By no means was it the start, nor the finish for that matter that the Smoke Eaters had wanted tonight in West Kelowna. But all things considered the Smoke Eaters still picked up a valuable point on the road as they fall 6-5 in overtime the the Warriors.
Jumping right ahead to the Second period the Smoke Eaters found themselves down 3-0 to the Warriors after the first, in what was a first period that left a lot to be desired from the road side. They made up for that by scoring four straight in the second period to take a 4-3 lead and completely erase the 3-0 hole they found themselves in. The Smoke Eaters got their first just three minutes into the second period as Evan Bushy tallied his 30th point of the year and 6th goal to get Trail on the board.
It was to long after that the Smoke Eaters would add another one past Cayden Hamming, as moments before Makway was denied a goal in his return as the puck was cleared off the goal line. The Warriors would fail to clear the puck far enough out and on jumped Brady Hunter who would finish off the play, scoring his 15th of the year to bring the Smokies within one, also extending his point streak to 6 games.
It would take a bit longer before the Smoke Eaters got their equalizer but they would eventually capitalize at the 13:07 mark as Josh Schenk scored for the third consecutive game in a row, as Schenk was set up by his Bushy, who rallied his second point of the night on the equalizer.
With the game now tied and the three goal deficit erased, there was everything to play for and the Smoke Eaters, knowing they had the Warriors on the ropes didn’t let up as they would take the lead shortly after, as Brady Smith tallied his second goal of the year. Remissong would set up the Smoke Eater defenceman in the right circle, who beat Hamming with a quick shot past the glove side, giving Trail the 4-3 lead and spelling the end of the night for Hamming.
The Warriors would get one back late in the second as Riley Sharun knocked home a loose puck in the crease after a strong net drive by Rylee Hlusiak, that took him and the Smoke Eater defenceman through the crease and partially into Maddocks. Maddocks would make the initial save but was pulled out of position, leaving the puck loose for Sharun to flip over Maddocks’ pad and in, sending this one to the third tied at 4.
Early in the Third the Smoke Eaters would retake the lead as again, Hunter, Remissong and Parson would combine, with Parsons getting the tally to make it 5-4 Trail. The goal would give Hunter his third point of the night, giving him 14 points in his last six games, two points for Remissong and two for Parsons, giving the trio a combined seven points.
Now with a 5-4 lead the Smoke Eaters found themselves having to hold the Fort with the Warriors throwing everything they had at the Smoke Eaters. The Warriors had thought they had there equalizer part way through the third but Maddocks came up with a save of the year candidate, robbing Salandra at the back post.
West Kelowna would finally equalize with the net empty and just 24.5 seconds left in the third as Hlusiaks shot from the right circle bet the screen in front and past Maddocks to make it 5-5 late in the third. The Smoke Eaters almost scored a killer in the final ten seconds of the game but were denied by Angelo Zol in the Warriors net. Overtime would end just as quickly as it started as it took just nine seconds for Jaiden Moriello to get a perfect shot past Maddocks and give the Warriors the extra point.
Credit to the Smoke Eaters who got a hard earned point after being down 3-0, but a tough pill to swallow given how close they were to securing two points. The Smoke Eaters now head home to take on the Vipers on Saturday night.
