Post Game: Cowichan Valley 3 Trail 2, Robinson Interview

(Some of the physical play - Photo Randy Emery)

Click here for the box score. The Smoke Eaters and Capitals played like two teams desperate for a win tonight. It was a hard working, physical and intense game. It wasn't pretty but it was entertaining. It seems like the team who got the last bounce won. Cowichan's first and third goals came as pucks bounced their way in front of the Trail net. Trail's first goal was the result of a fanned shot finding it's way in. Coaches will always say it's not how you score that counts. However, the frustration for the Trail Smoke Eaters tonight will be that they once again out shot and out chanced a team... and lost. This was a much cleaner game for Trail in terms of defensive break downs and coverage errors. They also received sharp goaltending from Kiefer Smiley. The difference in the game this time was Trail's inability to turn shots and puck control into goals.

It's funny how they could score twice in 9 seconds and yet not find the twine with 33 other shots the rest of the game. Part of the story there was the strong play of Peck in goal for the Capitals. The other part perhaps was a lack of confidence with the puck on the part of the Trail shooters. I counted at least five points in the game where the Smokies passed up excellent scoring chances to make that last second pass. How many of them turned into a goal? Often that extra little pass doesn't even turn into a shot. It's broken up or it's in feet. This isn't a skills competition and I'm sure Trail fans would rather see 10 ugly goals than 2 pretty ones.

Look at the Cowichan goals; Curtis Gedig (only credited with 2 points when I think he should have 3) twice fired shots from the point that either found their way through traffic or bounced off a couple of bodies to a wide open man. His first goal was a shot from the slot that hit off a body and into the Trail goal. These are not pretty goals, but they all count. The steady Gedig just found a way to get pucks through and was rewarded. I'm not saying Trail didn't do that at all because they obviously out shot the Caps. I'm just saying at times there was a slight hesitation. Shoot? Pass? Also behind their own goal delays in decision making was a problem. That half second hesitation can be the difference between getting a shot or clearing attempt through... or losing the puck. That hesitation also tends to come when the confidence is shaky and it's difficult to shrug that off.

These are small nit picks because there was very little to dislike in Trail's game tonight. They worked their butts off and battled hard all game. They won a lot of puck battles and created a lot of shots. They also played a very physical game with the kind of edge Smokies fans love. A large part of that came from the line of Abenante, Nugent and Josh McEwan. McEwan gave us a taste of what to expect from him when he took a roughing penalty seconds into the game. The 18 year old also fought a guy four inches taller than him and hit everything that he could get close to. That style suits Nugent just fine as he dropped the gloves himself and created a lot of havoc the Cowichan Valley zone. That's two straight strong games from Nugent. It was also Abenante's best game this season. He probably had more chances than any other Smoke Eater out there tonight and very nearly had his first goal. One fan told me he felt Abenante played like a seasoned veteran and we named him the second star. I also thought the line of Mailey, Dyck and Bennett did similar things for most of the game.

Tonight was also the debut of Mitch Kaufmann. After a long drive from Alberta he found himself thrown right into the mix. I thought he did a very solid job out there. Especially after the first Capitals goal took an unlucky bounce off of him. Obviously Kaufmann has to get used to the systems and the guys he's playing with, but I think he'll come in here as advertised. He seems like a reliable guy who will make the smart and simple play. One fan told me that they're worried expectations for Kaufmann will be too high because everyone has been calling for a veteran D. Kaufmann has experience but he's not going to walk in here and be Brandon Clark from last year. Just give him a chance and I can tell he'll be a piece of the puzzle in improving Trail's play in their own zone... not the whole puzzle! We'll get likely a better look at him against Prince George.

There was a bit of a score for the Smoke Eaters tonight as Tye Lewis went down for an extended period in the first. Thankfully he made it back to the ice in short order. Lewis even found a way to put home his 7th of the year. Sam Mellor also scored his 6th. If you combine Lewis (7), Mellor (6), St. Denis (6) and Jacklin (4) they out score the rest of the roster 23-9. It's not that everyone else isn't creating chances, but they aren't finding the way to bury those chances. If Trail is going to have success the scoring has to be a lot more spread out than that.

