Coming of a strong 4-2 win on Saturday night the Smoke Eaters have a quick turnaround as the Victoria Grizzlies come to town wrapping up their three game road trip.
Last 5 Years record between teams: Trail 4-2-0-0 – Victoria 2-3-1-0
Trail vs. Victoria Last 5 Years record at Trail: Trail 2-1-0-0 – Victoria 1-2-0-0
Past 10 Games: Victoria – 4-6-0-0 Trail – 7-2-1-0
Streak Victoria – 0-3-0-0 Trail – 3-0-0-0
The Smoke Eaters wrap up their three game home stand on Sunday afternoon with a test against the Victoria Grizzlies, who bring with them possibly the league’s next young star in Matthew Wood. The Smoke Eaters, who have won six of their last seven and now three in a row coming off the 4-2 win over the Bulldogs will need to be at their best with the Grizzlies looking to turn things around after a tough stretch of games. The Smoke Eaters had big performances on Saturday from Hunter, Michaelis and Bushy on the score sheet while the impact of Garrett Valk back in the line up along with Chris Kobelka playing his best game as a rookie for the Smoke Eaters helped culminate the win. That and of course the powerplay that went 3/4. A win this afternoon would give the Smoke Eaters a four game win streak ahead of their three game island trip next week, letting the team walk into teams like Coquitlam and Nanaimo with some warranted confidence.
Smoke Eaters leading scorers:
Hunter (4-10-14)
Michaelis (9-4-13)
Disher (4-9-13)
Lagerback (5-6-11)
Bushy (3-7-10)
The Grizzlies, who came flying out of the gate with a five game win streak to start the year have since slowed their pace. With now three straight losses following them into Trail, they’ll be eager to get something out of this road trip that has seen them make stops in Chilliwack and Penticton prior to coming to Trail. At the same time as the Grizzlies welcome back their rookie sensation Matthew Wood from a five game suspension they lose another forward in Andew Amousse who was handed a suspension on Saturday afternoon. The Grizzlies also took nine penalties last night in Penticton, pushing them to the top of the list as the most penalized team in the league. They’ll be looking to clean that up as they take on the Smoke Eaters powerplay which has heated up not only last night but over the last few games.
Grizzlies leading scorers:
Eddy (7-14-21)
Wood (11-6-17)
Hiebert (4-11-15)
Rickwood (3-10-13)
Szeto (5-5-10)
Puck drop is at 3pm today at the Trail Memorial Centre as the Smoke Eaters look to keep their home win streak alive and hand the Grizzlies their fourth straight loss. Catch the game starting at 2:50pm with the Teck Trail pregame report on BCHL TV or listen free on Mixlr.com
