Following a 4-2 loss Wednesday night in Penticton the Smoke Eaters, bolstered by some new faces, head to West Kelowna to take on the Warriors
Season Series vs. West Kelowna
Regular season vs the Warriors
September 21st @ Royal LePage Place 5-1 W (BOXSCORE)
October 25th @ Royal LePage Place 7pm
October 26th @ Cominco Arena 7pm
December 13th @ Cominco Arena 7pm
February 7th @ Cominco Arena 7pm
February 17th @ Royal LePage Place 2:30pm
The Smoke Eater head to West Kelowna on Friday looking to kick start another win streak. The Warriors were the first team in the franchise setting 9-game win streak, while it was also a five point night for Kent Johnson when these teams last met. It was a 5-1 performance from the Smokies that also saw the powerplay go 4/6. Tonight they begin a home and home set with the Warriors that will see both teams come to Cominco Arena on Saturday night.
The Smokies will be bolstered by some new and returning faces to tonight’s lineup. Firstly captain Philippe Lapointe makes his BCHL debut after missing the first 17 games with an injury. Defenceman Jameson Murray is also available for the Smoke Eaters after serving his automatic two game suspension. As well new guys Cody Schiavon, who will join the team in West Kelowna Friday and likely to be in the lineup for the Smoke Eaters. While Paler-Chow will miss both games vs West Kelowna and arrive early next week for the Smokies
MUST READ FROM THE BCHL: “NHL BLOODLINES: PHILIPPE LAPOINTE”
With both sides coming off losses on Wednesday night to interior division rivals they’ll both be looking to turn things around and get back in the win column in a tough home and home series.
Smoke Eaters Leading scorers:
Johnson (9-20-29)
Colella (11-14-25)
Ozar (8-11-19)
DiMurro (4-12-16)
Schiavon (4-6-10)
The Warriors are coming off a 6-0 loss to the Wenatchee Wild on Wednesday night and a 5-2 loss in the game before that. Still without their captain Parm Dhaliwal, the Warriors have struggled to be consistent under head coach Brandon West. All while battling the injury bug hasn’t made things easier for this years group of Warriors. Hopefully with the off ice distractions out of their way the Warriors can focus solely on the product on the ice and getting healthy. Goaltender Brock Baier has stole a few games for the Warriors but hasn’t gotten the consistent support from the team in front of him. The Warriors sit in the middle of the pack in terms of goals scored with 48, but have the worst goal differential in the league at -27, having allowed a league high 75 goals through 19 games.
The Warriors last win was an impressive one against the best team in the BCHL the Salmon Arm Silverbacks winning 2-1 last Friday. They’ll be hoping to get more of that goaltending and effort tonight against a Smoke Eaters teams energized by the return of their captain.
West Kelowna leading scorers:
Dent (8-9-17)
Cullen (6-8-14)
Bulawka (4-8-12)
Stauber (6-3-9)
Pigeon (1-8-9)
Puck drop is at 7pm from Royal LePage Place, as the Smoke Eaters look for win number 10 on the year. The pre game show gets started at 6:50pm with interviews from both head coaches. The game is available on both HockeyTV and Mixlr
