Before we get to the news here's some audio from Mountain FM's Overtime this week. There's more audio that I didn't upload to the website yet, but I'm on the road now so no such luck for the moment.
- AM Ford Trail Smoke Eaters Hockey: Trail 4 Merritt 3
- Smokies Defenceman Brandon Clark live in studio: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4
- Smokies Coach Jim Ingram post-weekend: Part 1, Part 2
- Smokies forward Chad Gehon post weekend
- Grand Forks Coach Rob Fitzpatrick: Part 1, Part 2
- Castlegar Rebels Coach Brent Heaven: Part 1, Part 2
As for the roster changes some people have been asking about, yes Trail has added two new forwards. Coach Jim Ingram responded to what he felt was a need for more toughness by bringing back 1988 born forward Jadon Porterfield from the VIJHL. As a 19 year old last year Porterfield had 90 penalty minutes in 17 games after being traded to Oceanside from Alberta. He impressed the Smokies at camp with his hard work and willingness to play tough. However, twenty year old spots are hard to come by for rookies. Porterfield initially got sent back to Junior B, but Coach Ingram told me his mind changed after the Westside game. It showed the coach that the Smokies needed more toughness so that Sean Nugent wasn't alone in his job as enforcer. Especially when Nugent has put in two goals in three games to start the season. He's also fought in all three games. This way the physical load is shared if things really do get intense in a game. Can Porterfield play? He looked good in camp. Put in 6 points in 17 games in Junior B. However, he's not going to be relied on for much outside of that physical presence. Ingram says one of the great things about Porterfield is that not only is he OK with that role he's enthusiastic about it. He should become a favourite of Trail fans.
The other addition is 1989 born LW Nick Sandor. He played last season with the Alberni Valley Bulldogs and put up 1 goal and 3 points in 32 games. Apparently Sandor had a terrific pre-season and was recommended by some smart hockey men on the island. He'll have a chance to jump onto the second or third line in Trail and see if he can turn that pre-season production into regular season success. I don't know a lot about Sandor so we'll all be learning about him as we go along over the weekend.
These moves meant Trail had to let go of two players to get down to 23 guys. Unfortunately that meant the end of James Kellington and Brian Kang's time with the Smokies. I don't know what either guy plans to do. I hope for the best for them. They are both very talented hockey players who should be successful wherever they end up.
Marco Raimondo is expected to get the start tonight against the hot Prince George Spruce Kings. It looks like the Smokies will rotate starters until one guy really sets themselves up as the #1. That's not a bad situation as long as both guys keep delivering as well as they have. I don't know who Trail will go up against yet, but if it's Kevin Genoe goals could be hard to come by. He's undefeated so far this season with a 94% save percentage.
Again the pre-game starts at 6:45pm tonight with the puck drop at around 7pm.
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