Video Highlights: Trail 9 Nanaimo 5

Post Game: Trail 4 Victoria 0

This was perhaps the best 60 minute effort we've seen from the Smoke Eaters this season. Usually in any game this year you could point to a segment where Trail wasn't at their best. Tonight the Smokies battled hard all night and didn't make many if any big blunders. It was certainly the kind of complete performance we've all felt this team was capeable of. They got clutch scoring, big hitting, smart play in their own end, good penalty killing and of course very good goaltending in the team's first shut out of the year. 5 out of the 6 periods this weekend were as good as a Trail team has played in my team here. There are many reasons for optimism as we head into the holiday break.

Of course those pesky Centennials had to go and win twice this weekend too. It should be a big game when Merritt is in town on December 30th. The next game for Trail though is against Vernon on the 29th. For now I hope the players, coaches, staff, volunteers and fans all have a wonderful holiday. Enjoy the break and recharge those batteries for a tough battle down the stretch the rest of the way.

Here's my game report from trailsmokeeaters.com:

Trail, BC - Victoria goaltender Ryan Holfeld was involved in his third straight shut out, but this time it was on the losing end. Holfeld shut out both Merritt and Salmon Arm on the Interior road trip for the Grizzlies. On Saturday night it was Smoke Eaters goaltender Garrett Beckwith who blanked Victoria.

Beckwith made 24 stops for the first shut out of his BCHL career. It was also the first shut out for the Smoke Eaters this season.

Holfeld and Beckwith matched each other save for save in a scoreless first period. Trail didn't waste any time once the puck dropped in the second as Sam Mellor scored only 12 seconds in to break the deadlock. It was his 20th of the season which puts him only 3 back of the rookie goal scoring lead.

Travis St. Denis, Paul Mailey and Nick Sandor also scored for Trail. Sandor and Mellor each had a goal and an assist.

Neither team was able to score on the power play. Trail went 0 for 3 while Victoria was 0 for 4. The Smoke Eaters PK only allowed a single power play goal all weekend and has shown huge strides.

Trail has allowed an average of just over 3 goals per game in December. That's a significant improvement from the over 5 goals per game they were averaging in the previous 3 months.

The Smoke Eaters are now on holiday break and will play Vernon on December 29th.

ON THE TRAIL: Mike Betz, Wade Bennett and Tom Rizzardo sat out for the Smokies ... This was the first game between the two teams since last fall. The Smoke Eaters will visit Victoria in the new year ... Both Mellor and St. Denis scored in back to back games this weekend for Trail. They're the highest scoring duo of 1992 born players in the BCHL ... Josh McEwan dropped the gloves twice for Trail and fought a total of three times on the weekend. He now has more than 100 penalty minutes in 24 games ... The Grizzlies thought they'd scored late in the first period when referee Graham Waugh signalled for a goal on a shot that actually had hit the side of the net. It was waved off after Waugh conferred with his linesmen.

Don't forget we'll have reaction and interviews from the weekend on Mountain FM's Overtime this week. We're running shows on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday nights. On Thursday and Friday Mountain FM will instead have Christmas content. Tune in to the radio or if you're an out of town listener we'll have the podcast. I'll also post some Smokies related audio on the blog this Monday or Tuesday. You can also expect video highlights from this weekend's games at some point.

For now I wish all the boys headed home over the next couple of days a safe trip and happy holiday season. Enjoy the time off now, because the hardest work is still to come!

Post Game Audio: Trail 9 Nanaimo 5

What a roller coaster that was! With the Underwear Band's music blasting in the background it seemed like Trail was on the way to one of their most dominant victories of the season. The first ten minutes of the game were all Smoke Eaters with an early 4-0 lead.

However, the Clippers turned it on in the second period with a gutsy effort. Talk about not giving up in the face of impossible odds. You could tell the fans feared the worst early in the third period as Nanaimo cut Trail's 6-1 lead to 6-5.

That's when Trail's energy line of Thomas Abenante, Sean Nugent and Josh McEwan made sure to turn the momentum right around. It was the second time in the game that the hard working trio answered a Nanaimo goal with one of their own. McEwan's goal was his first of the season and all he needed to finish up his first Gordie Howe hat trick.

Darnell Dyck also took a big step to energize the bench when he stood up for teammate Travis St. Denis after a questionable hit from big AP defenceman Kiefer McNaughton. Dyck may not have had the size edge in the fight, but his gutsy effort and the McEwan goal seemed to re-ignite Trail.