Prince George is coming in to town Saturday night. The Spruce Kings and Smoke Eaters always have terrific battles. The games are usually very tight, physical and entertaining. There are skilled and gritty players on both teams. They are also both battling to turn the ship around after slow starts. Both teams lost close games tonight as the Sprucies got dropped 4-3 by Westside in overtime. Everything is lining up for what should be a good one. I hope we see more than 870 fans out for it. I suspect the KIJHL games in Beaver Valley, Castlegar and Grand Forks took away from the audience a little bit. If it's any incentive we'll be giving away another turkey for Thanksgiving!

ROBINSON

It's a weekend of Robinsons for the Smoke Eaters. Cowichan Valley Coach Scott Robinson brought his team in tonight while his son Brooks will suit up for Prince George in Trail tomorrow night. Jim Ingram has a long history with both of them as he coached with Scott in Cowichan and coached Brooks in Kerry Park. I'm sure the Smokies bench boss is hoping he doesn't go 0-2 against the Robinson clan this weekend! I had a chance to catch up with Scott Robinson before the game tonight for our PPV broadcast...

Cowichan Valley Coach Scott Robinson

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Robinson preaches patience for both the Capitals and Smoke Eaters fans. Can they live with early growing pains? I know some people are grumbling in both Duncan and Trail. However, patience with a young blue line can pay off by winter if you pick the right guys. I also wanted to mention how Robinson said it's not easy to find impact veterans at this point in the season. Nobody wants to give them up. You're not going to find one for left overs or future considerations when everyone is still hoping to be competitive. That's a good point for Smokies fans who expect the team to land an experienced 20 year old star defenceman out of thin air.

NOTES

...I want to say a friendly hello to all the parents in town for their weekend in Trail. I met a couple of them today and hopefully will get to see a few more tomorrow. Without question 95% of parents I meet and talk to are among the nicest people I've ever met. Hockey people are top notch. The Smokies parents I've met this year haven't changed my opinion that's for sure.

...After beating Trail 8-3 on Tuesday, Merritt fell 9-3 to the Alberni Valley Bulldogs tonight. Talk about the highest high to the lowest low for Cents fans. Again a young team going through some growing pains under a new coach. What BCHL team do you think has the best chance of starting slow and having a great second half? To me the Smokies stand out but I'm biased.

...Vernon and Penticton had another ridiculously tight battle tonight. This time the Vipers won it 2-1 in OT. It's going to be tough for any other team to stop these two from meeting in the Interior finals. If they do it might be the first time the two best teams in the country played just for a chance to get to the BCHL finals. They're both scary right now and will without question load up before the roster deadline.

...A couple of trades in the KIJHL. Beaver Valley sent 1991 born forward Zachary Thompson 1991 born defenceman Elliot Dixon to Grand Forks for what appears to be future considerations as there's no return. Thompson was at Trail's spring camp and has 6 points in 10 games. Grand Forks also added 1991 born forward Jesse Laird from Revelstoke and 1990 forward Gary Mahesh from Westshore in the VIJHL. Border Bruins Coach Jesse Dorrans told me this week he wanted to add another scoring line to his struggling team and it appears he has done just that. We'll see how the team reacts. In yet another deal Castlegar sent one of their leading scorers, 1990 forward Luke Richardson to Revelstoke for 1992 forward Dylan Richardson. I'm going to have to find out what prompted that move next week on Mountain FM's Overtime.

...Theo Fleury's tragically sad story of sexual abuse is just another example of why we should value the great majority of first class and trustworthy coaches who give their lives to help these young men become better players and better men. Thank goodness the bad seeds like Graham James are few and far between. Of course another lesson from that whole sad tale is how important it is to be careful who you trust with your children. Ultimately it's just great to see how Fleury has battled back from his rock bottom and seemingly found peace.

