The West Kelowna Warriors will be playing for their playoff lives as they look to extend their Interior Division Quarter Final against the Trail Smoke Eaters in Game #4 on Tuesday night at Royal LePage Place.
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 (2-1 Warriors) (BOXSCORE)
Warriors vs. Smoke Eaters Playoff Series Schedule:
Game #1: Friday, March 2nd @ Cominco Arena (6-5 Smoke Eaters/OT) (BOXSCORE)
Game #2: Saturday, March 3rd @ Cominco Arena (7-2 Smoke Eaters) (BOXSCORE)
Game #3: Monday, March 5th @ Royal LePage Place (4-0 Smoke Eaters) (BOXSCORE)
Game #4: Tuesday, March 6th @ Royal LePage Place (7:00 PM)
*Game #5: Thursday, March 8th @ Cominco Arena (7:00 PM)
*Game #6: Saturday, March 10th @ Royal LePage Place (7:00 PM)
*Game #7: Sunday, March 11th @ Cominco Arena (7:00 PM)
* – If Necessary
The Warriors suffered their third loss of the series with a 4-0 shutout defeat at the hands of the Smoke Eaters on Monday night at Royal LePage Place. West Kelowna was held off the scoresheet for the fourth time this season, going back to the regular season, while Nik Amundrud was very good in the game, turning aside 33 of the 36 shots he faced in his third loss of the playoffs.
Warriors Regular Season Scoring Leaders:
Chase Dubois (21-36-57)
Jared Marino (21-32-53)
Ryan Steele (19-34-53)
RJ Murphy (21-24-45)
Michael Ryan (7-37-44)
Warriors Playoff Leading Scorers:
Chase Dubois (2-3-5)
Ryan Steele (2-1-3)
Jared Marino (1-1-2)
Willie Reim (1-1-2)
Parm Dhaliwal (0-2-2)
The Warriors will have their backs against the wall on Tuesday night in Game #4 as they trail the Smoke Eaters 3-0 in the best-of-seven Interior Division Quarter Final and try to avoid being swept in back-to-back playoff seasons. West Kelowna fell in four games last season in their opening round series against the Merritt Centennials and have dropped their last seven playoff games dating back to last year.
The shutout on Monday night was the fourth of the season, going back to the regular season, and the first time the Warriors have been held off the scoresheet in the playoffs since March 9th, 2015 against the Penticton Vees, a span of 43 playoff games including the Warriors 35-game run to their 2016 Royal Bank Cup Championship.
Game #3 took more of a toll than just the score for the Warriors as Jake Harrison was lost in the game after colliding into the end boards and will not play in Game #4. In Harrison’s absence, West Kelowna has called upon defenseman Declan Douthart as he will make his BC Hockey League debut for the Warriors. The Winnipeg, Manitoba native currently mans the blue line for the Pursuit of Excellence Midget Prep team as he tallied 2 goals and 9 points in 22 games this season.
The Smoke Eaters took a commanding 3-0 series lead after a 4-0 shutout win in Game #3 of the series on Monday night. Troy Ring scored in the 1st period while Tyler Ghirardosi tallied a power play goal in the 2nd period with Spencer McLean and Kale Howarth scored 3rd period goals in the victory. Adam Marcoux made 30 saves on 30 shots in his 3rd win of the postseason and his first career playoff shutout.
Smoke Eaters Regular Season Leading Scorers:
Ross Armour (21-42-63)
Kale Howarth (24-37-61)
Levi Glasman (24-28-52)
Carter Jones (15-30-45)
Andre Ghantous (19-25-44)
Smoke Eaters Playoff Scoring Leaders:
Kale Howarth (3-3-6)
Ross Armour (0-6-6)
Levi Glasman (2-3-5)
Blaine Caton (2-2-4)
Braeden Tuck (1-3-4)
Trail comes into the game needed just one win to move onto the second round of the playoffs after three straight wins to begin the series. The Smoke Eaters were 2-2 in elimination games from a season ago in the postseason, getting ahead 3-0 in their opening round series against the Salmon Arm Silverbacks before the ‘Backs forced a Game #5.
Adam Marcoux came out with a terrific performance in Game #3 with 30 saves for his first career postseason shutout. The blanking was the second in Marcoux’s BCHL career, earning one against the Silverbacks in the regular season. Marcoux now holds a 3-0 record in the series along with a 2.26 GAA and a .917 SV% along with the shutout.
The Warriors and Smoke Eaters drop the puck at 7:00 PM on Monday night for Game #4 of their best-of-seven Interior Division Quarter Final series. Children 16 and under get free admission with tickets available online at wkw.goticketpro.com, at the Warriors office, by calling (250) 769-7051 or at the box office ahead of the opening puck drop.
