Game 37: Nanaimo at Trail

The Smokies are back in action after their holiday break. What better way to come back to action than by taking on the top team in the BCHL and one of the top Jr. A teams in all of Canada? Should be fun to watch.

The Smoke Eaters are wearing their third jerseys tonight. Really sharp looking jerseys sponsored by Home Goods. They're going to wear them for a few games this year and put them up for auction on the internet. You have the chance to own some game worn Smokies jerseys, and I'll have the details on here and on Mountain FM when those auctions are posted. Keep an eye out on the Smokies official website.

Don't forget to join us at Rave's for the post-game show tonight at the Waneta Plaza in Trail. If you can't make it you can listen live on Mountain FM.

Friday, December 28th, 2007: Trail Smoke Eaters (15-16-1-4) at Nanaimo Clippers (28-6-0-3)

(Click here for boxscore)

I had a chance to talk to the play by play guy for Nanaimo before the game on Overtime. Dan Marshall is a class act and one easy guy to interview. Sure knows his hockey. Also, ask him to do his Bob Cole for you sometime.

Also got to talk a bit to Brett Corcoran on both of our flights home. I can really tel he's motivated to have a strong last 20+ games here. Corcoran has been on fire since Arduin was traded. He saw a chance to step up as the team's top scorer and sure has got the job done. Lets hope that continues for him as we head into what will be a really tough January full of long road trips.

Trail has lost a few games in a row now, but the last two were in double overtime. While lots of people say "a loss is a loss" I say that we saw very entertaining hockey games that anyone could have won. That's what we want to see as hockey fans and it's hard to complain when you see the kind of hockey we've seen recently. The Smokies are showing a great work ethic lately and I really hope it continues. Talking to Jim Ingram lately you really get a sense that he's trying to create a certain identity for this team under him. Ingram loves hard working two-way players who play a team game and who love to be here. Sounds simple enough, but as he told me last night... if a guy really wants to be here he'll play harder for you and he'll give the program a good name in hockey circles.

Decosse makes his return to the line-up again tonight. He's been injured for a couple of extended periods this year and the Smokies very much miss him when he's gone. Decosse is one of if not the best cycle players in this league. He can really protect the puck and moves it very well. The PP will surely benefit from his return. Lets just all hope that he can stay healthy. He deserves a chance to make a last big run in his 20 year old season.

Tough games this weekend. Nanaimo tonight and Salmon Arm tomorrow. Should have great crowds as friends and family are home for the holiday season. Rink is looking fuller than usual tonight for sure. I hope it's even better tomorrow.

LIVE UPDATES

...My colleague Kristen from Mountain FM was just telling me she's never seen this much fight from the Smokies in all the games she's seen. Hard to disagree with the results we've seen so far in this game. August Aiken opened the scoring on the PP with a big goal in front of his friends and family in the stands here tonight visiting from California. That's nice motivation for August and so far a good result in front of them. The Smokies then killed off a couple of penalties and team agitator Brad Davis got under the skin of Nanaimo's goaltender Michael Garman before Jason Beattie stepped in and they had a good tilt. Limbert had a breakaway after a penalty kill but was denied. Patrick Martin then put the Smokies up 2-0. A nice crowd out there tonight for the Rossland native and he makes good in front of the net on a play set up by Corcoran and Geerin. That's another point for Geerin who now has 3 in 4 games for Trail. He didn't get advertised as an offensive presence but he sure has been. Looks good on the PP as well.

...Trail is taking too many penalties in this period. Nanaimo's PP is deadly and they are going to convert one of these chances if they keep getting them. The Clippers are now in the midst of their 4th PP of the first period and there are still 3 minutes left. That's one thing Dan Marshall told me before the game, you have to stay out of the box against Nanaimo. Not surprising with that much fire power in their line-up. They just killed that one off, so a good job by the penalty killers for Trail in the first. Can't be in the box that often though! Great start so far. 2-0 and the period is almost over.

...Scary situation there as Cam Brodie was down in the corner of the Smokies zone for long enough that they ended the period over and will carry over the last 52 seconds of the first into the second period. Brodie was eventually helped to the dressing room while still on his skates. No stretcher needed so we're all hoping it's nothing serious, but it sure didn't look good. I was not in a good position to see what happened so I can't speculate on what kind of injury it was. I can tell you that if Cam Brodie is out of the line-up the Smoke Eaters have a giant hole to fill.

...Official word on the goals has the first one by Aiken from Warner and Kinnebrew. The second one was Martin from Corcoran and Geerin. There might be a mistake on that one though. The assist may go to Aiken instead, who looks very motivated playing in from of his family here tonight. Trail is getting the job done so far. Rollheiser with 14 saves in the period while the Smokies took 11 shots. Outshot but not by much.

...Brett Corcoran does it again! He continues to step up as the top goal scorer for the Smokies. Shade and Limbert get the assists on another PP marker for Trail. This officially comes in the first period as they just played the last 52 seconds of it after the intermission. That's the 20th of the year for Corcoran. 3-0 Smokies over the Clippers! Still a long way to go.

...Nanaimo controls the play in the second period. 13-5 shots on goal in favour of hte Clippers and after all those chances on the power play they finall converted. It was just at th eend of a 5-3 when former Team Canada West member Chad Ziegler scored his second BCHL goal from Andrew Cherniwchan and Brodie Zuk. Only 55 seconds in the third period the Clippers made it 3-2 for Trail. Mikeal Bedard got that one from Kevin Noble. You can feel the momentum shifting here. Trail is going to have to work really hard to hold on to this lead. It's 3-2 with lots of time left in the third. Kevin Limbert has had two glorious chances he just couldn't put in. One on a breakaway and another on a nice pass in front. A great chance for Paul Mailey here in the third as well that he just missed. In the second period Rollheiser stopped a penalty shot and has overall been very strong and consistent for Trail today. Lots of time left and the Smokies will try and hold on!

...Clippers with several more good chances and Ingram calls a time out with 11:23 left. He's trying to calm the guys down as they are feeling the pressure from the league's top team. We'll see if the time out works.

...August Aiken with a giant goal in the last minute to ice this game. Man he's fast when he turns on the jets. Smokies hold on for a win over the Clippers. Great game.