Unacceptable

(I'll just note at the top of the blog that as usual this is my opinion and in no way does it represent the opinion of the Trail Smoke Eaters or Mountain FM. Just a reminder.)

We could talk a lot about what happened in the Trail/Vernon game tonight. However, all of those thoughts are going to be put on the back burner after the dangerous and unacceptable hit by Vernon's Captain Chris Crowell. At 13:06 of the third period, the Vipers were killing off a 5 minute major penalty to Kyle Bigos for elbowing. Crowell came charging from the right side as Trail's Ryan Hill cut through the middle with the puck. Crowell attacked at full speed with his elbow up. The hit knocked Hill out, and left him laying on the ice in a very scary visual.

The other Smokies on the ice basically had to carry him to the dressing room. It was obvious Hill didn't know where he was and could barely put any weight on his skates. I don't know the extent of Hill's injury. We can only hope for the best. However, the extent of his injury should not be the determining factor in the punishment Crowell should face. If Hill is lucky enough to recover quickly, that doesn't change the brutal and unnecessary nature of the hit.

I got to see the replay of the elbow up in the Smoke Eaters video booth. It wasn't pretty. I have no idea what in the world Crowell was thinking. He must not have been. It was a long, obvious charge and hit with a blatant elbow. It's like he could smell blood and just couldn't stop himself. I don't know Crowell and I'm not going to comment on him as an individual or even as a player really. All that matters to me for the moment is what I saw on the ice in tonight's game. This kind of hit wouldn't have been acceptable if his team was down 5-0 or in a close game, but when you're winning 5-0? When the game is all but over. What kind of statement does that make? You have a dominating win in the bag, but still feel you have to send a message with a cheap shot like that?

There is no doubt in my mind that Crowell will be suspended. He didn't receive a match penalty, but any look at the replay of the elbow will give the BCHL reason enough to force the Vernon Captain to sit out for a few games. However, I'm not sure a few games is enough. This is exactly the kind of head shot that ends careers. We're dealing with young men who are trying to use hockey to make a better life for themselves. They want a chance at a better education. They want a chance at pro hockey. One full speed charge and elbow to the head could take that opportunity away from Ryan Hill. This is the kind of hit every level of hockey is trying to eliminate. In my view, the BCHL must send a strong message here. They can't tolerate it.

I am not throwing this all in the lap of the Vernon Vipers organization. They've been all class in any dealings I've had with them. I don't think their coaching staff told Crowell to go and run somebody. However, I have to wonder what some of the guys are thinking out there. How do you take two 5 minute major penalties for elbowing within less than 2 minutes of each other? Why did Dylan Herold get hit with a butt end? A 5-0 lead should be a situation where you put the game on cruise control and work hard on protecting your new goaltender's shut out. They played a very strong hockey game, and should have been proud enough to let that effort stand as a strong message. The individual players responsible for those incidents have to take responsibility for controlling themselves.

The two major penalties that Bigos and Crowell took not only cost Andrew Hammond a shut out, but it nearly gave the Smoke Eaters new life in the game. Two quick goals from Trail could've turned to 3 or 4. Hockey is a funny game, and a little bit of momentum can turn the healthiest leads into the unlikeliest collapses. Fortunately for the Vipers, the Smokies wern't able to take advantage of the rest of their 5 on 3 before Kellen Jones made it 6-2.

Smokies fans in the crowd were calling for blood after the hit on Hill. It's an interesting debate. Coach Ingram called a time out after the second major penalty was called. I don't know what he said, but I can _guess_ that it had something to do with concentrating on trying to take advantage of this great opportunity on the power play. Would it not have been better revenge to come back from down 5-0 than to get in a meaningless fight? After two quick goals it looked like that come back was possible.

Some fans would've liked to see Trail run someone like Bishop or one of the Jones boys before the end of the game. Eye for an eye and send a message. There's always been a school of thought that if they do it to you, you have to do it back. Otherwise there's a risk that more teams will start to take advantage of your players. On the other hand, if you think that kind of a hit is unacceptable, how do you justify doing it yourself? If the health of the young men is what's important, can you justify a hit that would possibly injure someone else just because they're on the team that hurt your guy?

