The Smoke Eaters couldn’t solve Johnny Derrick when it mattered tonight as the Warriors took off in the second and third periods for a 7-3 win over the Smoke Eaters on Friday night at Cominco.
The Warriors opened the scoring as Felix Trudeau would score his first of three on the night seven minutes into the game, after what was a pretty free flowing and fast paced start to the game. The intensity amplified after that goal as the Smoke Eaters pushed for a response and the Warriors pushed for some breathing room. It was the Smoke Eaters who scored next as Teddy Lagerback added his first of two, scoring on the powerplay to tie the game at 1.
After 20 shots aside through the opening period and some stellar goaltending by Fradette and Derrick the two sides went to the break tied at 1.
The Smoke Eaters came out strong to start the second, scoring just 33 second into the period as Lagerback and Strobel forced a turnover inside the Warriors zone and with the help of Quinn Disher took a 2-1 lead as Strobel put home the lose puck.
Former Smoke Eater Chase Dafoe would score less than two minutes later to tie the game up. From their the goaltenders did battle again with the Smoke Eaters having the better of the chances including multiple highlight reel saves by Derrick on Cunningham. A trend that continued all night and ended with a show of respect between the two athletes after the final horn. The Smoke Eaters had multiple two on one opportunities as well but failed to beat Derrick in the middle frame. The Warriors would add two in quick succession late to take a 4-2 lead into the third period.
The task didn’t get easier in the third as the Warriors didn’t let off the gas in any fashion scoring three more times, getting one from Dafoe and two from Trudeau who completed his Hat-Trick to help secure the victory. Trail got one more late as Lagerback picked up his second goal and third point of the game with under 5 minutes left, but the goal was a mere consultation as the Smoke Eaters take the loss 7-3 to the Warriors. They’ll have another Kootenay battle on Wednesday night in Cranbrook as they look to bounce back from Fridays loss.
