The Smoke Eaters will once again face the Vees on the back half of a back to back, coming off a win against Cranbrook, looking to make it two in a row. It’s meeting number seven between the Smoke Eaters and Vees and it goes tonight at 7pm from the South Okanagan Event Centre.
Season Series Verse Penticton
Apr. 2 Penticton @ Trail 4-1 L
Apr. 8 Trail @ Penticton 6-0 L
Apr. 11 Penticton @ Trail 6-1 L
Apr. 14 Trail @ Penticton 3-2 W
Apr. 17 Penticton @ Trail 3-0 L
Apr. 23 Trail @ Penticton 4-1 L
Apr. 26 Trail @ Penticton 7:00 pm PDT
Apr. 29 Trail @ Penticton 7:00 pm PDT
May. 2 Penticton @ Trail 4:00 pm PDT
May. 8 Penticton @ Trail 6:00 pm PDT
The Smoke Eaters are coming off a 4-3 shootout win over the Bucks in a game that had a lot of ups and downs. The first period was definitely one of those ups, with 16 shots on net and an offence that looked dangerous all night. Despite not scoring in the first there was a lot to like for the Smoke Eaters who came out and took control of the back half of the second period after falling behind 3-1 to Cranbrook. While they put a lot of pucks on net the Smoke Eaters will want to make more of those shots and turn a few more into goals. As they’ve found playing from behind, especially against the Vees hasn’t worked out in their favour. That being said the Smoke Eaters won a game when trailing after one period of play for the first time last night. Another positive. That and the penalty kill that was called into action a few times, especially late in the game, where the pucks tried to win the game in the final two minutes. Trail will hopefully get some help back in the lineup with Ryan Helliwell who missed Sunday’s game for precautionary reasons with two more back to back sets upcoming this week for the Smoke Eaters. If the Smoke Eaters can play with the physicality and the pressure they had last night, they’ll make life very difficult for the Vees.
Smoke Eaters leading scorers:
Disher (6-5-11)
Wakeford (4-6-10)
Helliwell (3-6-9)
Hunter (5-3-8)
Wolford (3-5-8)
The Vees come in looking to make it three wins in a row on Monday night. The Vees saw a 2-0 lead evaporate in the second period on Saturday night against the Bucks before Jacob Quillan scored the game winner in the third period. They were also on their heals in the back half of the third against the Smoke Eaters on Friday night, but they held firm with some key blocks and strong goaltending from Kaeden Lane that led to Tyler Ho’s empty net goal to put the game out of reach in their 4-1 win over the Smoke Eaters. They’ll look to continue their solid play as they look for their 12th win of the season.
Vees leading scorers:
Wilson (10-8-18)
Malmquist (5-10-15)
Quillan (7-7-14)
Upson (5-8-13)
Williams (4-7-11)
Puck drop from the South Okanagan Event Centre goes at 7pm with the Teck Trail pregame report starting at 6:50pm on BCHLTV and Mixlr.com. The game will also be on Shaw Spotlight starting at 7pm. Ben Phillips will have the call as the Smoke Eaters look to get their second win against the Vees.
