Friday night hockey returns to Cominco Arena as the Trail Smoke Eaters take on the streaking Merritt Centennials.
It is another matchup of teams in the tightly-packed Interior Conference.
The Centennials won their third straight game on Tuesday night, riding a three-goal first period lead to a 6-3 victory over Prince George in Merritt.
Karlis Metzsargs made 38 saves to earn first star honours, while the BCHL’s second star of last week Zachary Losier picked up an assist.
He has been lighting it up in the BCHL with a league-leading seven goals, including three on the power play and two game winners.
Losier scored an overtime winner during last weekend’s doubleheader sweep of the Bucks in Cranbrook. That goal finished off his Saturday night hat trick.
Merritt is 4-3 on the season, one point ahead of the Smokies who are 2-1-3, as just one point separates second and sixth place in the conference.
The Smoke Eaters finally broke the overtime bubble last Saturday night when Adam Parsons turned a terrific toe-drag into a sizzling snap shot into the far corner of the net while using Jason Stefanek as a decoy on a two-on-one break.
The Smokies came back from deficits of 2-0 after one period and 3-2 in the second period to post the victory as goalie Ryan Parker came off the bench in the middle frame and stopped all 15 shots he faced.
It took some of the sting out of a 4-3 loss in Penticton the night before, despite dominating the overtime period. That was Trail’s third overtime setback of this young 2023-24 season.
Adam Marshall, Christian Kim and Jason Stefanek rounded out the Trail scoring in the Saturday night special in front of 1,278 Cominco Arena fans.
Winger Ridge Dawson had an assist while defenseman Patrick Reilly posted two helpers in the victory over the Vees. They are tied for the team lead in points with seven.
