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.

Game Day: Williams Lake at Trail

This is a match-up between two teams who were once in the same spot now headed in different directions. It wasn't too long ago that Trail and Williams Lake were less than a handfull of points away from one another. However, since December 5th the Timberwolves have lost 12 of their last 13 games and they're currently in the midst of an 8 game losing skid. Meanwhile, the Smoke Eaters have points in their last 6 games and have won 4 of them.

For Williams Lake this is essentially a must win game if they have any hope of getting back in the playoff race. They basically have to win every game they have left against teams in the bottom 5 of the Interior and get some big upsets against top teams. For Trail it's a matter of building on their recent strong play. A let down against the Timberwolves gives up hugely valuable points and could derail some of their positive momentum. It's a huge game for both teams, and should be a game where they both play desperate hockey. Let's take a look at the season series...

September 27: Williams Lake 2 at Trail 7
October 30: Trail 1 at Williams Lake 6
November 21: Trail 9 at Williams Lake 6

It's been a strange series as the games in Williams Lake were very sloppy from a Trail perspective. After their first meeting in late September it seemed like the Smokies had Williams Lake outclassed. However, the re-match up north was perhaps one of the better games the Timberwolves have played all season as they dominated Trail. The third game between the two teams was a very strange game that saw the team's trade 3 goals on the same power play (Trail twice shorthanded and Williams Lake once) and score a total of 15 goals.

POWER PLAY

Trail: 5/16 (31%)
Williams Lake: 7/17 (41%)

TRAIL TOP SCORERS

1. F Nick Sandor (3-5-8)
2. F Scott Jacklin (2-5-7)
3. F Sam Mellor (4-1-5)
3. F Mike Betz (3-2-5)
3. F Travis St. Denis (2-3-5)

WILLIAMS LAKE TOP SCORERS

1. F Jason Diehl (3-2-5)
1. F Danny Mert (1-4-5)
3. F Ryan Stanimir (2-2-4)
4. F Trent Mudoch (1-2-3)

GOALTENDERS

1. Kiefer Smiley (TRA) 2-0, 4.13GAA, 0. 880%
2. Sean Donnelly (WL) 1-1, 5.00GAA, 0.857%
3. Evan Dauenhauer (WL) 0-1, 6.00GAA, 0.900%
4. Garrett Beckwith (TRA) 0-1, 7.01GAA, 0.826%

ROSTER

Trail

Williams Lake

BROADCAST

There is no home radio broadcast, but the game is available on BCHL PPV. I will also be taking care of the Williams Lake radio broadcast tonight.

Recent Smokies Audio, BCHL Notes

Graeme Strukoff on BCHL All-Star Game

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Smokies Coach Jim Ingram on the weekend ahead

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Smokies Goaltender Kiefer Smiley after Merritt win

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Smokies Forward Justin Brown after Merritt win

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Smokies Assistant Coach Barry Zanier after Merritt win

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Smokies Forward Justin Brown after Merritt win

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NOTES

...A lot of news out of Burnaby this week. The BCHL approved their relocation to Coquitlam and they fired their head coach. Check out Eddie Gregory's Burnaby Expressions blog for all the details. It looks like they'll get a fresh start when the team moves next season. Will wins and will fans follow?

...The expansion Dawson Creek Rage of the NAHL have hired former Cowichan Valley Coach Scott Robinson to be their first Coach/GM. That's a great hire for a new club. Talk about a guy who has connections not only all throughout the BCHL but also the rest of the Junior A hockey world. They must have been willing to make a significant investment in their coaching to lure Scott off Vancouver Island before he had a chance to go for any BCHL vacancies in the off season.

...Vernon beat the BCHL All-Stars 7-2 on Wednesday. I talked to someone else in the BCHL who expressed a significant amount of surprise at the result. I wasn't shocked at all. The Vipers have four lines of guys who could be top 6 players and a lot of them have played together for two seasons or more. The skill discrepancy wasn't so high that it would negate the advantage a well established team would have. I think it's a poor way to show off the BCHL's top players because in a way it made them look bad. What do you expect when you put a team together that has no history with one another against a team as good as Vernon? Notice Nanaimo gave them a better run yesterday than the All-Stars did.

