The Smoke Eaters are hoping to bounce back and they’ll have to be at their best if they want to do so as the league leading Penticton Vees come to town, in what could be a first round playoff matchup.
Season Series Against Penticton
Sep. 23 Trail 1 at Penticton 7 Final
Oct. 29 Trail 3 at Penticton 9 Final
Nov. 12 Penticton 2 at Trail 1 Final SL OT
Jan. 13 Penticton 7 at Trail 2 Final
Mar. 4 Penticton at Trail 7:00 pm PST
The Smoke Eaters will need a 60 minute effort tonight, something they fell short of against the Chiefs, if they are to pick up points against the Vees. The Smoke Eaters have had success and or lost by a narrow margin not only this year, but last season as well when they play a tight physical game against the Vees. Trail was the first team to keep the Vees to less than three goals all season and take them to a shootout when they met back in November. It was a tight game for the first two periods in January as well before the Vees took off in the third period. That will be the focus for the Smoke Eaters is not trying to out skill the Vees but out work them. The additions of Ethan Mann was prevalent last night and while he didn’t get on the score sheet the former Vee turned Smoke Eater created enough chances to be there. The Smoke Eaters will also need to stay out of the penalty box as the Vees come to town sporting the leagues best powerplay.
Smoke Eaters leading scores:
Hunter (15-36-51)
Cobetto-Roy (11-25-36)
Remissong (15-19-34)
Bushy (6-26-32)
Parsons (12-17-29)
The Vees come to Trail off a 13-1 win over the Merritt Centennials on Friday night, a win that clinched them the league regular season title as it’s been on for the history books in Penticton. Both Nadeau’s are closing in on the 100 point mark with Suniev nears the 80 point mark. The Vees are on a 12-0-0-1 run with their last loss back on January 7th against Prince George and their shootout loss coming in February against Victoria. This will be the Vees second to last road game of the year as they have one more trip to Salmon Arm before the regular season comes to an end. Luca Di Pasquo played in Merritt for the Vees last night and while the Vees starter only faced 16 shots, it will be interesting to see who the Vees start tonight in Trail.
Vees leading scorers:
Nadeau (37-55-92)
Nadeau (34-54-88)
Suniev (35-39-74)
Moravec (24-22-46)
Hopkins (9-30-39)
Puck drop from Cominco Arena is 7pm as the Smoke Eaters look to set the tone in what could be a round one playoff match up. It’s also first responders night as we welcome in those in our community who work the front lines everyday. Get your tickets at tickets.trailsmokeeaters.com or catch all the action of tonight’s game on HockeyTV, Shaw or listen on Mixlr.
