PHOTO: Lisa Mazurek
The Trail Smoke Eaters look to make it three wins in a row as they travel to the North Okanagan to face-off against the Vernon Vipers for the first time this season on Saturday night at Kal Tire Place.
Smoke Eaters vs. Vipers 2018/19 Regular Season Schedule:
Saturday, September 15th @ Kal Tire Place (6:00 PM)
Wednesday, October 17th @ Kal Tire Place (7:00 PM)
Wednesday, November 14th @ Trail Memorial Centre (7:00 PM)
Saturday, November 24th @ Kal Tire Place (6:00 PM)
Wednesday, December 12th @ Trail Memorial Centre (7:00 PM)
Friday, February 1st @ Trail Memorial Centre (7:00 PM)
The Smoke Eaters come into tonight’s action looking to make it three wins in a row after a 6-3 victory over the Salmon Arm Silverbacks on home ice on Friday. Levi Glasman scored a pair of goals while Hayden Rowan, Carter Jones, Mack Byers and Trevor Zins added singles in the triumph. Adam Marcoux turned aside 27 of the 30 shots thrown his way for his second win of the season.
Trail had their struggles against Vernon a season ago, winning just one of the six head-to-head matchups during the 2017/18 campaign with that one win coming on home ice. The Smokies surrendered 19 goals to the Vipers in three games at Kal Tire Place, last defeating Vernon as visitors on October 26th, 2016, a span of six games.
Smoke Eaters Leading Scorers:
Braeden Tuck (2-3-5)
Trevor Zins (2-3-5)
Michael Hodge (1-4-5)
Levi Glasman (2-2-4)
Carter Jones (1-3-4)
The Smoke Eaters had a strong showing from their veterans a night ago in the 6-3 win over the Silverbacks in the way of Levi Glasman, Trevor Zins and Carter Jones each collecting two points each. Third-year forward and captain Braeden Tuck also fared well with an assist and has garnered a point in each of his first three games this season while second-year forward Mack Byers has found the back of the net in back-to-back games.
Special teams has been a big key to the Smoke Eaters success over the last two games, scoring 7 times over 18 man advantages in 6 periods for a 38.9% power play. Trail went 3/9 on the power play a night ago but it was also on the shorthanded side that helped out with Levi Glasman’s third period goal giving Trail a 5-3 lead and was the insurance marker to ensure the victory. The Smoke Eaters are one of three teams, along with Salmon Arm and Chilliwack, to post shorthanded tallies and lead the league with two.
With two wins in three games and five of a possible six points banked, the Smoke Eaters are off to their best start in recent memory. The last time they opened the season with two wins in three games came in the beginning of the 2014/15 season but have not collected five or more points in six games in over ten seasons, coming into Saturday night with the early Interior Division lead.
The Vernon Vipers come into play on Saturday having won their last two games with a most recent victory on Friday night in the way of a 4-3 win over the West Kelowna Warriors on home ice. Returning forward Josh Latta netted a pair of goals for the Vipers while Michael Young and Nicholas Wildgoose added singles in the win. Aiden Hosein got the start for Vernon, making 19 saves on 22 shots for his first BCHL victory.
Vipers Leading Scorers:
Josh Prokop (1-3-4)
Josh Latta (2-1-3)
Alex Swetlikoff (2-1-3)
Michael Young (2-1-3)
Jesse Lansdell (1-2-3)
Vernon brings 10 players back from their team that fell to Wenatchee in the second round of the BCHL playoffs a year ago, including the captain Jagger Williamson as well as forwards Josh Prokop, Josh Latta, Alex Swetlikoff, Jesse Lansdell, Coleton Bilodeau and Connor Marritt while defenders Michael Young, Jack Judson and Mitch Andres return to the Vipers for another season.
The Vipers added some experience to their back end with a pair of offseason trades that saw the likes of Carver Watson and Austin Chorney come to Vernon. Watson played in 37 games with the Chilliwack Chiefs in the 2016/17 season before leaving for Michigan Tech University the following season and is back in the BCHL as a 20-year-old while Chorney was traded to six separate teams in the summer before landing in Vernon. The 108-game BCHL veteran played 72 of those with the Silverbacks while also playing his rookie season with the Chiefs.
It’s a brand-new look in goal with Ty Taylor and Anthony Yamnitsky no longer in Vernon as tonight the Vipers will turn to Princeton University commit Aiden Porter between the pipes. The Boston, Massachusetts native comes in with a 1-1 record along with a 3.50 GAA and a .889 SV% after opening his BCHL career a weekend ago against the Wenatchee Wild and Merritt Centennials.
The Smoke Eaters and Vipers get things underway at 6:00 PM from Kal Tire Place with the game being available on mixlr.com/trail-smoke-eaters as well as on HockeyTV.com with the Voice of the Smoke Eaters, Trevor Miller. Trail heads off for a pair of games at the Bauer BCHL Showcase next week for games in Chilliwack on Thursday and Friday.
