Weekend Audio and Loyst

(Smokies celebrate a goal against Vernon - Photo Randy Emery)

Just in case you all forgot, the Smokies host Merritt Tuesday night at 7:30pm. Tuesday games are always a bit of a shock to the system so remind all your friends! The strong crowds have helped Trail go on an 8 game undefeated streak at home. Lets not let that slide now! Incidentally, the Smokies have only lost at home in regulation once this season. They've had points in every other game.

I wanted to mention I had a great time meeting so many of the Smokies parents this weekend. Thanks to you all for the kind words and friendly hellos. Everyone I met was a true class act. That's reflected in their sons and the way they conduct themselves. It really felt like one big family together this weekend. That's a winning vibe.

Here's the audio I promised from this weekend including audio highlights from Saturday's game. I had a couple of people ask me via e-mail (shawnsamsmullin@hotmail.com) why they had to wait to get the weekend audio on the blog. Ultimately I do those interviews for Overtime on Mountain FM. They've got to air on the show first.

I warn you that I sound like a complete dork calling Travis' overtime winner. The energy of calling that exciting a finish for a home game really pushed me over the top. Don't snicker too hard at me. Hey, it was a heck of a goal.

I'm working at getting a couple of video highlights as well, but for now here's the audio we had on Mountain FM's Overtime.

Trail 2 Penticton 1 Broadcast Highlights

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Smokies Coach Jim Ingram

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Smokies Forward Travis St. Denis

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(Patrick Raley celebrates his tying goal - Photo Randy Emery)

This interview with Patrick Raley got cut off by my audio recorder after less than a minute. He had more to say, but the world won't ever get to hear it!

Smokies Defenseman Patrick Raley

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Smokies Defenseman Danny DeKeyser

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(Raimondo makes one of many big saves - Photo Randy Emery)

Smokies Goaltender Marco Raimondo

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That should hold you over! Tomorrow night it's Merritt at Trail. The Smokies are hoping to get their power play going after weeks of struggles and a weekend without a single PP marker. They've had success with the man advantage against Merritt before. The Cents may be in the basement, but they are a very different team than the one we've seen this season. Gone are the likes of Cam Brodie, Dylan Herold and Brad Davis. The new look Merritt team will present new challenges for the Smokies and I'm sure they won't underestimate them. Should be a fun game. Too bad Tyler Barr is no longer with them though, I was looking forward to another re-match with Porterfield.

Lastly I want to mention how disappointing it is to hear that Smokies forward Riley Loyst is going to miss at least two months recovering from a second broken jaw. He got hit driving the net against Vernon and it did a lot of damage. Surprisingly there weren't any fights later in the game after something like that. From what I understand it's not because the home team didn't try to encourage a couple of them. What is it with Vernon and broken jaws? Just a co-incidence I'd say. This time wasn't anywhere near the kind of hit we saw last year, but I bet Ryan Hill is having a bad flashback if he's reading this.

Loyst has been one of the best Trail players since he returned from his first injury. His season seems to be following the same jinxed path that Stefan Decosse's did last year. Two good guys who contribute a lot to the team and don't deserve to have these kinds of set backs. Loyst was providing a lot of grit, physical presence, leadership, two-way play and production as the rest of the offense slowed down a little bit. He's been a key cog and it's a big loss to the team. The Smokies tried Adam Gummer up the middle against Penticton and may be hoping that the big guy can pick up some of that slack. Loyst and Sandor are two key injuries for the team that they'll have to battle through. Everyone deals with injuries and it's a part of the game, but it's still too bad. Loyst has played so well lately he deserved better.

Hopefully we'll see him back healthy sooner than expected.


(Kevin McCallum helps Riley Loyst - Photo Randy Emery)