Ingram, Vandekamp on Trade

(Kaufmann at Rebels camp - Red Deer Advocate)

A couple of different perspectives have come in today on the deal that sent veteran forward Colin Lidster to Grande Prairie of the AJHL for 18 year old defenceman Mitch Kaufmann. First, I had the chance to chat with Smokies Coach and GM Jim Ingram at practice yesterday...

Ingram on Roster Moves

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Grande Prairie Coach and GM Mike Vandekamp (who used to coach in Merritt and Vernon) has some comments on the deal up on the Storm website.

Kaufmann, a six foot, 190-pound defenceman from Red Deer, was in his second year with the Storm. He saw limited playing time to start the season.

“We’ve been carrying what we feel is too many defencemen since the start of the season,” said Vandekamp. “That made it difficult to provide necessary playing time.

“Mitch has been caught in a numbers game at times. We felt this move would help him.”

It's really hard to know what the Smokies will get from Kaufmann. The newspaper report I linked to yesterday said he was steady and reliable. A Grande Prairie fan on the BCHL message board gave the impression he could be an offensive defenceman that could run a power play if given more of an opportunity. I suppose we'll find out soon enough! I'm not sure if Mitch will be in the line-up tonight, but surely we'll see him either tonight against Cowichan Valley or tomorrow against Prince George. I'm sure we'll see new forward Josh McEwan make his Smokies debut though. Both those games have 7:30pm puck drops at the Cominco Arena.

Smokies Add Kaufmann and McEwan

(Josh McEwan and Mitch Kaufmann)

The Trail Smoke Eaters made a couple of roster moves today leading into their home games against Cowichan Valley and Prince George this weekend. They traded 1989 born forward Colin Lidster to Grande Prairie of the AJHL for 1991 born defenceman Mitch Kaufmann and future considerations. Trail also added 1991 born forward Josh McEwan to their roster. He spent last season with the Langley Chiefs. To make room for McEwan the Smokies released 1989 born forward Riley Loyst. I'll have more details coming up shortly.

EDIT: So what does this move mean for the Smoke Eaters? First of all it creates a log jam on the back end. There are now nine defencemen on the roster. It also means the Smokies now have a third veteran on the blue line. Kaufmann may only be 18 years old but he has a year under his belt on a top team in the AJHL. As a rookie Kaufmann got ice time on a championship team throughout their playoff run. He only has one point in his Junior A career so I don't expect him to walk in to Trail and run the power play. That being said, I'm told he has a very good shot. He also had 15 points in 36 games with the Red Deer Optimist Rebels as a 16 year old in Midget AAA.

I don't think anyone should expect Kaufmann to walk in here and completely re-shape the back end. I would expect a solid player with some experience who can help calm things down in the Trail zone. That's the way he was described in an article on Kaufmann's try out with the WHL's Red Deer Rebels this fall:

“I think Mitch has played well. He’s been steady,” said (Rebels Head Coach Jesse) Wallin. “He’s got some junior A experience so he’s come in here and played with confidence because of that. He’s a steady guy. He doesn’t do anything real flashy but he’s solid in his own zone, he makes a good first pass and doesn’t get himself in much trouble. As a result, he’s certainly garnered some attention that way and he’ll get a longer look.”

That's the kind of player the Smokies could use right now. Smart, simple and effective play. I know Kaufmann is excited to be coming to Trail and should be in town in time for this weekend's home games against Cowichan Valley and Prince George.

As for the addition of Josh McEewan, he is another player who should make a difference with his two-way game. Josh had a goal and a couple of assists last season with the Langley Chiefs. McEwan also made a very tough Fernie Ghostriders squad when he was 16 years old. He only had 11 points in the regular season, but Josh upped his game in a big way with 9 points in 19 playoff games as Fernie won the KIJHL Championship. He also had 119 penalty minutes that season and 90 last year with Langley. McEwan has been skating with the Smokies for over a week now without any promises. He came in to prove himself and show the organization that he has what it takes to wear the orange and black. Coach Ingram says he's exactly the kind of player he likes and a guy who has told the coach that he will do anything and play whatever role it takes to get onto the roster. That kind of attitude and determination is exactly the kind of way to get Ingram's attention. Now we'll see how Josh can do if all the paperwork gets taken care of before the games this weekend.