...The Neil Murdoch team dominated the Eddie Mountain team in the KIJHL All-Star Game live on Mountain FM. Most of the Neil Murdoch scoring game from the players who make up the Beaver Valley, Castlegar, Nelson and Spokane rosters. It's not a surprise that it is the most competative division in the league. Former Smoke Eater AP Jason Greenwell was terrific in goal as he pitched a first half shut out.

...In the BCHL last night the playoff race at the bottom of the Interior just got tighter. Prince George broke their recent losing streak with a 6-4 win in Quesnel while Merritt lost a tight 3-2 game against Penticton. As a result, PG is now 3 points behind Trail for 7th while Trail remains a single point behind Quesnel and Merritt for 5th.

Smokies Retro Jersey Auction

For those of you looking for your chance to bid on a certain player's jersey here are the current bids. If you want to try and top the current bid send an e-mail to Tom at remax1@telus.net

• Kiefer Smiley: $140
• Garrett Beckwith: $140
• Graeme Strukoff: $130
• Wade Bennett: $125
• Curtis Tonello: $125
• Eric Walker: $130
• Steve Koshey: $200
• Tommy Rizzardo: $150
• Travis St. Denis: $500
• Darnell Dyck: $125
• Sam Mellor: $200
• Scott Jacklin: $125
• Matt Wilkins: $130
• Nick Sandor: $125
• Josh McEwan $130
• Mike Betz: $125
• Sean Nugent: $125
• Justin Brown: $150
• Thomas Abenante: $135
• Taylor Swaffield: $125
• Steve Oursov: $130
• Paul Mailey: $175
• Mitch Kaufmann: $150

The auction closes on January 30th at 6pm. All bids must include a name and phone number.

KIJHL All-Star Game Tonight

The KIJHL is holding their All-Star game tonight at the Beaver Valley Arena in Fruitvale. I know tickets have gone fast but you should still have a chance to get in and see the game if you come out before the 7pm puck drop. It should be a great show.

There was a lot of talk at the banquet yesterday about how much this game could mean to the players involved. Often All-Star games are low on competitiveness and high on goofing around. The message at the banquet was that scouts are watching. One coach told me that one of their players got an opportunity to go to school partially because of the impression he made while participating in one of these games. Hopefully the message sunk in and we'll see a lot of fire from the players tonight.

There will be several local products on the Neil Murdoch squad. Familiar names to Smokies fans would be the likes of former Smoke Eater Scott Jago, AP Gavin Currie and Scott Morrisseau who just scored 2 goals against Trail as an AP for Merritt. One of the coaches for the Eddie Mountain team is also a familiar face as former Vernon Coach and GM Troy Mick will be behind the bench along with Princeton's Dale Hladune. Simon Wheeldon of the Nelson Leafs coaches the Neil Murdoch squad. Mountain FM will have live coverage of the game starting with our pre-game show at 6pm and play by play at 7pm. If you can't make us listen in. If you can make it you'd be doing yourself a big favour by coming down to the Beaver Valley Arena to watch the best of the best that the KIJHL has to offer and the future of the BCHL, WHL and college ranks.

All Star Game Intro

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Eddie Mountain Coach Troy Mick

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KIJHL President Bill Ohlhausen

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Beaver Valley Nitehawks Coach Terry Jones

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Video Highlights: Trail 5 Merritt 2

Stay tuned to the Smokies blog and to Mountain FM for the lates on the BCHL and KIJHL trade deadline. We'll have the latest KIJHL moves during the morning news run on Drex and Johnson's show starting at 6am. Scroll down the blog for the latest on the BCHL trade deadline. Thanks to all of you for making Sunday the busiest day this blog has ever had despite the relative lack of action.

Spruce Kings Clean House, Pickering Traded

A couple of days ago I suggested that the Prince George Spruce Kings were likely sellers at the deadline... and they were. However, what I didn't count on was how little they would actually do to help other BCHL clubs.

The Spruce Kings instead made 4 of their 5 deals with teams in the AJHL. All of the deals saw Prince George pick up future considerations in return. Next year's team could be an interesting one as a result. The only BCHL club to benefit from the Prince George house cleaning is the Surrey Eagles who add veteran defenceman Josh Pineiro. Pineiro is a very solid vet, but his production has tailed off after a start that had him on a point per game pace. He should help Surrey at both ends of the ice.

