After a narrow defeat in on home ice in Friday night, the Smoke Eaters will head to Cranbrook for a New Years Eve clash, looking to split the weekend series.
Season Series against Cranbrook
Sep. 30 Cranbrook 3 at Trail 1 Final
Oct. 1 Trail 0 at Cranbrook 6 Final
Oct. 15 Cranbrook 4 at Trail 3 Final OT
Dec. 30 Cranbrook 3 at Trail 0 Final
Dec. 31 Trail at Cranbrook 6:00 pm MST
Feb. 10 Cranbrook at Trail 7:00 pm PST
Feb. 11 Trail at Cranbrook 7:00 pm MST
The Smoke Eaters came close early on Fridays game of opening the scoring and setting the tone for the night, but the Bucks would weather the early storm thanks to some strong goaltending by Carter Capton. There isn’t much the Smoke Eaters will want to change tonight as they head to Cranbrook. Statistically they had more shot attempts but the Bucks were credited with more blocked shots than the Smoke Eaters got on net. That will be the message tonight is getting those pucks through and on target. That and the powerplay which struggled to show its strength last night as the Bucks penalty kill did well and not allowing the Smoke Eaters to set up. If the Smoke Eaters can improve on those areas heading into Cranbrook, plus they get Ethan Willoughby back from suspension, we’ll be in for another close game.
Smoke Eaters leading scorers:
Cobetto-Roy (8-17-25)
Hunter (8-17-25)
Fechko (9-14-23)
Remissong (11-10-21)
Bushy (3-18-21)
The Bucks extended their win streak to eight games thanks to a well executed road game. That and the Bucks converting on arguably the only two mistakes the Smoke Eaters made, proved to be the difference in a game that really could have gone either way. But the Bucks we’re committed defensively and made life relatively easy for Capton as the game went on. Whether it was getting in front of then puck and blocking it or it was clearing the shooting lanes entirely so that Capton had a clean look at the shooter, the Bucks once again proved how difficult they are to score on. Now as the home and home series switches to Cranbrook, the Bucks are looking to extend their Franchise best winning streak to nine games, but they’ll know that they will once again have to be at their best against the Smoke Eaters.
Bucks leading scorers:
Silich (17-12-29)
Bentham (9-17-26)
Frias (14-10-24)
Hjartarson (8-13-21)
Quinn (8-11-19)
It’s a New Years Eve Clash in Cranbrook as the Smoke Eaters will look to return the favour and win against their Kootenay rivals on the road. Puck drop from Western Financial place in Cranbrook is 5pm PST, catch all the action on HockeyTV or listen on the the Smoke Eaters Mixlr.