The Smokies obviously got too comfortable with their first period lead. Hopefully that is another lesson learned for this young squad. They found a way to bounce back and re-take control of the game with an excellent last 18 minutes. The bottom line is Trail put 9 goals on the board against a tough Nanaimo team and got a much needed victory. They don't have to be perfect as long as you get the two points.

Smokies Forward Thomas Abenante

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Smokies Forward Josh "Gordie" McEwan

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Here is my game recap from trailsmokeeaters.com:

Trail, BC - Josh McEwan knows how to pick his spots. The Kelowna native scored his first of the season at 1:47 of the third period to halt Nanaimo's come back and lead Trail to a 9-5 win over the Clippers.

The goal came only 13 seconds after Nanaimo cut Trail's 6-1 lead to 6-5 on a goal by Cody Bremner. Nanaimo scored twice in the second and twice in 38 seconds early in the third to put a scare into the Smoke Eaters.

Scott Jacklin and Matt Wilkins put the game out of reach. It was the second goal of the game for Wilkins.

Thomas Abenante also scored twice for the Smokies as they opened up a big early lead with 6 first period goals. Eric Walker, Travis St. Denis and Sam Mellor had Trail's other goals. St. Denis, Darnell Dyck and Nick Sandor had 2 assists each.

McEwan added an assist and fought Nanaimo's Nick Bell to complete his first career Gordie Howe hat trick.

The Clippers fired 19 shots on Smoke Eaters goaltender Kiefer Smiley in the second period to claw their way back in the game. Both teams played musical goalies as Nanaimo made three changes in goal while Trail replaced Smiley with Garrett Beckwith early in the third. Beckwith stopped all 8 shots he faced to secure the Trail win.

Trail's next action is Saturday night against Victoria. Nanaimo heads to Vernon.

ON THE TRAIL: Steve Oursov made his return to the Trail line-up on a line with Paul Mailey and Justin Brown. Mike Betz, Wade Bennett and Tom Rizzardo sat out for the Smokies ... The win secures a sweep of the season series for Trail as they beat the Clippers 4-2 on October 16th in Nanaimo ... The world famous Underwear Band made their return to the Cominco Arena for the first time since the fall of 2007 to help Trail break their five game losing skid. There were a staple of the Smoke Eaters' senior hockey glory years ... Smoke Eaters fans also generously donated hundreds of food items to the local Salvation Army.

That was certainly an entertaining night! The game had it all. Hopefully we see a big crowd out for the game against Victoria tomorrow night/tonight. It's the only time the Grizz will be in Trail this season. Hope to see you there.

Game Day Audio: Nanaimo at Trail

Smokies Forward Steve Oursov

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Smokies Assistant Coach Brian Youngson

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Nelson Ford Trail Smoke Eaters Play By Play from October 16th: Trail 4 at Nanaimo 2

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Don't forget tonight is a food drive for the Salvation Army and the return of the world famous Underwear Band!

Smokies Weekend Video Highlights

Here are some highlights I put together from Trail's games in Nanaimo, Cowichan Valley and Surrey. You can also click here if you want highlights from the Burnaby game.

Road Trip Audio

Main Entry:	killer instinct
Part of Speech:	n
Definition:	an aggressive and ruthless determination to win or attain a goal

The Trail Smoke Eaters are playing better hockey right now than they were playing in September. I don't think a single fan out there can argue with that. In September Trail gave up the first goal in 7 out of 8 games. They were getting behind the eight ball early and unable to get back into games. Now in September they've scored the first goal in 6 out of 9 games and have had a lead in 8 out of 9 games. Unfortunately they only won 2 out of those 8 games, and got points in 3 of them. The Smokies are now putting themselves in a position to win games, but lacking the killer instinct to finish them. That's the kind of thing that you have to think will come with experience and confidence.

What the guys and the fans should know is that they're good enough to get ahead of teams right now... which means they ARE good enough to beat those teams. They just have to start believing it, being consistent and bouncing back when a couple of things go wrong. The positive strides are there if only they could put it all together over 60 minutes.

There were a lot of positive things coming out of that 1-3 trip. The defensive zone coverage got a whole lot better for the most part. In the two games on Vancouver Island and for most of the game in Surrey the team kept it simple and played as a cohesive unit. That's a good sign. They also truly seemed to bond while they were on the island. They won their first road game with a real blue collar effort. The power play had a very good week at 7 for 23 or over 30%. Both goaltenders showed the ability to make game saving stops at key times. Four players scored their first BCHL goals. They scored at least 4 goals in 3 out of the 4 games. Nick Sandor himself had a whole game's worth.

