The Smoke Eaters four game winning streak came to an end on a fateful Friday night in Salmon Arm.
The 4-1 setback will likely also mean the loss of goaltender Teagan Kendrick.
He was assessed a match penalty for a goalmouth incident just over 12 minutes into the second period and could be facing a suspension. Kendrick retaliated after a Silverbacks forward fell on top of him after the puck was smothered. It was the only penalty handed out on the play and Kendrick was ejected.
He was outstanding up until that point, stopping 22 of 23 shots, including a second period breakaway and a super glove snag off a point-blank attempt by Ryan Philbrick in the first period.
The Silverbacks scored twice during the five minute power play to take a 3-0 lead into the third period.
Christian Kim converted a crafty give-and-go with Adam Parsons about eight minutes into the final frame to get the Smoke Eaters on the board and Ethan Warrener came close to scoring moments later, forcing Salmon Arm goalie Eli Pulver to make a big save on his point-blank, back-door tap of a cross-crease pass.
The Smokies continued to battle against a tough Salmon Arm defense and with time running out, had to gamble on offense, when Cole Cooksey scored on a two-on-one; his second goal of the game with just over two minutes remaining sealed the Salmon Arm victory.
The Silverbacks outshot Trail 37-25. The Smokies killed off two Salmon Arm power plays before the Silverbacks scored the two pivotal goals during the five minute advantage. Trail was 0-for-2 on the power play.
The Smokies will host Cranbrook Saturday night, with the Bucks coming off a 3-2 Friday night home ice loss to Coquitlam, despite outshooting the Express 41-21.
Noah Urness is back with the Bucks after leaving in December to finish out the Minnesota high school hockey season. He was their leading goal-getter at the time and scored last night.
The Smoke Eaters will again be without top scorer Mathieu Cobetto-Roy, who sat out last night’s game with an upper body injury suffered late last Saturday after getting two goals and an assist in the 6-2 victory over Vernon.
Veteran forwards Josh Schenk and Ethan Mann returned last night after missing four games with lower body injuries.
The Smoke Eaters have won their last four games against the Bucks and lead the season series with a 5-1-2 record.
Opening faceoff in this Cominco Arena clash is set for 7 p.m. and good seats are still available at Tickets.TrailSmokeEaters.com.
