PHOTO: Garrett James/BCHL
The Trail Smoke Eaters return home for the first time in four games as they host the Vernon Vipers in the fifth matchup of their season series on Wednesday night at the Trail Memorial Centre.
Smoke Eaters vs. Vipers 2018/19 Regular Season Schedule:
Saturday, September 15th @ Kal Tire Place (3-1 Smoke Eaters) (BOXSCORE)
Wednesday, October 17th @ Kal Tire Place (4-0 Vipers) (BOXSCORE)
Wednesday, November 14th @ Trail Memorial Centre (3-2 Smoke Eaters) (BOXSCORE)
Saturday, November 24th @ Kal Tire Place (1-0 Vipers) (BOXSCORE)
Wednesday, December 12th @ Trail Memorial Centre (7:00 PM)
Friday, February 1st @ Trail Memorial Centre (7:00 PM)
The Smoke Eaters and Vipers meet for the fifth time in their six-game season series tonight in Trail with Vernon coming away victorious in the team’s last meeting in late November in the North Okanagan. Jesse Lansdell scored the lone goal in a tight-checking affair with Aiden Porter collecting a 23 save shutout while Adam Marcoux turned aside 23 of the 24 shots he faced in the defeat.
The Smoke Eaters look to get back into the win column after concluding a three-game Mainland Division with a 7-2 setback to the Chilliwack Chiefs on Sunday afternoon at Prospera Centre. Spencer McLean netted a 3rd period power play goal while Kyle Budvarson scored his first career BC Hockey League goal in the defeat. Logan Terness made his first career BCHL start on Sunday, turning aside 27 of the 34 shots he faced in his first loss of the season.
Smoke Eaters Leading Scorers:
Carter Jones (10-19-29)
Chase Stevenson (12-15-27)
Braeden Tuck (10-16-26)
Kent Johnson (11-12-23)
Trevor Zins (6-17-23)
Smoke Eaters third year forward Tyler Ghirardosi continued to find success over the course of the three-game weekend, registering a point in each of their three matchups. The Montrose, BC native has an assist in each of his last trio of game and the University of Quinnipiac commit has bumped his season totals to 5 goals and 11 assists for 16 points.
Trail returns home for the first time in December, a span of four games on the road and will for some home cooking to remedy them back into the win column. The Smoke Eaters have seen plenty of success when playing on their home ice, picking up points in four of the last five games at the Trail Memorial Centre and have won three of their last four games at home with four of their next six contests being played in Trail.
The Smoke Eaters are starting to see their health turn in the right direction with defenders Powell Connor and Kyle Chernenkoff on a steady pace to return to the lineup soon. Forward Max Kryski will draw back into the lineup after missing the last five games due to an illness while forward Paul Leroux will make his BCHL debut tonight, hailing from the Beaver Valley NiteHawks of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League (KIJHL) where he leads his team in scoring with 16 goals and 38 points in 27 games.
The Vernon Vipers come into Wednesday night’s affair with an 11-12-6-3 record, sitting in 6th place in the Interior Division after a 2-1 loss to the West Kelowna Warriors at Kal Tire Place on Saturday night. Teddy Wooding scored the lone Vipers goal shorthanded in the 2nd period as the Vipers fell a goal short in a tight matchup. Bradley Cooper made his second start in between the pipes for the Vipers, stopping 32 of the 34 shots he faced in his 7th loss of the season.
Vipers Leading Scorers:
Matt Kowalski (8-15-23)
Jack Judson (4-19-23)
Jagger Williamson (8-14-22)
Teddy Wooding (9-12-21)
Josh Latta (11-9-20)
Matt Kowalski has flourished since being acquired by the Vipers from the Warriors about a month ago as the Vernon, BC native has collected a point in eight of his nine games with his hometown club. The 18-year-old has scored three goals and seven assists for ten points in those nine games, including a five-game point streak that has seen Kowalski register a goal and four assists for five points in that span.
Vipers captain Jagger Williamson comes into tonight’s mid-week matchup with a surge of offensive success over the last few weeks. The veteran of 226 career BCHL games is riding a four-game win streak with a goal and three assists for four points over that span and has picked up at least a point in seven of his last eight games.
Vernon comes to Trail looking for their first victory in the year’s final month but have played their fair share of tight hockey games with each of games in December being decided by one goal. The Vipers have been involved in plenty of tight matchups this season, playing in a league-most 19 one-goal games this season and hold a record of 4-6-6-3 in those contests.
The Smoke Eaters and Vipers drop the puck at 7:00 PM with a big night planned from the Trail Memorial Centre. It’s the second Welcome Wednesday of the season while it’s also Metal Mayhem Night with fans encourage to wear their rock shirts and show off their rocker pride. Tickets are available at the Smoke Eaters Main Office as well as at the door ahead of the opening face-off.