As for the departures, it is always tough to see anyone go. Riley Loyst was a guy who always worked hard and played a very determined game. He battled back from two broken jaws and always busted his butt. I hope Riley can land somewhere to finish off his junior hockey career in style.

We know where Colin Lidster is going to go. The big man will now have a chance to show his stuff on the defending AJHL champions. Colin came to Trail to try and show that he could be a top 6 player and put up some big points in his 20 year old season. The performance of some of the new Smokies forwards like Lewis, Mellor and Wilkins made that less likely. Rather than play out his final season here on the bottom 6 we'll see if Lidster can head to Alberta and make a loud impression with a perennial power house in that league. He's a guy with a great stride and good shot on a huge frame... if he can put it all together the Storm may reap the rewards.

I certainly wish both Loyst and Lidster the best.

With their departure and the previous release of Devon Murtagh the Smokies also find themselves with three free 20 year old slots. Does that mean they'll fill those spots? Not necessarily. However, it does give Coach Ingram the flexibility to add a few more veterans should the opportunity present itself. I suspect there are still some moves to be made. For now we'll get our first look at the new additions tomorrow night against Cowichan Valley and Saturday night against Prince George. The Smokies are tough to beat at the Cominco Arena, especially if we get another great crowd like last Saturday night.

NOTES

...With the departure of Colin Lidster there was an opening for another alternate captain. Second year defenceman Graeme Strukoff will now have an 'A' on his jersey for the Smokies. Congratulations to Strukoff who is a first class citizen on and off the ice. I talk often to his father and I can see where it comes from. The "bull in a china shop" is one of two 18 year old members of Trail's leadership team with Justin Brown. Hopefully they will both be big parts of the team for the remainder of their junior careers.

...My condolences to the Vernon Vipers and the family of Wayne Buck. The former Vipers PA announcer passed away recently. He was the man behind the mic for 15 years.

...What kinds of things would make your Christmas time experience at a BCHL hockey game a little more exciting? Let me know via e-mail shawnsamsmullin@hotmail.com

...Some BCHL broadcasters got together today for what I believe is the first broadcasters pool. There are 8 of us in there and I'll keep you up to date as the season goes on. That is unless I find myself at the bottom of the standings! I've got Ovechkin on my team so I've at least got that going for me.

...Tomorrow's game by the way is another chapter in the mentor vs. student battle between Capitals Coach Scott Robinson and Smokies Coach Jim Ingram. Ingram was at one point Robinson's assistant in Cowichan Valley. The Caps beat Trail in the only match-up between the two teams last year. Both squads are struggling in the standings and will be playing desperate hockey. It should be entertaining.

Post Game Audio: Merritt 8 Trail 3

(Andrew Pickering)

Former Smoke Eater Andrew Pickering had two assists in his debut as a Centennial in an 8-3 win over Trail last night. The game was another example this season of how major defensive blunders can turn a competitive hockey game against the Smokies. All three first period goals saw a Merritt forward with an absurd amount of time and space to operate in front of the Trail net. It happened again on the fifth goal. Those coverage errors were the difference in the game in my view. That and the fact that Merritt was opportunistic while Trail couldn't find the handle on their many chances against the strong play of Cents goalie Keith Hamilton. With 103 saves in just two starts this season Hamilton is quickly making a name for himself. He could be a key cog in a return to the playoffs for the Centennials.

