PHOTO: Randy Emery/Trail Smoke Eaters
The West Kelowna Warriors head back out on the road for their final trip of the season to Cominco Arena to wrap up their season series against the Trail Smoke Eaters on Friday night.
Warriors vs. Smoke Eaters 2017/18 Schedule:
Friday, September 8th @ Cominco Arena (4-3 Warriors) (BOXSCORE)
Saturday, September 9th @ Royal LePage Place (4-0 Smoke Eaters) (BOXSCORE)
Saturday, December 9th @ Royal LePage Place (5-3 Smoke Eaters) (BOXSCORE)
Friday, December 29th @ Royal LePage Place (7-5 Smoke Eaters) (BOXSCORE)
Saturday, December 30th @ Cominco Arena (6-3 Smoke Eaters) (BOXSCORE)
Friday, January 19th @ Cominco Arena (7:00 PM)
The Warriors and Smoke Eaters play in the sixth and final meeting between the two clubs with Trail earning victories in each of the last four games against West Kelowna. The last matchup came at Cominco Arena with the Warriors falling by a 6-3 score with Cavin Tilsley, Michael Lombardi and Jared Marino scoring in the game for West Kelowna. Nik Amundrud started in the game for the Warriors, turning aside 25 of the 31 shots he faced in the loss.
West Kelowna comes into Friday night’s affair looking to snap out of a two-game funk that has resulted in back-to-back shutouts coming against the Wenatchee Wild last Saturday before returning home against the Vernon Vipers and falling by a 5-0 score. Nik Amundrud made 37 saves on 42 shots in his 14th loss of the season.
Warriors Leading Scorers:
Jared Marino (18-26-44)
Chase Dubois (15-19-34)
Michael Ryan (5-27-32)
RJ Murphy (13-17-30)
Ryan Steele (8-22-30)
It’s another game and another 100-game milestone as Ryan Steele is the next Warrior to hit the century mark in career regular season games played. The Stratford, PEI native will suit up for his 100th career regular season game tonight in Trail with 96 of those coming as a member of the Alberni Valley Bulldogs and will play his 4th with West Kelowna. The Sacred Heart University commit has compiled 18 goals and 58 points in 99 career games thus far while tallying 8 goals and 30 points between the Warriors and Bulldogs this season.
The Warriors play their last road game tonight in Trail before a stretch of four games back at Royal LePage Place in West Kelowna. The Warriors are 3-1-0-0 in their last four games away from home including an overtime victory in Wenatchee last Friday against the Wild. The Warriors hold an 8-13-0-1 record on the road but have scored the sixth most goals in the BCHL while playing in other team’s rinks.
Not much changes for the Warriors when it comes to the lineup heading into Friday night’s big Interior Division battle with the Smoke Eaters. Chase Stevenson and Matt Kowalski remain out of the lineup with injuries and are joined by Cody Paivarinta, who was a late scratch on Tuesday against Vernon and will not go tonight. Nik Amundrud will get his 3rd straight start in goal for the Warriors tonight.
The Trail Smoke Eaters come into Friday night’s game with a record with a 26-13-1-3 record and sit in 4th place in the Interior Division standings while clinching a playoff spot earlier this week. The Smokies have gotten points in each of their last 8 games including a 5-4 victory over the Merritt Centennials in their last game on Saturday. Kale Howarth scored twice in the game while Carter Jones, Troy Ring and Braeden Tuck added singles in the win. Tanner Marshall started in the game, allowing 3 goals on 10 shots in the 1st period with Adam Marcoux turning aside 16 of the 17 shots he faced and was credited with his 8th win of the season.
Smoke Eaters Leading Scorers:
Ross Armour (17-35-52)
Kale Howarth (22-29-51)
Levi Glasman (18-25-43)
Carter Jones (14-21-35)
Jeremy Lucchini (3-30-33)
Trail has been one of the hottest teams in the league since the Christmas break, posting a 6-0-1-1 record in that 8-game span. In those eight contests, the Smokies have outscored their opposition by a 34-24 margin including a power play that has operated at 6/24 (25.0%) during that span. The recent surge has gotten the Smoke Eaters one point behind Penticton for 3rd place in the division and two behind Wenatchee for 2nd.
The big boys have been firing on all cylinders for Trail over the last 10 game stretch as Ross Armour and Kale Howarth has risen back to the top of the BCHL points leaders. Armour has collected points in nine of his last ten games including a pair of goals and twelve points over that stretch while Howarth has registered seven goals and twelve points in his last nine games including a five-game point streak to sit 5th and 6th (respectively) in points in the BCHL.
Adam Marcoux has benefitted greatly from the change of scenery he got when traded from the Cowichan Valley Capitals to the Smoke Eaters as he has posted a 6-3-1 record in black and orange to go along with a 2.92 GAA and a .918 SV% in 11 games with Trail. Over his last 6 games played, the Calgary, Alberta native has a 4-1-1 record with a 2.22 GAA and a .943 SV% while not allowing more than two goals just once in that time.
The Warriors and Smoke Eaters are slated to drop the puck at 7:00 PM from the Cominco Arena in Trail. Pre-game festivities will begin at 6:45 PM on the Warriors Internet Network and HockeyTV.com with the Voice of the Warriors, Trevor Miller.
West Kelowna is back on home ice on Saturday, January 20th when they host the Salmon Arm Silverbacks for the third and final time at Royal LePage Place this season. The opening face-off is scheduled for 7:00 PM with tickets available for purchase at wkw.goticketpro.com, at the Warriors office, by calling (250) 769-7051 or at the box office one hour prior to puck drop.