I know the bottom line for fans is victories. I can understand the frustration when they put themselves in a position to win and let it slip away with major defensive meltdowns. However, I've seen every game this team has played. They're getting better every day, and their mental game is starting to catch up with the ability we all know they have.

Nelson Ford Trail Smoke Eaters Hockey on Mountain FM: Trail 5 at Burnaby 9

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Nelson Ford Trail Smoke Eaters Hockey on Mountain FM: Trail 4 at Nanaimo 2

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Nelson Ford Trail Smoke Eaters Hockey on Mountain FM: Trail 2 at Cowichan Valley 4

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Nelson Ford Trail Smoke Eaters Hockey on Mountain FM: Trail 4 at Surrey 6

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Smoke Eaters Forward Nick Sandor

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Surrey Eagles Goalie Paul Barclay

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Post Game: Trail 4 Nanaimo 2

The Trail Smoke Eaters got their first road victory of the season tonight. The 4-2 win in Nanaimo was an example of what this team is capable of when everybody buys in and works hard. It wasn't a perfect game, but it didn't have to be. The main thing out there tonight was that the guys played the same way from the first line through the fourth and from the first pairing through the third. With Graeme Strukoff out of the line-up we really saw the whole team realize their roles in the defensive zone. I don't think I've seen them play as efficiently in their own end as they did in the final five minutes of the third period. Every player did everything they could to make sure Nanaimo didn't have a chance to snatch that victory away from the Smoke Eaters. It was nice to see the whole forward crew realize what can happen when they fully commit to their own zone. For example, I don't think I've ever seen Travis St. Denis make as much difference in his own zone as he did tonight. He was a force in the last minute especially. It was a big step forward for the whole forward group.

It was also the best game the rookie defencemen have played as a unit. We've seen some games where each of them have stepped up, but tonight I think all four of the rookies in the line-up really delivered. They made smart, simple plays and quick decisions in their own end. It was a big step for a guy like Chaput who hasn't been in the line-up a lot lately to play essentially a mistake free game. It was also a chance for Wade Bennett to get back in the line-up on the back end in what was his smoothest effort of the year. He should also have had an assist on the second Trail goal. Ben Matthews was a force all game long with a smart pinch on his first BCHL goal and some smart plays with his stick. You've already seen what Walker's solid play has earned him. These guys were given opportunities with the injury to Strukoff and all want to show they can be counted on for big minutes.

The loss of Strukoff also puts extra pressure on Kaufmann and Koshey. Both guys responded with very strong efforts. Again they played simple games and made quick decisions. Both guys were also quick and efficient when they had that 5 on 3 opportunity. We heard talk of Kaufmann's shot and that was the first time we got to see it in action. His first BCHL goal was an absolute rocket. As for Koshey, he continues to be a key factor in setting up goals. The Trail native is now sitting at 9 points through 15 games. That's good enough to tie for 10th place among defencemen in the BCHL. If he can continue to simplify his defensive game the way he did today we could be talking about a league all-star down the road.

Of course I can't mention the victory without discussing what was a very clutch performance by Kiefer Smiley. It was without question Smiley's best game as a Smoke Eater. He made some enormous saves that really displayed his solid instincts and athletic ability. The one pad stop where he slid across the crease was spectacular. Smiley also controlled his rebounds and did a very good job calming the play down. I can't count how many times he was able to cover the puck up with the team really needed it last night. That was the kind of clutch performance they needed between the pipes to get that first road win.

Speaking of clutch, when things weren't going Trail's way in the second period Thomas Abenante turned the tide with his first BCHL goal. What a night for firsts! Matthews, Kaufmann and Abenante all lit the lamp for the first time. After two weeks of hard work and narrow misses, Abenante made good on a Nanaimo turnover to restore the 2 goal lead.

The Smokies took a 3-0 lead on goals by Matthews (putting in the rebound on a nice low shot by Mellor), Kaufmann and Mellor (on a very nice set up from Scott Jacklin). It was a first star performance for Mellor who is already exceeding the pace he was on last year as a 16 year old in Junior B. His 8 goals also have him tied for the team lead with Tye Lewis. It's been a heck of a start to Mellor's BCHL career and it'll be a lot of fun for Trail fans to watch him continue to develop.