I'll be honest with you, at the time I wanted to see revenge. I wanted to see someone on Trail run someone on Vernon to get the Vipers back. That's a fan's instinct, and I bet for the players and coaches that instinct was just as strong if not stronger. But I also think that it was probably the classier and smarter move to not respond with their own cheap shot. Brad Davis did fight Palazzo at the end of the game. It was his second fight after an earlier dance with Bigos (picture by Randy Emery). Davis is always ready to answer the bell and stand up for his team. However, that was more than 6 minutes after the incident, and Palazzo just didn't seem interested in getting into the scap despite his height and weight advantage. Davis got a slashing major and game misconduct on the same play. I can't comment on that because I didn't see the slash. It almost surely means that Davis is going to be suspended again. I'm still glad he made sure there was some physical reaction before the game was done.

I think it is reasonable that the Smokies would prefer to concentrate on trying to come back and get their offense going. Others will say that they needed to respond immediately. I know there are those who believe this team needs a heavyweight goon to react to things like this. The nuclear deterrent on this team used to be Cam Brodie. He made a mess of Grossman's face earlier this year after a hit on Scott Warner. However, with the injury to Brodie, the Smokies are going to have to rely on team toughness. Improving the power play would certainly be one way to make teams pay for cheap shots. Kevin Koopman's one timer for a goal certainly showed us what is possible now that he's on the first PP unit. I also like what I see from Raley in terms of his ability to move the puck. The point is looking a little more active with the man advantage now that they're out there with Warner and Geerin.

Returning to the Crowell hit; I think that has to be a long suspension. I don't wish Crowell ill will, and I'm sure he's a nice guy, but the league has to make it abundantly clear that they won't tolerate blatant head hunting. Ryan Hill deserves better, and so does anyone else who could be victimized by a shot like that.

GAME NOTES

(Click here for the boxscore)

...The Smokies lost 7-2. It was their first lopsided loss to Vernon this year. 3 of the other 4 games were decided in Overtime, and all 4 were decided by one goal. It's been a very entertaining and memorable season series despite Vernon's 5 wins.

...Trail seemed to have the momentum in the first period before Brisebois scored twice. They had been out chancing and out playing the Vipers to that point. The second goal was particularely deflating as Paul Barclay had been knocked down seconds before the goal. A Viper was either shoved or fell into Barclay and took the Trail goaltender out of the play. Brisebois threw the puck into an open net before Barclay could get back in position. It was a very tough pill to swallow for the fans and the team. I certainly think there should have been a whistle when Barclay was clearly knocked out of the play. When they didn't initially blow the play dead I'm not sure what referee Tyson could've done. You can't really turn back time.

...Grant Tyson received more than the usual cat calls from fans tonight. I don't think anyone could say that the ref cost Trail the game. When your team gets 8 power plays (including 2 majors) and theirs only gets 3, it's hard to lay the blame on a ref. The Smokies had lots of chances with the man advantage. They just couldn't get anything by Hammond until the third. There sure were some glorious chances. One puck that just sat along the goal line and wouldn't take that extra step. Ourosov had a terrific chance (picture by Randy Emery) that Hammond stole away. Get one of those goals early and this is a different hockey game. Momentum!

...Barclay game up 7 goals on 28 shots. On the surface that sounds pretty bad. However, things just fell appart for everyone in the third period. I don't think this one night should erase the strong performances he had on Wednesday and Friday. If not for Barclay on Friday the Smokies don't get a point.

...The Smokies aren't having much sucess against their own conference at home. They only have 1 win in their last 8 home games, and it was against Nanaimo. 7 out of Trail's 9 home wins this season have come against Coastal Conference teams. Their only wins at home against the Interior were back to back victories over Salmon Arm and Penticton on Novembe 17th and the 23rd. The Vees are back in town for a Tuesday night game. Those are usually tough nights to get a good crowd. But the Vees are a fun team to watch and it's one of only 3 games in Trail this month. I hope people come out and give the guys the support they need to get things going.

...Kevin Koopman scored his first goal as a Smoke Eater. It was a wicked one-timer on the 5 on 3 power play. That shot from the left point should serve as an excellent weapon for Trail the rest of the year. Koopman and Warner are starting to develop some pretty good chemistry. They both got points on both Smokies goals. They have some nice options now as Warner can send a nice low wrister from the middle, or he can set up Koopman for a big blast off his back foot. With Decosse working the boards, Limbert digging pucks free and Corcoran ready to snipe that puck from anywhere... I can see some good things happening with the first PP unit. It also makes the second unit stronger. Guys like Aiken, Shade, Bulach, Ourosov, Mailey... they could all jump onto the first unit or play a strong role on the second unit. There are more options on the point now that Raley can jump in there, Geerin has seen a lot of PP time, Hill played a lot there lately (though who knows how long he'll be out) and Kinnebrew was starting to get some PP ice as well. They certainly need the man advantage to come alive in this playoff race.

