It wasn’t pretty, and probably not how they Smoke Eaters would have written it up but they got the job done in a 4-3 win Friday night at Cominco.
The Smoke Eaters got a welcomed boost to the lineup on Friday night as the four players who had been absent returned from the WJAC in time for puck drop. It also didn’t take long for their impact to be felt. Just 1:23 in Cody Schiavon took a cross ice pass from Kent Johnson, came in the right side of the Warriors zone, and let one fly, top corner, short side, on Johnny Derrick to send the teddy bears onto the ice. The Smoke Eaters didn’t wait long to get another as less than a minute-and-a-half later Tyler Ghirardosi scored his first of the night and third in the last two games to beat Derrick, leading to a Warriors goalie change. The change didn’t make the immediate impact Head Coach Brandon West of the Warriors may have wanted, but gave the visiting team a chance to win later in the hockey game. The Smoke Eaters would put two past Brock Baire, the first at 6:46 as Philippe Lapointe went blocker side on Baire on the power play. Then Ghirardosi would get his second as he turned in the right corner and his shot hit a Warriors player and deflected into the net, making it 4-0 half way through the first period. The Warriors would get one on the board before the period was out as John Evens picked off a pass and was alone in the slot to beat Logan Terness, making it 4-1 after the first.
In the second the Warriors came out determined to make a game of it, and they did jut that scoring two goals 57s apart. The first was contested by the Smoke Eaters but was given regardless the protest, as a pile up on top of Terness ensued, Evans found a loose puck at the side of the net, poking it in to make it 4-2. Moments later the Warriors had a shot go high off the back glass where Tyler Cristall would glove it down and get it out front for Brandon Pigeon to score the Warriors third goal. The Smoke Eaters were then robbed twice in the back half of the second as they tried to restore the lead as Baier shut the door.
In the third the teams traded chances, but it was the goaltenders who put on a perfect show as the game ended 4-3 in favour of the Smoke Eaters. Johnson had three points in his return to the lineup, Lapointe had two and Ozar and Conner each had an assist as Ghirardosi picked up the game winner for the second consecutive game.
The Smoke Eaters are back in action on Sunday afternoon as they take on the Salmon Arm Silverbacks from the Shaw Centre at 3pm.
