Spruce Kings appeared defenceless; fans observed as restless; Smoke Eaters emerged victorious.
Game Three Monday night (March 2) at the Rolling Mix Concrete Arena proved to be a tall order on the scoresheet for the Prince George Spruce Kings, resulting in a 4-0 shutout loss to Trail and have now fallen behind 0-3 in the best-of-seven BCHL playoff series.
This was the fifth straight loss for Prince George in their home barn.
Fans’ frustrations grew in the third period, voicing disagreements over the officiating and two penalties that led to two Smokies’ goals.
This summed up Monday night (March 2) for @SpruceKings fans as they voiced displeasure towards the Game 3 officiating against Trail, which Prince George was ultimately shut out 4-0 & find themselves down 0-3 in opening-round playoff series with Smoke Eaters | #CityOfPG @PGMatters pic.twitter.com/flSL7GvYKG
— Kyle Balzer (@KyleBalzer) March 3, 2020
Goaltender Jett Alexander made 29 saves on 33 shots, while Trail’s rookie netminder Logan Terness earned his first playoff shutout by turning away all 26 shots.
Kent Johnson, the BCHL’s top regular-season scorer with 101 points, recorded two assists and was one of three Smoke Eaters with multi-point nights.
Michael Colella got a goal and two assists; Owen Ozar got one goal and one assist.
The Spruce Kings were in a reciprocal situation compared to last year when they went up 3-0 on the Coquitlam Express in the opening round.
By game’s end, Spruce Kings had 16 penalty-minutes on the scoresheet to Smoke Eaters’ 10 đź“ť Trail went 2/6 on special teams while PG only had 3 full man-advantages in Game 3.
— Kyle Balzer (@KyleBalzer) March 3, 2020
▪️Shots on goal = 33-26 Trail
▪️Jett Alexander = 29 saves for PG
▪️Game 4 tomorrow (March 3) pic.twitter.com/2mfv1HgyP7
This time, they’ll have to win four games in a row to advance to the Interior Conference semi-finals.
That quest to extend the season begins tonight (March 3), 7 p.m. from the RMCA in Game Four.
Should Prince George win, Game Five will be played on Thursday (March 5).
