Game Day | TRA at OKO
Cooper Michaluk was brilliant.
He was one stop away from duplicating his monumental feat of October 4 in Brooks when he backstopped Trail to an overtime win over the Bandits.
A perfectly placed shot by Jack Good at 6:41 of the extra period gave the Bandits a 1-0 win over the Smokies who turned in a courageous effort against the hottest team in the BCHL who extended their consecutive game points streak to 17, including their 14th win over that stretch.
Michaluk’s magic started early with several saves in the opening moments and continued through the night, including numerous rapier-like net-wide pushes to stop back-door attempts. His biggest save was an early third-period robbery of Isaac Johnson.
Michaluk was the unbeatable last line of defense in the final 1:40 of regulation and opening 2:20 of overtime when the Smokies furiously fended off a four-minute advantage against the league’s top power play unit who started the game at 31.9% overall and over 38% on home ice.
Another highlight of Trail’s perfect penalty kill was Dylan Lariviere’s brave shot-block late in the third period. The 6’6″ 20-year-old also set up Matthew Keller for the Smokies best scoring opportunity in overtime with a perfectly-placed and patient pass from the back boards, but Zach Zahara would make the save.
Keller scored on Zahara the last time these teams met. They are both from the Calgary area.
The Smokies, who were without top goal man Cash Carter who suffered an upper body injury Friday night in Blackfalds, turned in a strong road performance, but puck luck eluded them.
The Bandits outshot Trail 37-27, with the Smokies going 0-for-2 on the power play and they killed off both Bandits advantages including the double-minor.
Carter is expected to return for this afternoon’s wrapper of the three-game Alberta road trip in Okotoks.
It will also close out the four game season series against the Oilers who won the premiere 8-3 on home ice back on November 7.
The Trail troupe responded with a 7-1 victory at Cominco Arena two weeks later and a 5-1 win in the Kootenays on December 20.
Trail’s top point producer Christian Kim leads the season series with six points, while Brett Wilson of the Oilers has three goals and one assist against the Smokies.
Okotoks (17-29-2-1) has lost four in a row including a 5-1 beating by Brooks on Friday and has been eliminated from the playoff picture, while the Smokies (29-19-1) are are looking to pick up their 30th win of the season. They are also after their first victory in Okotoks since the Oilers joined the BCHL last season.
Opening face-off is at 3:20 p.m. Pacific time, with all the action on Mixlr and FloHockey.
The next home games at Cominco Arena are Friday, March 20th (vs Sherwood Park) and Saturday, March 21 (vs Victoria). Both games start at 7 p.m. Good seats are still available at Tickets.TrailSmokeEaters.com.