Post Game: Trail 5 Williams Lake 2

Trail, BC - Mike Betz seems to enjoy playing against Williams Lake. The Smokies sniper has scored hat tricks in each of the two games he has played against the Timberwolves. It was a big return to the line-up for Betz who now has 10 goals on the season.

Justin Brown chipped in with 3 assists while Paul Mailey scored once and had a helper in the Trail win. Mailey has now scored 9 points in his last 9 games after a relatively slow start for the Smokies Captain.

It was the third straight win for Trail. They now have points in their last 7 games.

The game was a close battle for the first 30 minutes. It took until 19:07 of the first period for Darnell Dyck to open the scoring. Clayton McEwan responded for the Timberwolves only 27 seconds into the second.

The Smokies broke the game open on back to back goals by Betz. Mailey's marker then made it 4-1 after the second frame.

Jason Diehl cut in to Trail's lead early in the third period, but Betz' third goal put the game out of reach.

Sean Donelly kept the Timberwolves in the game with 43 saves on 48 shots against. Garrett Beckwith was solid for Trail as he stopped 22 of the 24 shots he faced.

The Smoke Eaters jumped over Merritt into 6th spot in the Interior with the win. They're a single point behind Quesnel for 5th. The next action for Trail is Sunday afternoon at 2:30pm against Westside.

ON THE TRAIL: Sam Mellor sat the game out for Trail after being the second fight after the whistle last weekend against Merritt. Graeme Strukoff, Thomas Abenante, Mitch Kaufmann and Taylor Swaffield were out of the line-up with injuries ... Colton Semenok of the KIJHL's Beaver Valley Nitehawks played for the Smokies as an AP in the game. He picked up an assist on Mailey's goal. Travis St. Denis, Eric Walker, Curtis Tonello, Matt Wilkins and Scott Jacklin also had single assists ... Trail won the series between the two teams 3-1.