PENTICTON BC – A couple of points from Corey Cunningham was not quite enough this afternoon as the Spruce Kings fell to the Trail Smoke Eaters 7-4 at the BCHL Showcase Festival in Penticton.
In the opening frame, the Smoke Eaters held the Spruce Kings without a shot in the opening ten minutes. It took until 15:42 of the first when defenseman Kyle Budvarson sneaked the puck underneath the blocker of Jack McGovern to give Trail the lead. Just over three minutes later, Michael Colella fired the puck past McGovern to double the Trail lead, putting them up 2-0 after one period.
In the second, Colby Elmer got the puck in the slot and fired it past McGovern to give the Smoke Eaters a 3-0 lead. The Elmer marker came at 2:43. 22 seconds later, the Spruce Kings got some life. Preston Brodziak fired home a rebound off a Kolton Cousins shot, to get PG on the board. Less than two minutes later, Chong Min Lee continues to impress as he put the puck past goaltender Donavan Buskey to put the Spruce Kings within one. At 5:55, it was Collela again scoring his 2nd of the afternoon to give Trail a 4-2 lead. The Smoke Eaters continued to pour it on as both Owen Ozar and Collela scored in the 2nd to put Trail up 6-2 after 40 minutes.
In the third period, it was a perfect start for Prince George. Corey Cunningham fired the puck past Buskey to make it 6-3 on the power play. It was then Kent Johnson at 4:12 who put the puck past McGovern on a 2 on 1 to net home Trail’s 7th of the afternoon. Fin Williams scored the power play late in the third but it was not enough as the Smoke Eaters skated to a 7-4 win at the BCHL Showcase.
Next up for the Spruce Kings is a 4-game home stand, beginning Friday night against the Nanaimo Clippers, and Saturday night against the Salmon Arm Silverbacks. You can get your tickets online on the Spruce Kings website, or you can come in to the Spruce Kings office at the RMCA (opens Monday from 10-4).