I'm sure more than a few fans felt like they were experiencing deja-vu when the Clippers started chipping away at Trail's lead with the late PP goal on the first and early marker in the second. Those two goals had the Smokies on their heels and in danger of giving up the lead all together. They had just lost four straight games after taking early leads. It wasn't something they could afford to do again. That's when Justin Brown dropped the gloves and tried to inspire the troops. He did it despite the fact that he's still dealing with a minor injury that kept him out of the line-up last weekend. That fight and the huge goal by Abenante helped Trail stem the tide and get back on track. The rest of the way may have seen the Clippers out shoot and out chance Trail, but the Smokies limited the quality of most of the opportunities. They played a very solid road game and got the job done. The Smokies also showed themselves they had what it takes to close out a win in a tight, hard fought game. That's something they had yet to do this season as the two other wins were a blow out and an overtime win.

Make no mistake, Nanaimo was a tough opponent. They worked hard and really put some pressure on with their physical attack on the forecheck. The Clippers have a very effective cycle game that created a lot of chances in front of the Trail net. The Smokies were just a lot better in front of their goal tonight. It was not holiday there tonight. That was another key in Trail's victory. However, there's a lot of talent and work ethic on that Nanaimo club. I bet as the younger defence continues to adjust to the league you'll see them start to climb the standings before Christmas. They certainly won't be a push over against anyone.

I wanted to note as well that it was too bad AP Gavin Hohl got hurt mid-way through the game and will miss some action in the VIJHL. He did a very solid job and didn't look out of place. Almost had a point too when he and Dyck got sent in on a 2 on 1 by Brown. I wouldn't be surprised if the club had him back in the line-up when the club is back on the island in the new year.

It sure helps to be able to set up a home base here and not have to ride the bus for hours before game time. Trips like this make realize how different it must be for teams who have their share of one or two hour trips to road games rather than a minimum of four hours. Being in one spot sure helps the guys play with more energy and keep that energy all game long. It also helped that the guys had an opportunity to do some team bonding on their off day. The mood around the club has really improved. They can try and build on that with a re-match against Cowichan Valley tomorrow. The Capitals did to Trail last week what Trail did to Nanaimo tonight. Now the Smokies can return the favour.

Brodie Reid traded to Alberta

(John Stimson)

As pointed out today on the BCHL message board, the AJHL transactions page lists a deal that sends Brodie Reid from Nanaimo to Brooks for John Stimson. So what stands out for you about that transaction? How about that Brodie Reid was last seen playing for the Penticton Vees in the second round of the BCHL playoffs. How did Reid end up as Nanaimo's property? Wasn't he scheduled to start his scholarship at Northwestern this year? I believe he had delayed it to play last season so perhaps it got delayed again after what must be considered a somewhat disappointing season for him. After lighting it up with Burnaby the year before, Reid got dealt to what should have been a good situation in Penticton playing with the likes of Denver Manderson. However, his point and goal totals dipped as Reid ended up surprisingly under a point a game pace with the high powered Vees.

What happened? Perhaps the chemistry was just never quite there. Reid is a terrific finisher, but when I saw the Vees he didn't really seem to always be on the same page as his linemates. If he has to delay that scholarship for another year perhaps it's good for Reid to get a fresh start somewhere new.

As for Stimson, he scored at a 0.8 points per game pace in Brooks last season as a 19 year old. That's double his pace from the year before. Certainly anyone who shows that kind of improvement has to be intriguing. Can he take his game to another level? He goes to Nanaimo and will fill up a 20 year old spot there, so they must be expecting him to make a leap forward. He's listed at 6'1 and 180lbs so he's not a small player either.

The big question out of all this is how did Reid get from Penticton to Nanaimo and what was involved in that deal? I'm just excited that the off season wheeling and dealing is starting already.

I'm having trouble getting to the BCHL website right now so I'll try and update later.

New Bulldogs Head Coach

According to the Nanaimo Daily News (and before that a post on the BCHL message board), Nanaimo Clippers Assistant Coach Nolan Graham is set to become the next Head Coach and GM of the Alberni Valley Bulldogs. This would be (from my understanding) Graham's first head coaching job in the league. However, he has been an assistant on a team that went to the BCHL finals last year and won a championship the season before. Graham scored 149 points in 2 BCHL seasons with Chilliwack before heading off to R.P.I. in the NCAA. He then played 3 seasons of pro hockey in the ECHL and CHL before joining the Clippers coaching staff.

It's not the experienced head coach with a winning track record that I'm sure some Bulldogs fans wanted. On the other hand, he's learned from one of the best and experienced what it takes to get to a championship in this league. Every great coach has a first job. This could be it for Graham.

The Bulldogs have a press conference tomorrow to make it official. I'm sure there will be more coverage on Hammer's blog when that happens. I certainly hope this is a step in the right direction for those great fans in Port Alberni.