It wasn’t the ending to 2021 the Smoke Eaters had in mind as their East Kootenay rivals got the better of them for a third straight game, as the Bucks blanked the Smoke Eaters 4-0 on New Years Eve.
If the Smoke Eaters can replicate their first period from tonight into all three periods for Saturdays game at home while mixing in a few goals they’ll have no problem getting the bounce back performance they need. The opening period in Cranbrook saw the Smoke Eaters defend well and despite being shorthanded three times they limited the chances the Bucks had to just nine shots with maybe 1 being a quality scoring chance. On the other side the Smoke Eaters had two of their three powerplay’s of the night in the first, but failed to capitalize on their opportunities.
In the second the Bucks finally got their ice breaker as Luke Pfoh would beat Fradette on the doorstep as he was fed a pass from behind the net and was left unmarked. The Bucks second goal was a right place right time for Liam Hansson who had a shot come off the end glass right to his stick where he was able to quickly release the puck into a wide open cage with Fradette scrambling back into position after charging out to take away the angle on the initial shot. Nelson product Noah Quinn would cap off an impressive second period for the Bucks scoring on the powerplay and putting the Smoke Eaters in a 3-0 hole heading to the third.
The task didn’t get any easier and the Smoke Eaters were continually sent to the penalty box in the third period, as they were assessed a total of eight penalties on the night, killing seven of them, four in the third. Those four, for a total of eight minutes, was valuable time the Smoke Eaters could have used to mount a comeback but were instead restricted to playing defensively. However the Smoke Eaters still only managed three shots on Nathan Airey in the third period, trailing by three and registering only three shots generally doesn’t result in success. The Bucks would add one in the third as a point shot was tipped pas the Smoke Eater netminder to put the game well out of reach. The Bucks take this one 4-0 and now lead the season series 4-3 with the rematch slated for January 1st at 5pm at the Trail Memorial Centre.