Prince George also moved Brooks Robinson back to Alberta as the son of former Caps Coach Scott Robinson is now a member of the Fort McMurray Oil Barons. Goaltender Steve Papciak also returns to the Alberta league, but this time with Canmore. As far as I can tell Papciak was the only goalie with a winning record for Prince George this season as they've kind of had a revolving door between the pipes. Talented Forward Marcus Watson's stay with PG was a short one as he is now off to join the Grande Prairie Storm.

As much as all of those guys could be key additions for the teams they find themselves with, I would say that Wes McLeod is likely the biggest fish leaving the Spruce Kings. I heard speculation all around the BCHL about who could get him. There were even people in Trail last night telling me the Smokies should go after him. Trust me when I say the price was way too high for a team with as much young talent as Trail. A lot of that talent would be in Spruce Kings colours next season if that was the move they made. There was talk that everyone from Vernon to Salmon Arm to Flin Flon wanted to take a crack at McLeod. Who won the sweepstakes? The Spruce Grove Saints.

Why is McLeod so valuable? Anyone who has seen him play doesn't need me to answer that question. He's a point per game guy from the back end who is very solid in all aspects. He played for Team Canada West and is a multiple time All-Star. He's also only 19 and as such doesn't take up a 20 year old spot. Why should we care that he's going to Spruce Grove? The Saints are the best team in Alberta and may in fact be the best team in Canada. They've only lost 3 times in regular all season. Now a team that good can add a player of McLeod's status... not paying the price to get him could end up coming back to haunt whichever team wins the BCHL championship and has to face Spruce Grove in the Doyle Cup.

It looks like (at least for now) Prince George Captain Sam Muchalla is staying put. The 1990 born forward could have fetched a huge price on the open market. However, he is a Prince George native and I bet the Spruce Kings wanted to keep him in their uniform before he heads off to school next year. The Sprucies also kept the likes of Zac Rasmussen, Joe Morgan and Brad Bourke who could have been key additions for contending clubs. While it certainly looks like Prince George is throwing in the towel on this season, they do still have some significant talent. The reason I say that is because I'm sure some fans in Trail, Merritt and Quesnel just got a little more comfortable with their playoff spot. Don't count on it yet! Ed Dempsey's club isn't going to go out without a fight. Sometimes a house cleaning of veteran talent like this can motivate guys and create an "us against the world" environment.

They've got nothing to lose so don't start making playoff reservations yet.

PICKERING A VEE

Former Smoke Eater Andrew Pickering is on the move again. After starting his career with Victoria he has now seen stops in Trail, Prince George, Merritt and now Penticton. As Brian reported over at Making Cents, Pickering apparently asked to be moved to a contender. His wish has been granted. There are few if any teams more poised to make a run for it all than the Vees.

In return the Cents will add the services of Sam Gemmell. Gemmell's stay with the Vees was a short one, but there should be an opportunity to prove himself with the Cents. The other good thing for Merritt fans is that Gemmell is only a 1990 born forward so he could return next season while Pickering is in his final year of junior.

I also heard about this deal from a couple of other sources earlier today but they were holding off reporting it until the league approved the deal. Where does Pickering fit in Penticton? I suspect there's an opportunity for him to see some offensive ice with Eric Filiou on the shelf. However, there is a lot of depth on that Vees forward group. He'll have to play and produce consistently to get the kind of ice time he's had in his previous stops. Andrew is a very skilled hockey player who sees the ice very well. It'll be interesting to see how he fits in with the Vees.

SMALL DEALS

There were a couple of other small moves. Vernon sent 19 year old defenceman Nils Erik Soderlund to Winkler of the MJHL for futures. Soderlund is a big and talented defenceman who just didn't get enough of a chance to play in Vernon. They have a deep club and Soderlund found himself in the stands more often than not. Now that he'll get a chance to play more I expect he'll turn some heads. I wouldn't be surprised if he ended up back in this league next season. Now everyone is wondering if the move clears the way for Sahir Gill to return from the USHL.

Quesnel sent Defenceman Matt Hutchinson to the OCN Blizzard of the MJHL for future considerations. He looked solid in the games I saw him in but apparently wasn't in Quesnel's plans.

Is there more to come? Probably. A lot of these deals don't get reported until a full day later sometimes. Stay tuned for more including an update on the KIJHL. Also don't forget that teams can still add "free agents" if they have available cards. This isn't over just yet.