If all it took was hard work, a lot of heart and a penchant to never give up the Smoke Eaters wouldn’t have a loss on home ice this season. In a game where the Smokies could have thrown in the towel against a superior, Penticton Vees, they came within inches of forcing overtime last night in the Cominco Arena when the puck bounced off the cross-bar with 3 seconds to go in the game. Coming off a 6-1 loss to the Vees in the first game of the home & home series played in Penticton on Friday night the Smokies rebounded on home ice on Saturday with a solid effort. Although coming up short in a 4-3 loss to the Vees the Smokies entertained the fans with their never-say-die attitude and won a moral victory in Trail by staying with, what might be the best Junior A team in Canada, for three periods.
Despite being outshot 15-3 in the first period the Smokies took a 1-0 lead into the second period on a goal, pictured above, by Nolan Redler, assisted on by Harlan Orr and Kyle Star. Bailey MacBurnie, of the Smokies, was phenomenal in the first period and definitely gave the Smokies a chance to win. MacBurnie was named second star of the game facing 39 Vees shots.
In the second period Penticton scored two goals within 1 minute and 19 seconds to take a 2-1 lead. Scott Conway of the Vees scored at the :59 sec mark and Chris Gerri scored at 1:19. Trail knotted the score at 2 when Kyle Star scored at 3:37. Harlan Orr assisted on the goal. Scott Conway of the Vees scored at 4:30 and 6:41 to make it 4-2 for Penticton. It was a hat-trick for Conway who was named first star of the game.
The Smokies kept working in the third period, never giving up, and scored at the 10:31 mark to make it 4-3. Howarth scored the goal, his 10th of the season, assisted on by Kyle Star and Bennett Morrison. After pulling their goaltender for an extra attacker the Smokies pressed the Vees and with 3 seconds to go in the game hit the cross-bar. The puck rolled off the top of the net and ended up in the corner as time ran out.
Third star of the game was Kyle Star of the Smokies with a goal and 2 assists. Nolan Redler of the Smokies was named the Fortis Energy Player of the Game. Redler scored the first goal of the game. In addition, Redler, proved to be a thorn in the side of the Vees all night. He goaded the Vees into two fights causing one Vees player to be ejected for instigating the first fight and the second player to be ejected for the one fight rule. Both fights seemed to be a mismatch with the first Vees combatant being 6′ 1″, 195 lbs. and the second being 6′ 2″, 190 lbs. Redler stands at a whopping 5′ 9″, and 175 lbs. He held his own in both altercations and was instrumental in rallying the team to their great effort.
The Smokies next game is Tuesday night in Trail at the Cominco Arena against the Salmon Arm Silverbacks. Game time is 7:30 PM. I encourage all fans to turn out as the Smokies have been playing a very entertaining brand of hockey on home ice.