Lost in today's loss is a dandy goal by Sam Mellor who swiped the puck at the red line and made a great one on one deke before putting the puck in by Hamilton. Sean Nugent had his best game of the season as he scored, dropped the gloves at a key time and battled hard for pucks all night long. The Nugent/Bennett/Abenante line showed a lot of grit and tenacity for the second straight game. It's an odd unit that seems to have found some traction as an energy line. Steve Koshey scored today as well to continue his history of putting up points against Merritt. He just seems to find the net when playing against the Centennials. That was the Trail native's second goal of the year and both of them were in Merritt.

The Smokies have to start finding a way to play better on the road. Their schedule continues to be road heavy throughout this and next month. 20 of their first 29 games are on the road and so far they've only made it through 7 of them. The travel schedule and distance is very difficult, but they're going to find themselves in a mightily huge hole if they can't find a way to start putting up some points away from the Cominco Arena. The Smokies remain a strong home team and I would expect two very good efforts on Friday night against Cowichan Valley and on Saturday against Prince George. Hope to see you there!

Nelson Ford Trail Smoke Eaters Hockey on Mountain FM Highlights: Trail 3 at Merritt 8

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Pre-Game Interview with Merritt Forward Andrew Pickering

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Post Game Audio: Trail 5 Burnaby 4 (OT)

(Tye Lewis and Jimmy Geerin - Photo Randy Emery)

Click here for video highlights from Saturday's game. Here is some audio that aired tonight on Mountain FM's Overtime as the Smoke Eaters get set for their re-match with Merritt on Tuesday night. Don't forget our broadcast of Nelson Ford Trail Smoke Eaters Hockey will be live on Mountain FM at 6:45. Incidentally, one of the interviews in this post is with former Smoke Eater Dylan Herold from before Saturday's game.

Smokies Coach Jim Ingram

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Captain Paul Mailey

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Forward Tye Lewis

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Forward Darnell Dyck

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Goaltender Garrett Beckwith

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Burnaby Captain Dylan Herold (Pre-Game)

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NOTES

...Eddie Gregory has the Burnaby perspective from Saturday's game and the rest of their Interior trip. Their winless visit to this part of the province reminds me a lot of when Victoria had the same trouble last season. Burnaby is a very good team and will I'm sure continue to be a force in the Coastal Conference. They've got 17 guys who are at least 6 feet tall! Gregory says they likely really missed their Captain Dylan Herold on Saturday. It's nice to see his career has reached the potential many thought Dylan had after two seasons in Trail. I hope that progression keeps up.

...Speaking of former Smoke Eaters, Merritt picked one up just before their game against Trail. The Cents dealt defenceman Brad Bourke to Prince George for forward Andrew Pickering. Both players are 20 year olds whose starts don't quite match up with what they are capable of producing. Pickering at different points of last season was a point per game player for both Trail and Prince George. Bourke has 22 points in 30 games after being moved to Merritt from the AJHL. So far this year Pickering has 4 points in 8 games while Bourke played much of the first month at forward and hadn't really found his game under the new Merritt staff. I think this kind of a deal could be very good for both sides as it may be a classic example of a change of scenery and new opportunity re-igniting a player's season. I know last season I was very impressed by both players and expect they will both be key cogs with their new teams. Looking forward to catching up with Andrew in Merritt and to seeing how he'll fit in with this scrappy Merritt squad. Click here for the Cents blog take on the trade and click here for the Sprucies blog take on the deal.

...The Vernon Vipers finally lost! For the first time since the fourth game of the BCHL finals last season Vernon tasted defeat on Saturday. What an impressive run for a team that is really an example of a well oiled machine. As for the Vees, they appear to have been badly out shot in the game, but they got a couple of key things that count more than shots. Denver Manderson and Sean Bonar proved their worth as clutch players with the game winning goal and shut out respectively. The Vees are a very skilled team who also showed on Saturday that they can grind it out with the best. I expect that match up will be a very good one all year long. Click here for the VDHF blog report and click here for all the fallout on Ryan Pinder's Boston Pizza Vees This Week broadcast. By the way the Vipers and Vees are ranked 1 and 2 in the country this week. Who said the Interior Conference was tough?

