Game Report | NAN at TRA

A persevering and proficient penalty kill prospered to push the Smoke Eaters past the pesky Nanaimo Clippers, putting the brakes on a four game losing streak with a 3-2 victory.

The Smoke Eaters dominated the first forty minutes and if not for the several scintillating saves by Clippers goalie Valdimir Nikitin, it would have been a blowout.

The 19-year-old from Kazakhstan robbed Ridge Dawson who was fed a perfect pass by Judah Makway on a 2-on-0 break while shorthanded and seconds later stopped Makway on a breakaway.

The Smokies finally solved the 6’4″ puck stopper on a tic-tac-toe odd man passing play finished by Evan Sundar 1:37 into the second period, sending the Cominco Arena Crowd of 1,801 into a frenzy.

Trail’s persistent forecheck produced their second goal about ten minutes later.

Gryphon Bucci and Dylan Lariviere tag-teamed to win a puck battle along the boards with Brayden Sinclair sniping his 14th goal of the season and fourth as a Smoke Eater from the slot.

Clippers winger Justin Collins tapped in a two-on-one pass about three minutes after that to get Nanaimo on the board, but Trail’s top scorer restored the two goal lead with a minute and a half left in the second period.

Jason Stefanek popped up after being hit from behind into the boards and with six attackers during the delayed penalty, sent a seeing-eye snapper from the point through a twin-tower screen from the big bodies of Max Hense and Lariviere for his 26th tally of the season.

Trail carried a 3-1 lead and 27-12 margin in shots into the dressing room.

The Smokies continued to control the game until a five minute penalty put the league’s second ranked power play to work just past the eight minute mark.

The Smokies pressure-packed penalty kill, penchant for blocking shots and getting sticks in passing lanes fended off the Clippers’ extended man advantage, but the visitors scored five seconds after the penalty elapsed.

The puck bounced off Isaac Fecteau following his courageous and painful shot block, right to Tanner Bruender who hit the open corner.

The tension increased as Trail was assessed another two penalties in the late going, the second with 1:39 remaining.

The Clippers pulled Nikitin and the battle to the final buzzer was on.

The Smokies defended desperately and when shots got through, goalie Ryan Parker provided the last line of defense during the final flurry in Trail territory, with Trail killing off about seven-and-a-half shorthanded minutes down the stretch.

The Smokies outshot Nanaimo 33-22, were 0-for-3 on the power play and 4-for-4 on the penalty kill.

The Trail victory ended Nanaimo’s league-high 10 game points streak and was the first loss for Nikitin in seven starts since joining the Clippers.

Trail is off until Friday night, when the Brooks Bandits come to town. Great seats are still available. You can snap yours up at Tickets.TrailSmokeEaters.com.

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