The Nanaimo Clippers not only ran into a hot goaltender, but into a team that bought into a defense first system and smotherd the Clippers office all night. Trail would get on the board at 4:02 of the first on a goal by Luke Sandler on his own rebound.
In the 2nd the Smoke Eaters would catch a break as Braden Pears would throw the puck towards the net and have it bounce off a Nanaimo defender at 6:44. Just 19 seconds later Scott Davidson would tip home a point shot, and netminder Jayson Argue would be replaced with Derek Dun.
The Clippers would lose two forwards in the first half of the 3rd, as Aaron Hadley and Greg Fraser both would not return. On a penalty kill for Trail Luke Sandler would go in from the red line and put some moves on a Nanaimo defender and went top shelf on Dun to make it 4-0.
Final shots were 35-34 Nanaimo, however Trail blocked upwards to 40 shots in the game, proving that their defensive buy-in would lead to success.
Next up for the Clippers is Sunday at 3 pm as the Merritt Centennials come to Frank Crane Arena. You can buy tickets online at www.nanaimoclippers.com Tickets for Adults, Seniors, and Students are only $10 for the rest of the season!