...Some credit to the Kootenay Major Midget team this week. After a 9-0 loss to the Okanagan Rockets on Saturday they pulled up their socks and battled their butts off in a 4-3 loss on Sunday morning. There are a ton of challenges in putting together a Major Midget team in this area and these boys deserve a ton of credit for battling hard. If they keep heading in the right direction like that the wins will come.

...Former Smoke Eater and Rossland native Patrik Martin had two points as his Simon Fraser University team hammered Selkirk College 11-0 in BCIHL action on the weekend. The Selkirk squad has a lot of talent and will find their way, but SFU looks like an early favourite.

...In the KIJHL, Erik Wentzel returned to Castlegar from Williams Lake and promptly scored a hat trick in an 11-1 win over Columbia Valley. Spencer Brodt had 5 goals in Castlegar's two weekend victories. They were the team of the weekend in the Neil Murdoch Division and are now tied with Nelson for second in the division. They both also have three games in hand on Spokane. Beaver Valley lost both their weekend games, but after getting down 6-0 after the first period in Spokane the Nitehawks fought back to get within a goal. They ended up losing 8-5 on a couple of last minute goals, but it took a lot of heart for them to battle back like that when the game appeared to be over early. We are blessed with a lot of great hockey in the West Kootenay Boundary! I think all of Nelson, Beaver Valley, Castlegar and Grand Forks will provide us with some great drama and entertainment this year.

...I can't believe how many Vancouver Canuck fans are freaking out already. After three games I would say it's just a little bit early to panic!

Video Highlights: Trail 5 Burnaby 4 (OT)

Post Game: Trail 5 Burnaby 4 (OT)

(Smokies Celebrate - Photo Randy Emery)

What a game tonight at the Cominco Arena. Check out the box score. That had pretty much everything you could ask for. Back and fourth action. Great goals, great saves, big hits, a fight, lots of intensity, terrific puck battles and lots of drama. The over 1100 fans who came out to the game certainly went home with their money's worth. I do want to say how happy I was to see a nice big crowd out at the game despite the 8-2 loss in Penticton the night before. Smokies fans showed their support and the team responded with an entertaining victory. We need crowds like that all year.

Tye Lewis and Travis St. Denis continued to set the pace for the Smoke Eaters on the score sheet. St. Denis extended his point streak to 7 games and his goal scoring streak to 4 games with his power play marker in the 2nd period. Lewis extended his point streak to 5 games with a goal and a couple of assists. The two combined for 8 points over the 2 weekend games. I do want to mention though that they've had Paul Mailey doing a lot of the leg work for them at even strength. The Trail Captain got rewarded for that when he scored the opener today. Nick Sandor has also looked good with them on the PP. Lewis of course scored the dramatic overtime winner tonight. He made a terrific move at the Burnaby line before wiring a monster shot top shelf on Harrison May. It's a play that reminded me of the four dramatic overtime winners that Brandon Clark and St. Denis scored against Penticton last season at the Cominco Arena. It sure sent the crowd home happy.

This game actually could have been 4-1 Trail if the Smoke Eaters had been able to cut each period down to 19 minutes. They allowed a goal in the final minute of each period that allowed Burnaby to twice take late leads and in the third tie the game. The Smokies got a bit scrambly in those final minutes, but otherwise played a very solid and exciting game. The young defencemen will continue to have their moments, but they are absolutely making progress. Eric Walker especially is standing out as one of Trail's best on the back end despite only being 16 years old. He is playing with the poise and physical presence of a veteran. It's in his blood with a couple of uncles who played pro, but it also has to do with his work ethic.

I singled Walker out, but I really think all the rookies are coming along. That includes Tommy Rizzardo who made his debut as a full time member of the Smokies roster this weekend. There are going to be growing pains for Tommy (especially after not playing any pre-season games due to injury) and the rest of the inexperienced group, but they're going to get sharper and sharper every week. A rough start or some rough games are not surprising. However, the progress we're seeing is promising. Matthews is becoming a physical force who has good instincts. Piccard is just solid, battles for pucks and seems to know where to be. Chaput didn't play but has shown improved confidence moving the puck with each game he plays. As they improve it'll make life a little easier for Steve Koshey and Graeme Strukoff.