...Andew Hammond looked solid in his debut for Vernon. He stopped 27 of 29 shots including a great save on Steve Ourosov in the second period. Hammond didn't look particularely fantastic, but he got the job done in a reliable and mostly mistake free way. I don't know if he's a game stealing goaltender, but he seems like the type who won't lose you any.

...Kellen and Connor Jones combined for 4 points tonight in their third return to Trail this season. The Montrose natives and former Beaver Valley Nitehawks were held pointless in their previous two games at Cominco Arena this year. Their line with Bischop is certainly one of the scariest offensive units in the conference. Bischop notched his 41rst goal of the season in just 44 games. That impressive total leads the BCHL. His 70 points and 14 power play goals are both good enough for third place in the league. I think it'd be fair to say that if you can shut down that line you would have a pretty good chance against the Vipers. Easier said than done. Kraus and Palazzo are quickly getting used to the look of the BCHL sin bin. Palazzo took 9 minutes of penalties in his first game as a Viper. He took two minors (roughing and slashing) as well as a fighting major at the end of the. Kraus went off for boarding and roughing afte the whistle. They both got their first BCHL points and Kraus particularely looked solid in both weekend games against the Smokies.

...Looking back to the game on Friday night (Click here for the boxscore), Trail showed a lot of heart and guts coming back from down 2-0 to beat Vernon. They were pretty badly outplayed in the first period. However, the penalty kill did a terrific job as the parade to the penalty box continued the rest of the game. A few pretty questionable calls in that game. A hit by Kevin Limbert got 5 minutes and a game, while a hit that cut open Dylan Herold for stitches got nothing. They held Vernon to 1 goal on the man advantage, and came back in a big way. Decosse made a terrific move on the penalty shot he took. Gore was completely fooled by the backhand fake. Corcoran then put on good pressure shorthanded, stole the puck and scored on a beauty move to his backhand. Whenver Corcoran gets some room these days he's going to make it count. Barclay was awesome in the game. He saw the puck well all night and controlled his rebounds better than he has all year. If not for Barclay's 38 saves, it could've been a very different story.

...A comment on a previous blog asked me about Paul Levarsky. He left the Smokies to play hockey in Slovakia. He apparently had nothing but good things to say about his time in Trail, but was just convinced this is the way he had to go.

...With Quesnel's loss and Prince George's win today we're seeing a little seperation in the 5/6/7 spots. The Spruce Kings are 3 points ahead of Trail with a game in hand. The Smokies are 5 points ahead of the Millionaires with 2 games in hand. In baseball terms they're 3 1/2 games ahead of Quesnel. With 16 games left to play there's still lots of time for things to change. Anywhere higher than 5th is looking like a remote possibility now, but Trail could still finish out of the playoffs if they don't get their share of wins the rest of the way. Once you make the playoffs all bets are off. We've seen the Smokies beat Salmon Arm, Westside and Penticton. We've seen them take Vernon to overtime 3 different times. I'm still confident any playoff series would be a real war.

...We did a paper airplane toss for Pacific Coastal Airlines today. It was fun, nice to get on the ice and do some stuff in the intermissions. People responded well to it. The gentleman who won the round trip tickets to Vancouver happens to have a father who needs to go to the big city for surgery. I couldn't think of a more deserving winner! He told me that his first throw didn't make it over the glass, but a kid gave it a second toss that got the job done. Now dad gets to fly to surgery in style thanks to his son's night out at the Smokies game. Good story.

...Finally, speaking of good stories, I had a chance to talk to Scott Jago today. He's in great spirits and has an awesome attitude. I'm not really an athlete so I can't really relate, but it sounds like it's just weird for any athlete to just sit at home and be inactive. For me that's pretty much every night. It's great to hear that Scott is feeling well enough that he has hit the ice again. He's been playing some pick-up 4 on 4, and now will be looking to practice with the Rebels. It's impossible to say whether he'll be able to make it back into Castlegar or Trail's line-up this year, but just the fact that he's going to give it a go is good enough news for me. I know every hockey fan in this area is looking forward to seeing him back in action.

Next Trail game is at home on Tuesday night against Penticton. Then we had off to the Island for another long road trip. What a month! I'm not sure if I should even unpack. Fine by me! Oh, I guess I should do some laundry eh...