The Smoke Eaters return home from the BCHL Showcase looking to defend home ice once again, as the Powell River Kings come to Trail for the only time this season.
The Smoke Eaters have had a busy week mixed with travel as they get set for their lone game on the weekend against Powell River. The Smoke Eaters split the showcase, winning 3-2 against the Cowichan Valley Capitals, they would then lose 7-3 the following day to Nanaimo after fighting back to tie the game 3-3 in the second but would get caught quickly by the Clippers who didn’t look back after that. Josh Schenk, Cobetto-Roy and Quinn Disher stepped up their game through the showcase, giving the Smoke Eaters a reliable group capable of producing that secondary scoring that the Smoke Eaters missed last season. That mixed with both sides of the teams special teams having a positive week bodes well for the Smoke Eaters going into this weekend and next. The Smoke Eaters however will be without goaltender Cole Tisdale who was collided into late in the game against the Clippers and had to be helped off the ice. He won’t be available this weekend for the Smoke Eaters.
Smoke Eaters leading scorers:
Remissong (6-4-10)
Cobetto-Roy (4-6-10)
Disher (3-7-10)
Bushy (2-8-10)
Parsons (4-4-8)
The Kings will be looking to bounce back after a lopsided result on Friday night in Cranbrook. The Bucks put 10 past the Kings in a 10-3 win, extending the Kings losing streak to six games. Despite that the Kings currently hold one of the league’s best powerplays, sitting fifth at 24.2% and the second best penalty kill at 89.2%. The Kings, at least on paper are a team that aren’t losing the special teams battle but are losing five-on-five, something they’ll have to be wary off against the Smoke Eaters speed. The last time the Kings were in Trail, was September 18th of 2019, where the Kings won 5-2.
Kings leading scorers:
Porchetta (4-5-9)
McNarland (3-6-9)
Yu (5-3-8)
Potvin (3-4-7)
Aman (0-6-6)
Puck drop between the Smoke Eaters and the Kings is set for 7:00PM tonight at Cominco Arena, as the Smoke Eaters look to build on their 3-1-1 home record and get back in the win column! Buy your tickets ahead of time and skip the lines at tickets.trailsmokeeaters.com. If you can’t make it to the arena, catch all the action with Smoke Eaters broadcaster Ben Phillips and colour commentator Rob Squires on HockeyTV and on Mixlr!
