Game Day | WK at TRA

It’s a showdown between the top two teams in the BCHL’s Interior West Division.

The second place Trail Smoke Eaters host West Kelowna Friday night with a chance to trim the Warriors lead to two points.

It’s the fourth game of the season series with the Warriors leading 2-1, including a 4-1 win in Trail on October 10 in the Smokies’ Home opener.

Trail turned the tables October 25 in the Okanagan, when Otto Hanson scored in overtime to give the Smokies a 3-2 victory. Trail goalie Cooper Michaluk suffered a partially torn hamstring during that game and has been out of the lineup ever since.

The Warriors recorded a 1-0 home-ice win on December 6, despite a wild finish in front of the West Kelowna net. Warriors goalie Angelo Zol made a point-blank save on Smokies winger Cash Carter, followed by a buzzer-beating stop on Dylan Lariviere by Warriors defenseman Liam Nilsson.

Zol has four shutouts, along with the BCHL’s best goals-against-average of 1.65 and the top save percentage at .934.

The teams are statistically close in several key categories.

Trail has a home record of 10-4, while West Kelowna’s road record is 8-4-1.

Smokies top scorer Christan Kim has 35 points, West Kelowna’s Dylan Krayer has 33. One of Krayer’s 15 goals was the lone tally in West Kelowna on December 6.

The difference between the second through fourth leading scorers for both teams is one or two points, while the fifth leading scorers for each team are tied.

The Warriors power play is at 26%, compared to 23.6% for Trail.

West Kelowna has killed off 83.8% of opposition power plays this season; the Smokies average is 81.9%.

However, Trail has an edge with a home-ice power play percentage of 28.3%, compared to the Warriors penalty kill of 78.2% on the road.

Both teams ended two-game mini losing streaks last Saturday.

The Smokies turned in a solid 60-minute effort with a 5-3 Cominco Arena conquering of the Salmon Arm Silverbacks, while West Kelowna recorded a 6-4 win in Brooks.

Trail’s hottest shooter heading into this game is 20-year-old Smokies centreman Erik Pastro, who has scored in four straight home games.

Opening face-off at Cominco Arena is set for 7 p.m. and good seats are still available at Tickets.TrailSmokeEaters.com.