The Terrace River Kings reeled out the Smithers Steelheads with a 7-2 win this past weekend.
For their second game against each other this season on Nov. 23, both teams fought hard to defend their net in the first period.
With 12 minutes left on the clock, Terrace River Kings’ forward Kyler Braid broke through the tough waves with the first goal of the night with the help of forwards Fred Mowatt and Gianni Carmano.
Within just four minutes following that initial goal, the River Kings added two more shots onto their score sheet each led by forwards Brandon Onstein and Hunter Johnson.
READ MORE: Terrace River Kings win two games on home ice
Coming into the second period 3-0, the River Kings’ confidence shined through their recent wins and it was obvious they weren’t ready to let go of their champion title.
With just three minutes into the second game, Brandon Onstein compensated for his winning shot and served a two-minute penalty in the box for slashing on the ice.
Although the Steelheads battled furiously upstream, their efforts were unsuccessful as River Kings’ forward Colin Bell rung in another goal with less than 12 minutes on the clock.
That left some Steelhead players to let out their frustrations as they took in a total of three penalties, with Brendan Moore pulled off the ice for hooking eight minutes into the game.
Steelheads’ Brendan Devries had trouble playing nice and was thrown into the box twice for slashing and roughing their opponents in the final few minutes of the period.
River Kings’ forward Connor Beauchemin showed some teeth in defense but also got thrown into the penalty box in the last two minutes of the game.
Bell’s goal, though, had opened up the flood gates into Smithers’ net and let in another three goals against them, bringing their fans’ cheers to maximum volume with a 7-0 score count.
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Come third period though, the Steelheads weren’t going to let themselves get fried without a few more bites. The River Kings’ seven shots had them in celebratory spirits as they skated their last leg of the game with more ease.
With 10:30 blaring on the timer, the Steelheads finally proved their worth as John Cresswell with the help of Trevor Boyko and troublemaker Brendan Devries.
But they weren’t going to skate away from the arena with just one goal and John Cresswell became the team’s patron saint that night when he scored another winning shot in the last 23 seconds of the game, bringing them 2-7.
The Steelheads will have some time to recover from their loss against the River Kings until the end of January, when they’ll face each other again.
Next, the Terrace River Kings are headed west on Hwy 16 on Dec. 7 to play the Prince Rupert Rampage in their home arena.
As for the Smithers Steelheads, they will try to redeem their name and fight the Quesnel Kangaroos on Nov. 30 at the Quesnel Arena.
natalia@terracestandard.com
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