Kings feed loss to Smoke Eaters
Ben Poisson leads way with pair of goals
Ben Poisson offered up a reminder Wednesday night why nobody in the B.C. Hockey League likes standing in front of the net when he lets the puck go.
That top-shelf roof shot he filed away into the corner of the Trail Smoke Eaters’ net over the glove of goalie Adam Marcoux, 3:18 into the third period, would have stopped a charging elephant dead in its tracks.
It certainly jeopardized the Smoke Eaters’ chances of mounting a comeback in their one and only regular-season visit to Rolling Mix Concrete Arena. They fell 4-1 to the Kings, and Poisson’s two goals, his 11th and 12th this season, proved the difference.
“Earlier on in the game I was coming up the middle and Max (Kings defenceman Coyle) was on that wall with the puck and he probably could have hit me for the same kind of play and he came in the room and said ‘Sorry, I should have hit you there,’” said Poisson.
“That time he actually hit me and it worked out well. I got all of it for sure.”
After holding the visitors to just two shots in a scoreless first period, the Spruce Kings fell behind by a goal when Chase Stevenson converted a Smoke Eaters’ power play 4:53 into the second period. Carter Jones nailed the post squarely and had a crack at the rebound before Stevenson dumped the puck in for his 11th of the season. It was the first goal for Stevenson in two games since arriving in a trade from Surrey.
The Kings’ Prince George connection – Cory Cunningham and Craig MacDonald – came up with a couple of quick moves in tight to the Trail net to score the tying goal 13 minutes into the second period. MacDonald took a pass from linemate Tyler Schleppe and fed the puck to Cunningham, who showed his soft hands dragging the puck across the crease to find a better shooting angle and he buried it.
It was the first action for Cunningham since he suffered a concussion when hit by a shot in a game against Penticton Nov. 3, which sidelined the 18-yearold Prince George native for four games.
Less than two minutes later, Poisson capped off a dominant shift of extended pressure in the Trail end of the rink by firing off a low wrist shot from the left side that slipped into the net behind Marcoux for a 2-1 lead.
“We were getting a lot of shots and (Marcoux) was playing well and finally when Cory got one that opened up the floodgates,” said Poisson.
The Kings dominated the play, outshooting the Smokies 35-19. According to Tyler Lund, the Smoke Eaters’ analytics observer, Prince George had puck possession for 73 per cent of the game.
“It always makes it tough when you’re chasing it,” said Smoke Eaters head coach Jeff Tambellini. “We had a young lineup tonight and didn’t find a way to take advantage of our chances. We had a 1-0 lead and chances to make it 2-0 and didn’t capitalize.
“You never want to give top players time and space in the middle of the ice. That’s a pretty simple rule in any league you play in. That’s a very structured team and they’re going to have a chance to win because of that.”
Dylan Anhorn netted the Kings’ fourth goal late on a power play, deflecting in a point shot from fellow defenceman Nick Bochen.
Logan Neaton made 17 saves for his 14th win in goal for the Spruce Kings, improving his league-leading goals-against average to 1.93.
The Kings (18-7-1-1) will board the bus this morning for the trek to Chilliwack, where they face the league-leading Chiefs Friday and Saturday. The Kings are two points behind the Chiefs (20-80-0), who defeated the visiting Langley Rivermen 2-1 Wednesday night.
In the only other meetings between the teams this season, the Spruce Kings swept the seasonopening weekend series with the Chiefs at RMCA Sept. 7-8, winning 5-1 and 2-1.
“We’re chasing Chilliwack and this gets us close so this weekend is kind of for first place now,” said Poisson.