Coming off a tightly contested game in Salmon Arm against the Silverbacks, the Smoke Eaters head down the Okanagan Valley to take on the Penticton Vees at the South Okanagan Event Centre.
Season Series versus Penticton:
Oct. 15 Trail 3 at Penticton 4 Final OT
Dec. 11 Penticton 6 at Trail 3 Final
Feb. 5 Trail at Penticton 6:00 pm PST
Feb. 12 Penticton at Trail 7:00 pm PST
Mar. 5 Trail at Penticton 6:00 pm PST
The Smoke Eaters will look to get back into the win column and snap the Vees six game win streak tonight at the SOEC. The Smoke Eaters come off the 2-1 loss to the Silverbacks, where in a game the Smoke Eaters had their fair share of momentum and carried the game. The penalty kill was nearly lights out last night, with the Silverbacks scoring in the final third of the major penalty. The powerplay, despite not scoring also had some good looks and had the Silverbacks hemmed in their own zone for 1:40 as the Smoke Eaters tried to tie the game. Like last night, tonight’s game in Penticton is bound to have playoff atmosphere, with the Smoke Eaters right now lined up to play the Vees, if the playoffs were to start today. The least time the Smoke Eaters were in Penticton was back in October where they lost 4-3 in overtime.
Smoke Eaters leading scorers:
Hunter (18-25-43)
Michaelis (21-15-36)
Lagerback (16-17-33)
Disher (9-19-28)
Cunningham (6-19-25)
The Vees come in winners of their last six games, including a win on Wednesday night over the Silverbacks and Friday night over the Merritt Centennials. The Vees didn’t walk away as easily as they have against the Centennials as Merritt kept the game close, losing 5-3 to the Vees. The Vees started this run with a 11-0 win over Merritt on January 21st. They followed that up with three straight wins over the Wenatchee Wild. Sitting second in the Interior and the league, the Vees sit just one point back of the Silverbacks for top spot. The Vees took off in the third period in their last meeting with the Smoke Eaters to win 6-3 after an even 40 minutes of hockey was played.
Vees leading scorers:
Wilson (20-28-48)
Nadeau (25-21-46)
Williams (12-25-37)
Moravec (18-13-31)
Nadeau (13-17-30)
Catch tonight’s game starting at 6pm from the South Okanagan Event Centre, the pre game show starts at 5:50pm on BCHLTV and on the Smoke Eaters Mixlr.
