The Smoke Eaters host the Warriors for one final time in 2019 looking to keep their strong play going following a 3-1 win on Wednesday night.
Season Series vs. West Kelowna
September 21st @ Royal LePage Place 5-1 W (BOXSCORE)
October 25th @ Royal LePage Place 4-3 SOW (BOXSCORE)
October 26th @ Cominco Arena 8-2W (BOXSCORE)
December 13th @ Cominco Arena 7pm
February 7th @ Cominco Arena 7pm
February 17th @ Royal LePage Place 2:30pm
The Smoke Eaters will look to get win 21 tonight as the Warriors come to town trying to change the narrative of the season series so far. The Smoke Eaters had their way with West Kelowna on their last outing when the Smoke Eaters put up 8 past the Warriors. The Smokies showed grit and determination on Wednesday night as they got timely goals and proved to everyone the could win games without their superstars. A performance that makes the team even more dangerous going forward and into the playoffs. Tyler Ghirardosi stepped up with two big goals to give the Smoke Eaters the win. He’ll be called upon at least one more time to be the difference before the Smoke Eaters get their players back from the WJAC as soon as Sunday. The Smokies will also look to get the power play to convert on some of their chances they created Wednesday night. Carson Briere, Mike Colella, Ghirardosi, Diarmad DiMurro and Cody Schiavon had plenty of looks but were unable to score on the man advantage. The Smoke Eaters power play is 7/19 against the Warriors this season.
Smoke Eaters leading scorers:
Johnson (23-36-59)
Colella (15-30-45)
Ozar (13-26-39)
Ghirardosi (16-14-30)
Lapointe (11-18-29)
Despite winning just one game in their last 15, the Warriors have had a roster turnover and new ownership come in, as things look up for the long term future of the Warriors. The Warriors come into tonight’s game on a four-game slide with their last win coming against the Salmon Arm Silverbacks, where they won 6-2 back on November 23rd. Last weekend they dropped back to back games to the Vees losing 5-1 and 3-2. Johnny Derrick has also taken the bulk of games lately for the Warriors, he came in for relief on the 25th of October as the Warriors erased a 3 goal deficit to force a shootout vs the Smoke Eaters. They have made trades to acquire younger players like former Smokies Colby Elmer, two players from Chilliwack in Tyler Cristall and Carter Wilkie while trading away Brandon Dent who was leading the team in scoring. The Warriors currently sit at the bottom of the BCHL standings through 32 games, they’ll be looking for a strong second half of the season to avoid being the lone team out of the BCHL Playoffs.
West Kelowna Warriors leading scorers:
Cullen (7-12-19)
Bulawka (10-8-18)
Evans (7-10-17)
Cristall (6-11-17)
Wilkie (3-13-16)
Puck drop is at 7pm at Cominco Arena, don’t forget your teddy bears, toques and socks to toss on the ice when the Smoke Eaters score their first goal. If you aren’t able to make it to the arena join Ben Phillips and Rob Squires on the broadcast at 6:50pm on HockeyTV and Mixlr.
