Through 45 minutes it was a n even 1-1 hockey game with both goaltenders playing well, but a series of untimely bounces and some new found confidence from the Chiefs saw the visiting side score five goals in the third period to win 6-1 over the Smoke Eaters.
The Chiefs opened the scoring in this one as the visiting side tested Maddocks early and often, finally breaking through on the powerplay with under five minutes to play in the second. Till that moment, despite the Chiefs having a few more shots and a bit more offensive zone time, both teams had their chances, with a breakaway or odd man rush that both teams failed to score on. But finally on a double minor penalty the Chiefs would drive the net off the rush, as Dylan Kinch and Brady Milburn got the puck to the front of the net, where on the pass from Kinch, the puck sat loose just outside the crease after the Smoke Eater defenceman got a partial piece of the cross ice pass, however up from the blueline on the rush was Brian Morse, who was able to backhand the loos puck over the pad of Maddocks.
In the second the Smoke Eaters would level the game out thanks to Josh Schenk who adds his sixth goal in eight games. Schenk was found in the slot by Brady Hunter who also extended his point streak to nine games, where he has 18 points in those nine games, as the Smoke Eaters forward looped around the offensive zone following the faceoff win by Schenk who went to the front of the net to receive the pass.
The Chiefs then pushed back in the second period but were denied on all 16 of their shots by Maddocks, who stopped a breakaway and a 3-on-1 sequence late in the frame, just to highlight a few of his key saves in the second period, that kept the Smoke Eaters in it while the Chiefs looked for the go ahead goal. On the other side of the ice Austin McNicholas also made a breakaway save on Jordan Hendry who was denied goals in back to back games, as the Smoke Eater defenceman was sprung on the break out of the penalty box.
In the third Chilliwack finally got their break through and off the most unfortunate bounce possible from a Smoke Eaters perspective. Six minutes into the third Milburn, the trailer on a 3-on-2, took the shot from the left circle on the drop pass, with the shot being saved by Maddocks. However the rebound came off his chest protector, dropping in front of Maddocks who looked to clear the puck away, as he did so the puck hit the back of the skate of Evan Bushy, who was still in a backwards motion after the 3-on-2, and deflected into the Smoke Eaters net giving the Chiefs a 2-1 lead. The goal seemed to spark the Chiefs and their belief that they could not only win this game but finally beat Maddocks. They’d do so four more times in the third with four perfectly placed shots that any goaltender would struggle to save. McInnes, Kesselring, Mrsic and Morin all tallied goals for the Chiefs in the back half of the third, sealing a 6-1 road win for the visiting coastal conference side. The Smoke Eaters will have to bounce back on Saturday night in Penticton, should they want to try and catch Vernon in the standings.
