said Smoke Eater goalie Linden Marshall, the game’s first star. “With Salmon Arm losing two in a row and us winning two, that really bumps us up into the standings and it’s really good for our team.”
Marshall stopped 33 shots on the night, Connor Brown-Maloski netted the winner, and Blaine Caton scored twice for the Smokies in an entertaining matchup against the Grizzlies. The win puts the 9-8-1-0 Smoke Eaters above .500 and in third place in the Interior Division while the loss drops the Grizzlies out of first in the Island Division standings, a point behind the Powell River Kings.
“I thought tonight the most important part would be our start, especially because they (Victoria) played in Salmon Arm last night. I thought if we could dictate things early, which we did, we just weren’t getting enough pucks on the net,” said Smoke Eater coach and GM Cam Keith. “It kind of changed our mindset, just shoot the puck which we saw with Josh Laframboise, he just turned around and shot it and the guys started to feed off that.”
Both teams had their chances in the first period with Victoria holding a 10-8 edge in shots in the period, however, the middle frame saw the Smokies explode early, and the Grizzlies attempt to claw out a comeback.
Laframboise opened the scoring 69 seconds in, taking a Luke Santerno pass from behind the net and wiring it by Victoria goalie Matthew Galadja. Two minutes later Mitch Stapley sprung Blaine Caton on a partial breakaway down the right wing, and the Smokies forward unleashed a lethal backhand that beat Gladja high glove side for a 2-0 lead.
Caton, the game’s second star, struck again at 7:45, jumping on a Jack Sitzman’s rebound and going backhand-forehand for a 3-0 lead and his third goal in two games.
The Grizzlies’ Nick Guiney solved Marshall with 4:39 remaining in the second when his shot from the top of the circle deflected off the Smokies defenceman’s stick and ricocheted top corner. Two minutes later, Guiney notched his second of the game on a two-man advantage, tapping in a cross-crease pass from Jake Stevens to draw the Grizzlies within one.
But Trail captain Brown-Maloski forced a turnover at the Victoria blue line walked in and wired a snapshot top corner to put Trail up for good, 4-2. The Grizzlies Tyler Welsh again closed the gap, scoring another powerplay goal with 53 seconds left in the period on a deflected shot from the slot.
Victoria outshot the Smoke Eaters 15-13 in the period, but production throughout the Trail lineup proved the difference in the match.
“You need that secondary scoring especially when teams lock up on the Santerno, Howarth, and Laframboise line, we need other guys to step up and contribute not only defensively but they have to chip in offensively,” said Keith. “It’s going to win you hockey games, especially the ones you’ve been struggling to win.”
The Smokies repelled a Grizzly attack in the third, with Marshall making a number of critical saves for his fourth win in six starts this season.
“I thought I played pretty well, but the team was there for me all night and helped me out every time I made a mistake, so I have to give them most of the credit,” said Marshall.
A highlight-reel stop came with just two minutes remaining when Victoria broke in on a 2-on-1 and Marshall slid over and robbed Keyvan Mokhtari, the match’s third star, with a massive glove save.
“It felt good that one, it was a big game-saver I guess, but yea it’s nice to get the win,” said Marshall.
Victoria outshot Trail 36-27 and 11-6 in the final frame, with Trail going 0-for-5 on the powerplay and Victoria 2-for-7.
On Friday, a similar story played out against the Silverbacks, as Smoke Eater forward Ryan Murphy notched a goal and an assist, and Spencer McLean scored the winner in a 4-2 victory.
After a scoreless first period, Caton opened the scoring finishing a pretty setup from Braedon Tuck and Brown-Maloski, before the Silverbacks Riley Hayles tied it with just under five minutes to play in the middle frame.
Murphy put the Smokies up 2-1 at 13:04 of the third, but Carson Bolduc tied it at 2-2 with 5:45 to play in regulation. But McLean, a Montrose product, netted the winner on an Andre Ghantous pass with just 4:27 left on the clock, and Ross Armour sealed it with an empty netter at 19:43.
Trail outshot the Silverbacks 31-25 with Dyment getting the win for Trail. McLean was named the games first star, Silverbacks goalie Brandon Kegler the second star, and Trail’s Murphy star number three.
“You saw it this weekend, that’s why we’re above .500 now,” said Keith. “Blaine Caton stepped up, Ryan Murphy stepped up, and Spencer McLean. All the guys that have been kind of struggling offensively, they’ve been getting chances, and I was confident that it was going to come.”
The Smoke Eaters next home game goes on Friday when they host the Prince George Spruce Kings at the Cominco Arena at 7:30 p.m.