As for Wade Bennett, he did an admirable job jumping up to forward tonight. Wade played forward for most of his minor hockey career from what I understand. He converted to the blue line a couple of seasons ago. However, he didn't seem to have any trouble fitting in as he was called upon to make the jump up front tonight with Riley Loyst and Colin Lidster out of the line-up. Bennett I thought showed good instincts and won his share of puck battles in the corners.

The Brown/Sandor/Dyck line also had a heck of a hockey game. Brown and Dyck got huge goals in the third period to tie the game and put Trail ahead. They won a lot of puck battles and played some very solid hockey in their own end. It's a nice and balanced line that I'd like to see more of. Sandor has been a play maker so far this year with 8 assists already. He'll find the net soon. Brown and Dyck are really finding their extra gears after relatively slow starts for both of them. They're both complete players who are the types that Coach Ingram is really going to lean on.

The victory also gave Garrett Beckwith his first win as a Smoke Eater. I'm sure it was a big weight off of his shoulders. Beckwith didn't play poorly in his previous effort, but the team was just not clicking. Tonight it was a nice combination. Beckwith made some great stops and controlled his rebounds well while the team played a much better overall effort in front of him. Beckwith and Smiley are both sound and acrobatic goaltenders who I'm confident will continue to push each other in giving Trail top notch goaltending. I didn't talk about the Friday night game in Penticton on here, but Smiley deserves a lot of credit for some of the ridiculous saves he made in that one before the Smokies folded the tent on him in the third. Both guys deserve full marks for their play even if the stats don't back that up. As the team continues to improve the goaltenders will get numbers that reflect that. They should at least both know that they're doing their jobs.

There were a lot of skeptical fans in the crowd tonight as I made my walks around the rink. Fair enough. However, they saw a lot to be happy about out there tonight. It started with hard work and ended with a victory. That's points in three of four games for Trail and 19 goals in that span. We'll see if Trail can continue to build on that when they go for revenge Tuesday night in Merritt. Don't forget to tune into Mountain FM for that game and to Overtime tomorrow night for a boat load of reaction from the weekend.

NOTES

...Former Smoke Eater Dylan Herold had a chance to mingle with friends today during the game. The Burnaby Captain was suspended for being involved in the second fight after a whistle on Friday night in Salmon Arm. Too bad we didn't get to see Herold. He has really carved out a great spot for himself in Burnaby after a rough sophomore year in Trail and never really getting going in Merritt. Herold is putting up points, killing penalties and leading the Express in the locker room. Couldn't happen to a classier young man. I'll have an interview with him on the blog later this week. Another former Smoke Eater, Jimmy Geerin looked solid for Burnaby tonight. I always thought he was very good for Trail in half a season here.

...Penticton is the first team to knock off Vernon since April. Talk about an incredible run. It's going to be hard for anyone to stop the Vipers this season. The Vees certainly have the talent to test them. Doesn't sound like the game had anywhere near the action that the Burnaby/Trail game did, but a win is a win is a win.

...Meritt fired over 40 shots on Salmon Arm but still lost 7-3. The Cents will visit Westside Sunday before Trail comes to town on Tuesday.

...Beaver Valley lost twice this weekend in the KIJHL but will soon get a boost from the return of Kris Davis to their back end. Nelson beat the Nitehawks on Friday and will play Sunday. Grand Forks lost on the road Friday and plays Columbia Valley on Sunday. That same Rockies squad is coming off an 11-1 loss in Castlegar tonight. Erik Wentzel scored a hat trick and had an assist in his return to the Rebels.

...Can you think of a worse first game for a veteran NHL goaltender on a new team than what happened in Edmonton tonight?