Warriors Survive Late Push to Edge Smoke Eaters 5–4 in Trail
The West Kelowna Warriors came out flying Friday night in Trail, jumping all over the Smoke Eaters early and hanging on late for a thrilling 5–4 victory at the Cominco Arena.
It took just three minutes for the Warriors to open the scoring as Caden Kemkaren-Humble drove hard to the net and finished off a beautiful rush to give West Kelowna an early lead. The momentum didn’t stop there. Just 3:41 later, Kemkaren-Humble’s line struck again when Olivier Chan buried a rebound, with Kemkaren-Humble and Garrett Thom picking up the assists as the Warriors scored on their first two shifts of the night.
Only 15 seconds after that, Natan Ethier continued his torrid scoring pace, jumping on a turnover forced by Alexandre Lallier and finishing a cross-ice feed to make it 3–0. The quick strike spelled the end of the night for Trail goaltender Lyam Leblanc, who was relieved following Ethier’s goal.
Despite the goalie change, West Kelowna kept pushing. The Warriors’ red-hot power play cashed in when Jace Rask redirected a shot-pass from Blake Burke, with Aidan Malone earning the secondary assist to extend the lead to 4–0.
Trail responded after the Warriors killed off a penalty, scoring shortly after to get on the board. Just a minute and a half later, the Smoke Eaters struck again, cutting the Warriors’ lead in half and swinging the momentum heading into the intermission.
Early in the second period, Ethier once again came up big for West Kelowna, scoring his second of the night and fifth goal in his last two games to restore some breathing room. Trail refused to go away, however, answering back with a power-play goal from Cash Carter before Dylan Larivière pulled the Smoke Eaters within one just four minutes later.
The third period turned into a tense chess match, with chances going both ways as Trail pressed for the equalizer and West Kelowna looked for insurance. In the end, the Warriors held firm defensively, preserving the 5–4 win.
Ethier was named First Star after his two-goal performance. Christian Kim earned Second Star honors with a goal and an assist, while Caden Kemkaren-Humble took Third Star with a goal and an assist. Between the pipes, Angelo Zol picked up his 17th win of the season, stopping 23 of 27 shots.
Special teams played a role once again for West Kelowna, as the power play went 1-for-3 and the penalty kill finished 3-for-4.
The Warriors return home Saturday night for a Hockey Day matchup against the Vernon Vipers, sponsored by Winmar. Puck drop is set for 7:00 PM PST at Royal LePage Place.
