The Smoke Eaters return to Cominco for three games to kick off the month of February as they host the Vernon Vipers in the first meeting of the year between the two teams, as they jostle for positioning in the Interior Conference.
Season Series With Vipers
Feb. 3 Vernon at Trail 7:00 pm PST
Feb. 20 Trail at Vernon 2:00 pm PST
Feb. 25 Vernon at Trail 7:00 pm PST
Mar. 17 Trail at Vernon 7:00 pm PDT
Mar. 18 Trail at Vernon 6:00 pm PDT
The Smoke Eaters get back on home ice for the first time in three weeks after a January filled with travel. They return home after going 1-1-1 up in Prince George, winning the first game, losing in overtime on the second night and then in regulation on the Sunday afternoon. The Smoke Eaters also got some success from their powerplay going 2/10 in the three game set while the penalty kill also played a crucial role, going a perfect 14/14. The down side coming back from Prince George for the Smoke Eaters is the loss of another forward, while likely short term, Adam Parsons picked up a lower body injury ahead of Sunday’s game, meaning the Smoke Eaters have 10 forwards currently available to them. Cale Colwell from the Fraser Valley Thunderbirds in the BCEHL U18 has been called up to AP this weekend, he played one game for the Smoke Eaters back in November. The Smoke Eaters will once again have to rely on their vets to carry the load this weekend.
Smoke Eaters leading scorers:
Hunter (10-23-33)
Cobetto-Roy (10-20-30)
Remissong (14-12-26)
Bushy (4-22-26)
Parsons (11-12-23)
Who are the Vernon Vipers? It’s rare that two teams within the same conference enter the final two months of the season and their last 17 games without playing each other once. The Vipers and Smoke Eaters have been jostling for position in the Interior Conference all season long, now with five games to play against each other over the next 17 games, 10 extremely valuable points are up for grabs. The Vipers have returned much of their group from last year. Reegan Milburn still leads the way offensively for the Vipers, defensively, Ayden Third, Griffen Barr and Luke Ashton have all returned while Roan Clarke and Ethan David both have returned between the pipes for the Vipers. Vernon’s penalty kill currently leads the league at 86.6%, as they go up against the Smoke Eaters 7th ranked powerplay.
Vipers leading scorers:
Milburn (12-18-30)
Parks (13-14-27)
Pakulak (10-16-26)
Erickson (12-13-25)
Tanaka-Campbell (10-12-22)
The Smoke Eaters kick off a mini three game homestand and it all starts tonight against the Vipers. Puck drop is 7pm, catch all the action on HockeyTV, Shaw or listen on Mixlr. It’s also parents weekend, and the wiener dog races tonight! If you’re coming to the game and still need tickets, skip the lines and buy ahead of time at tickets.trailsmokeeaters.com.
