Game Day | TRA at VER
The Trail Smoke Eaters are looking for a third straight win Saturday night in Vernon and their third straight win over the Vipers.
The second half of the season got off to a great start last weekend with an impressive double-header sweep of Cranbrook. The triumphant twin-bill was highlighted by Teagan Kendrick’s first BCHL shutout in last Saturday’s 3-0 win at Cominco Arena and a solid outing in Sunday’s New Year’s Eve 3-1 victory on the road.
The Smokies netminder earned BCHL second star honours by stopping 65-of-66 shots.
Gryphon Bucci also stepped up on the line with Mathieu Cobetto-Roy and Ethan Mann replacing the injured Adam Marshall, scoring twice and adding an assist in the second game. Meanwhile, Cobetto-Roy scored in both and has goals in five of the last six games.
The Vipers are coming off a 4-0 Friday night win over the Bucks in Vernon.
The game remained scoreless until late in the second period. The Vipers added two power play goals, along with an empty-netter in the third.
The Smokies have won both head-to-head matchups with a 3-2 overtime victory in Vernon and a pre-Christmas 5-2 victory at Cominco Arena, outshooting Vernon by a two-game, combined total of 83-55.
It’s also a big game in the Interior Conference standings.
The fifth-place Smoke Eaters trail Vernon by five points and the Vipers are three points behind third-place Salmon Arm.
Opening face-off is at 6 p.m. with all the action on Mixlr and FloHockey.