Jameson Murray played 47 regular-season games for the Trail Smoke Eaters – one of the highest-scoring teams in the BCHL - and had just one goal to show for it.
With two sweeps of his hockey stick Murray doubled that output in the third period Tuesday night at Rolling Mix Concrete Arena.
His two goals spiked a dagger into the heart of the Prince George Spruce Kings, the difference in a 3-1 victory which completed a first-round playoff sweep that ended the season for the defending BCHL champions.
Murray’s series-winner came 1:54 into the third period. The Smoke Eaters had their top line on the ice and they won possession of the puck in the Kings zone. Phillippe Lapointe let go a shot through traffic in front of the crease that Carter Woodside somehow blocked with a remarkable stacked-pad save which drew a delayed penalty. With the extra skater, the Smoke Eaters kept the puck in the Kings’ end and Kent Johnson, while falling, chipped the puck back to the point for Kyle Budvarson, who sent it over to his defence partner Murray. The former WHL veteran then let go a quick shot that found the top corner of the net for the series winner.
‘I thought Phil was going to shoot it in and I got the puck at the top of the right circle and somehow it squeaked through, I’m pretty sure it hit off the goalie’s pad,” said Murray, whose empty-netter with 1;17 left sealed the win.
“It was a big game for us and P.G. came out strong, they pushed it in the first but in the second and third we got our game back and took the game from them. We know each series is going to be hard and P.G. came out strong every game and we just battled through and got the win. ”
The hurt of losing out in the first round was easy to read on the teary-eyed faces of disappointment as the players shuffled out of the dressing room after the game to meet with their parents and families in the stands. For graduating juniors – Jarin Sutton, Nolan Welsh, Jett Alexander and Preston Brodziak - and college recruits - Nick Poisson, Nick Bochen and the injured Chong Min Lee - this was their last hurrah as Spruce Kings.
“We did not want it to be our last game and just came out here and gave 100 per cent effort and tried to do anything to get another game but we just got a little unlucky,” said Bochen, a Quinnipiac University recruit for 2020-21. “I’m just sad to see it over so soon. We just had a couple unlucky bounces.
“We had tons of chances but (Trail goalie Logan Terness) was a big part of keeping the win for them there.”
Poisson, who was part of last year’s team that got to within one win of a national title, admitted the turnover of losing 17 players from that team made the season an uphill struggle and left the Kings short of what it would take to upset the heavily-favoured Smoke Eaters.
“That’s a team that has a ton of top-end talent but they also have a ton of experience on their roster and that’s something we lacked,” said Poisson, who is moving on to NCAA hockey next season at Providence College.
“We had not a lot of guys who had played playoff hockey before but I’m really proud of the way we played. That team hasn’t played four games like that in a row all year and I don’t think they’ve been beat up on as badly as we beat them up. When you have top scorers in the league chipping in pucks basically every other shift, it’s uncomfortable for them and that’s something we took pride in, in this series.”
The Spruce Kings came to the ice sporting a different look, wearing red helmets with their home white jerseys, trying to shake themselves out of a home-ice drought and stay alive in the best-of-seven series after the Smokies won the first three games.
Woodside drew the start in net for Prince George for his first BCHL playoff action, after three solid efforts from Jett Alexander, who held the potent Smoke Eaters to just two goals in each of the first two games.
Woodside came up big with a couple of tough saves in the first five minutes, including a breakaway stop on Matt Osadick. The Kings had their chances as well but couldn’t beat Terness, the BCHL rookie of the year , who shut out the Kings 4-0 in Game 3 on Monday. That shutout string came to an end with 2:18 left in the first period, on a Prince George power play.
Prince George minor hockey product Corey Cunningham gained the puck in the face-off circle and hit the nitro switch for a quick spurt that gained him free ice in the slot and he wired a hard wrist shot that found a seam under Terness’s arm.
“That seemed to be the theme of the series, “ said Kings head coach Alex Evin. “Game 1 we were up by one and couldn’t get it done and Game 2 was tight and could have gone either way and Game 3 we were down 1-0 going into the third, and same thing tonight, it was a 2-1 hockey game.
“I think we did a lot of good things. We played an extremely talented hockey team that obviously had trouble scoring, so we did a great job in that department, but unfortunately we were just short every game. Both teams played well in the series, unfortunately they were a bit better in each area. Their goalie was just a bit better than ours, their power play and PK were just a bit better than ours and it was close.
“I’m proud of the guys for the effort they put in.”
Both teams had their chances In the second period. Kings captain Nolan Welsh spotted Cunningham rushing the net on a fast-break foray and put a hard pass on the stick blade of his linemate that got through Terness’s legs. The puck was laying on the goal line when Trail defenceman Cody Schiavon cleared it to safety. On the ensuing rush, Schiavon nailed the goalpost behind Woodside.
The Smokies tied it up late in the second period, converting on their third power play of the game. Chase Dafoe sent a cross-ice pass to Lapointe and his one-timer from the face-off dot knocked Woodside’s water bottle off as the puck sailed into the net.
The Smoke Eaters won both games in Trail by 2-1 counts, including an overtime win on Saturday.
“It was a good test for us, it’s a very structured team over there and we knew the game would be extremely tight,” said Smoke Eaters head coach Jeff Tambellini. Our guys just found a way to get it done every night, our best players stepped up. Our goalie was our best player in the series. When you only give up three goals in a full series you’ve got a pretty good chance.
“They trapped and played defence and there were parts of that game they weren’t even trying to score, it felt like, they were just trying to defend us. It’s hard to get through - it felt like playing Norway or Switzerland in the world championship - but that was what they believed would be their strength and it gave them a chance in all the games.”
The Smoke Eaters, the second seed in the Interior Conference, will move on to the second round next Friday to host the third-seed Salmon Arm Silverbacks, who beat the Victoria Grizzlies 3-2 Tuesday in Victoria to wrap up that series in four games.
B.C. Hockey League playoffs
Trail Smoke Eaters vs. Prince George Spruce Kings
(Smoke Eaters win best-of-seven series 4-0)
Game 4
Tuesday’s summary
Smoke Eaters 3 at Spruce Kings 1
First Period
1. Prince George, Cunningham 1 (Welsh, Williams) 17:42 (pp)
Penalties – Lapointe Tr (hooking) 3:25, Poisson PG (boarding) 12:53, Ozar Tr (high-sticking) 17:13.
Second Period
2. Trail, Lapointe 3 (Dafoe, DiMurro) 15:01 (pp)
Penalties - Cunningham PG (charging) 8:01, Williams PG (hooking) 12:33, Briere Tr (goaltender interference) 18:49.
Third Period
3. Trail, Murray 1 (Budvarson, Johnson), 1:54
4. Trail, Murray 2 (Johnson) 18:43 (en)
Penalties – Osadick Tr (tripping) 10:09, Colella Tr (unsportsmanlike conduct), Bochen PG (interference) 14:14.
Shots on goal by
Trail 11 12 8 -31
Prince George 13 9 3 -25
Goal – Trail, Terness (W,4-0); Prince George, Woodside (L,0-1).
Power plays – Tr: 1-3;PG: 1-4.
Referees – Nick Panter, Matt Hicketts; Linesmen – Tyler Garden, Braiden Epp.
Attendance – 862.
Scratches – Trail: F Tyler Ghiardosi (knee injury), D Jackson Murphy-Johnson; Prince George: LW Wil Kushniryk (suspended), D Amran Bhabra (healthy), F Haydn Delorme (healthy).
