The Trail Smoke Eaters are bus-bound for the land of the Bucks.
The Friday night battle in Cranbrook is the eighth meeting in the season series between the BCHL’s Kootenay contingent.
The Smokies want to rebound from last weekend’s back-to-back losses to Merritt, while the Bucks want to carry the momentum from Monday’s 9-1 mauling of the Vernon Vipers. Their fifth win in the last six games.
The Smokies have captured the last three head-to-head clashes with Cranbrook, including a 3-2 win on Jan. 17, backstopped by Teagan Kendrick’s 45-save performance.
Kendrick also assisted on Josh Schenk’s shorthanded goal with five seconds left in the first period to give Trail a 2-0 lead.
Adam Barone buried the power play winner midway through the third period and has 3 goals and 11 assists with the man advantage.
Nelson native, Bryce Sookro was one of the Bucks power play quarterbacks with four goals and nine assists on the man-advantage.
Meanwhile, Bucks back-liner Joseph Blackley continues to be the team-leader in points with 31, including nine on the power play.
Mathieu Cobetto-Roy of the Smoke Eaters is tied for 10th in the BCHL points-race and leads the team with 43.
Rookie centreman Chase Stefanek has been the most consistent Smokie point producer of late.
He is riding a four-game point streak and has hit the scoresheet with 13 points over the last 12 games to move into a tie for second in team scoring with Ridge Dawson. They both have 28 points.
The Smoke Eaters are 4-2-1 in a season series where the largest margin of victory was 3-0 on Dec. 30 in Trail. The largest margin of victory in Cranbrook was the Smoke Eaters’ 3-1 win the next night.
The three victories by the Bucks included a 5-4 overtime win on opening night at Cominco Arena and a 2-1 overtime decision in Cranbrook on Nov. 12.
The Bucks win streak has also put them within striking distance of the fifth-place Smoke Eaters in the Interior Conference.
Cranbrook is six points back, although Trail has two games in hand, while the Smokies want to catch Vernon who they trail by five points with 12 games left in the regular season.
Opening face off is set for 6 p.m. Pacific Time.
The Smokies also have a 3 p.m. date on Sunday against the Conference-leading Penticton Vees at Cominco Arena.
All Smoke Eaters games can be heard on Mixlr and watched on FloHockey.
The Trail Smoke Eaters are offering two ID Camps this season. Click for info.
