The 2019/2020 pre season kicked off with a bang as Smokies fans got treated to a high scoring affair with plenty of talent on display throughout the night! The Smoke Eaters edged out the Grand Prairie Storm 6-3 Saturday night at Cominco Arena, largely in part to a powerplay that caused the Storm problems all evening.
The Storm go into penalty trouble early after taking a double minor high sticking call 2:30 into the game. It only took the Smoke Eaters 14 seconds to score their first of two on the same penalty as Colby Elmer slotted home a perfect cross seam pass from captain Philippe Lapointe
Freeborn would score on the same powerplay 1:27 later as Ozar fed him the puck in the middle of the slot for the easy redirect.
The Storm battle back and would tie the game up at two a piece however as they got goals from Osepchuk and Dale in the back half of the first. DiMurro would answer back, again on the powerplay, as his shot from the point found a way through the crowd and into the top corner.
The second was where all the fun happened as the teams who have never met before quickly became bitter rivals with a small gathering after every other whistle. DiMurro, and later Dafoe, got tossed for fighting as tempers flared through the middle frame. Clifton would extend the lead however in the second, his goal would stand as the eventual game winner with this wonderful display of hand-eye coordination.
The physicality continued through the third as the Smoke Eaters played a very tempo controlling third as they tried to see the game out. Colella and Costello would each get goals, Costello shorthanded, as the Smoke Eaters closed out the Storm 6-3 in front of the home fans. Logan Terness played the full 60 minutes for the Smoke Eaters and the young man didn’t look out of place. Fans can expect a few lineup changes for Sunday’s game with the likes of Kent Johnson, Powell Connor, Max Kryski and Donovan Buskey sitting out Saturday nights game.
The Smoke Eaters will look to complete the sweep of their AJHL rivals Sunday afternoon at 2pm.
