The Trail Smoke Eaters continued to secure their position in the Interior division standings with a 5-1 win over the Vernon Vipers on Friday night in Trail.
In the first the Smoke Eaters probably could of had five or six goals as they tested a shaky looking Keegan Karki, who was making his BCHL debut for the Vipers. The Smoke Eaters broke the scoreless game at 9:01 of the first period as Kent Johnson went upstairs, short side for his 32nd goal of the year. The Vipers answered with a power play goal late in the period. Landon Fuller provided the screen and the tip on a shot from the point to beat Logan Terness. The Smoke Eaters would answer themselves just 26 seconds later as Michael Colella, playing his 100th junior game (54 USHL, 46 BCHL), had a back door tap in as Diarmad DiMurro found him unmarked to make it 2-1.
In the second the Smoke Eaters added one more as Johnson and Colella each capped off a three point night. The Smokies got a ‘Cominco’ bounce as a clearance from the Vipers defenceman hit a stanchion and came to the Colella, who passed it perfectly for Johnson making it 3-1.
In the third the game heated up a bit with Powell Connor and Fuller dropping the gloves. Fuller tried to rally his bench as he skated off following the fight. The Smoke Eaters hit the mute button on the Vipers bench real quick with a goal from Philippe Lapointe just 30 seconds later. The Smoke Eaters capped the night off with a 2-on-1 goal from Carson Briere who took the pass from Braden Costello to make it 5-1. Costello is now on a four game point streak that has seen him collect two goals and four assists. Logan Terness faced 36 shots in his 21st win of the season as the Smoke Eaters picked up win number 28 and are up to 60 points on the season.
The Smoke Eaters will wrap up their three game home stand Saturday night against the Centennials who are coming off a blowout 9-1 loss to the Vees.
