It’s the first of four in a row for the Smoke Eaters against the Cranbrook Bucks as the two teams wrap up their season series with doubleheaders on either side of the Christmas break.
Season series versus Cranbrook
Oct. 8 Trail 3 at Cranbrook 5 Final
Oct. 9 Cranbrook 1 at Trail 3 Final
Nov. 20 Trail 4 at Cranbrook 3 Final OT
Dec. 1 Trail 7 at Cranbrook 4 Final
Dec. 17 Cranbrook at Trail 7:00 pm PST
Dec. 18 Trail at Cranbrook 7:00 pm MST
Dec. 31 Trail at Cranbrook 7:00 pm MST
Jan. 1 Cranbrook at Trail 5:00 pm PST
It’s the final home game of the year for the Smoke Eaters as they look to bounce back following last Saturday’s loss to the Penticton Vees. For the Smoke Eaters it was 40 minutes of very good hockey against the Vees, going to the third period tied 3-3, there was everything to play for. But an early goal just 2 minutes into the third seemed to kill the Smoke Eaters momentum as they struggled just to get through the neutral zone in the third period. The Smoke Eaters special teams statistics continue to get better every game, They held one of the top ranked power plays off the board Saturday and went 1/4 on the powerplay, moving them into 7th place averaging 25% on the powerplay for year and up to 80.7%, 6th in the league on the penalty kill. Those stats will be important as they go into this weekend against the Bucks. In the four games there has been a total of 32 penalties between these two sides, with the Smoke Eaters going 4/18 on the powerplay and 11/14 on the penalty kill. With both sets of players eying a much needed break, they’ll also be eying a positive end to the first half of the season.
Smoke Eaters leading scorers:
Michaelis (17-11-28)
Hunter (9-19-28)
Lagerback (11-10-21)
Cunningham (6-14-20)
Disher (6-13-19)
The Bucks hit the road for the final time in 2021 after returning home this week from Prince George as they headed north for three straight games against the Spruce Kings. The Bucks only came home with one win out of three and they needed overtime to do so, as on Saturday they got two more goals from Tyson Dyck, including the winner to beat the Spruce Kings 4-3. On Friday the Spruce Kings edged out the Bucks 4-3 in regulation and they opened up the three game mini series with a 3-0 win on Thursday. Following the win on Saturday the Bucks come to Trail for the first time since October 9th, looking to wrap up the first half of the year on high, the same way the Smoke Eaters plan too. The Bucks will definitely want to avoid a repeat for when the Smoke Eaters came to Cranbrook on December 1st and beat the Bucks 7-4. The game ended up being a lot closer than the Smoke Eaters had hoped as they jumped out to a 3-0 lead early but the Bucks fought back every step of the way. That’s a key part of who the Bucks are and the Smoke Eaters have to remember that, and respect it as they go into this weekend.
Bucks leading scorers:
Dyck (16-15-31
Quinn (8-11-19)
Hjartarson (7-9-16)
Johnson (9-5-14)
Pfoh (5-9-14)
The Smoke Eaters will look to wrap up their first half of the season with two big wins against a team that sits just below them in the standings. Puck drop is at 7pm from the Trail Memorial Centre, tickets are still available for the final home game of 2021 as the Smoke Eaters face the Bucks for the fifth time of the season. For those who can’t make it out, catch the game on BCHL TV or listen on Mixlr.
