The Trail Smoke Eaters open a three-game weekend road trip tonight in Powell River.
The Smokies hope to pick up where they left off from last Saturday’s dominant 7-3 win over Prince George.
Ridge Dawson led the attack with two goals, while ‘the Adams’: Barone, Parsons and Marshall each had a goal and two assists, while outshooting the Spruce Kings 28-8 through the first 40 minutes and 39-18 overall.
The Kings are hoping to end a five-game losing streak, but their worst setback during that stretch was a 4-2 loss to Penticton at the BCHL showcase.
The teams met once in the preseason, with Trail taking a 7-3 victory during the BCHL Preseason Showcase at Cominco Arena. Mathieu Cobetto-Roy and Patrick Reilly would set the pace with two goals each, as the Smokies erupted for five goals in the third period.
Ridge Dawson and Adam Marshall share the Smokies’ goal scoring lead with seven and Dawson’s 15 points also tops Trail’s points parade. Adam Marshall is coming off an outstanding week with four goals and two assists while the Smokies won two of three games.
Anthony Yu tops the Kings in points with 20, including a team-leading 16 assists. Alexi Van Houtte-Cachero is the Kings’ goal scoring leader with nine.
The Smoke Eaters should do their best to stay out of the penalty box. The Kings’ power play is operating at over 35% overall and at home.
The Smokies get top-four defenseman, Lucas Marshall back for the Powell River game after serving a two-game suspension and it’s hoped veteran winger, Ethan Mann will return during this road trip after missing 11 games with an upper body injury.
Trail will be putting in many hours on buses and ferries during the trip, with a Saturday evening date against the Chiefs in Chilliwack, as well as a Sunday afternoon showdown against the currently unbeaten Eagles in Surrey.
The game in Powell River starts at 7 p.m. Fans can listen on Mixlr or watch the action on FloHockey.