Game Day! | WK at TRA
It’s hockey night in Trail.
The Smoke Eaters host the West Kelowna Warriors in the opener of a home-and-home series.
The last meeting between these teams at Cominco Arena was memorable.
Noah Ziskie sniped a goal late in the third period and fellow Smokies defenseman Lucas Lemieux ended the game with a highlight reel overtime goal in a 4-3 Trail victory.
That was Saturday, September 21st.
Since then, the Smokies got three of a possible six points in a long and gruelling three-game road swing last weekend through Spruce Grove, Sherwood Park and Brooks.
The Trail troupe battled back from a pair of two-goal deficits to force overtime in Brooks on a late third period goal by Evan Sundar and almost won it in the extra period on a Jason Stefanek shot that just missed the top corner.
The Bandits scored moments later to secure the 5-4 win.
That game also featured a sensational shorthanded goal by Trail’s Judah Makway to spark the comeback.
The Smoke Eaters scored four times against a Bandits squad that had only given up two goals in total over the previous three games.
Goaltender Teagan Kendrick was instrumental in helping secure all three points on the road with 83 saves combined during the Friday night victory against the Saints and the comeback against the Bandits.
He made sure the game in Brooks got to overtime with a buzzer-beating beauty in the third period, among his 17 stops in the final twenty minutes of regulation.
Lemieux is tied with Sundar for the Smoke Eaters points lead with six. The 19-year-old rearguard also has a team-leading four goals, three of which have been game-winning tallies.
West Kelowna is led offensively by Callum Hughes, who has two goals and two assists.
The Warriors are unbeaten since the overtime loss in Trail after sweeping the Vipers in last weekend’s home-and-home series, including Saturday’s 4-3 overtime victory in Vernon.
Smokies coaches tweaked their forward lines during the road trip.
Christian Kim joined Stefanek and Attila Lippai, while Captain Ridge Dawson moved alongside Sundar and Makway with both units finding some early chemistry.
It also looks like forward Gryphon Bucci is close to returning to the Trail lineup.
The 18-year-old sophomore forward who had a solid rookie season in 2023-24, was having a very impressive training camp when he suffered an upper-body injury and resumed full practices with the team earlier this week.
Opening faceoff at Cominco Arena is set for 7 p.m. and good seats are still available at Tickets.TrailSmokeEaters.com.