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Preview – Smoke Eaters Begin Four Game Home Stand with Visit from the Vipers

The Smoke Eaters return home and kick off a four game homestand as the Vernon Vipers come to town for the final time this season. As the teams continue to battle for playoff positioning in the Interior Conference.

Season Series versus Vernon:

Dec. 3 Trail 3 at Vernon 5 Final
Dec. 10 Vernon 2 at Trail 3 Final SL OT
Jan. 19 Trail 1 at Vernon 2 Final SL OT
Feb. 2 Vernon 3 at Trail 2 Final
Feb. 25 Vernon at Trail 7:00 pm PST
Mar. 23 Trail at Vernon 7:00 pm PDT

The Smoke Eaters come into the weekend hoping to get some bodies back into the lineup and turn around an eight game winless streak. The Smoke Eaters could see the likes of Evan Fradette and Coalson Wolford make their return with Ridge Dawson and Ethan Willoughby eying returns as well in the coming games. The return of Fradette would be welcomed as the Smoke Eaters have been without their starting goaltender since February 5th, They’ve been without their captain Wolford since their last game against the Vipers on February 2nd. The Smoke Eaters will look to rebound from back to back losses in the last game where untimely goals against them plagued their efforts all weekend. A little luck and some timely goals of their own could have very well turned around the game on Sunday in West Kelowna where the Smoke Eaters dominated the second period but couldn’t find the back of the net and then found themselves down 6-1 going to the third. However the mindset to not quit going to the third was on display as the Smoke Eaters added three goals of their own and made it interesting. Now with a four game home stand in front of them and finally getting healthy the Smoke Eaters are poised to start getting some results their way.

Smoke Eaters leading scorers:

Hunter (21-27-48)
Michaelis (23-17-40)
Lagerback (17-21-38)
Disher (9-23-32)
Cunningham (7-20-27)

The Vipers have been one of the best teams in the BCHL since the calendar flipped to 2022, losing just four games of the 17 they have played. Take away the two losses on January 1st and 2nd to Salmon Arm, The Vipers have lost just two games in 15 with a 12-2-1 record that included a run of eight straight wins and 10 game point streak. The Vipers come in 7-2-1 in their last ten games and have since leapfrogged the Smoke Eaters in the standings. The play of Roan Clakre can’t be overlooked as the Vipers netminder played all but three games during the Vipers run. The last time he was in Trail he stopped 49 shots in an unbelievable performance to earn his side a 3-2 win. The Vipers also have a Friday Sunday set this weekend as they’ll return home after tonight to face the Penticton Vees on Sunday afternoon.

Vipers leading scorers:

Milburn (13-15-28)
Buss (12-15-27)
MacDonald (10-15-25)
Tanaka-Campbell (8-16-24)
Shostak (10-13-23)

The Smoke Eaters and Vipers drop the puck at 7pm as the Smoke Eaters look to get back in the win column as the Vipers make their final trip of the regular season to Trail. We’re back to full capacity at the Trail Memorial Centre, masks and double vaccination is still required. Get your tickets online, at the Smoke Eaters store between 9am-4pm or at the box office which opens at 6pm. If you can’t make it to the game catch all the action on BCHLTV or listen for free on mixlr.com