Tuesday 24 February 2015

Game Preview - Feb 24 vs Trail

The Warriors come home after a big win in Trail on Saturday night and will take on the Smoke Eaters again for the 8th time this season. The season series has been an interesting back and forth between these two hockey clubs, with the Warriors holding a 4-2-0-1 edge.

Saturday's game in Trail saw the Warriors playing without 4 regulars, including leading scorer Liam Blackburn, and 20 year olds Jordan Masters, Andy Desautels, and captain Andrew Johnson. At the time of this preview, their status is unknown for tonight's game, but Saturday's indication was that each were day-to-day with the possibility of playing tonight or Saturday vs Surrey.

Jonathan Desbiens had a pair of goals against the Smoke Eaters on Saturday as him and Brayden Gelsinger found their chemistry once again. Jason Cotton was again a big factor and worked hard to create opportunities.

It was the defensive side of the puck that I noticed the most throughout that hockey game. Shot blocks were 20+, maybe even 30+ as every attempt seemed to have a Warrior getting in the way. With a short bench, Rylan Ferster got the match-ups he needed to get and kept Craig Martin and Jake Lucchini off the scoreboard with a neutral-zone trap. Dallas Calvin left the game in the first period for the Smoke Eaters and did not return. He has only played 5 periods out of 21 against West Kelowna due to a bout with Mono, but put up 4 points in that 8-7 OT win over the Warriors February 13th. There will be a definite focus on that line once again tonight.

Here are the stats.

Trail Smoke Eaters - 18-33-0-5

6th in Interior Division (41 Pts)

HOME - 12-14-0-3
AWAY - 6-19-0-2

Top Scorer
Jake Lucchini  (95)  F
(34 G, 46 A)

GF - 200
GA - 243

PP - 12th - 21.3% (46 for 216)
PK - 11th - 77.3% (170 for 220)


West Kelowna – 27-21-0-8

T-3rd in Interior Division (62 Pts)

HOME – 16-9-0-2
ROAD – 11-12-0-6

Top Scorer
Liam Blackburn (96) F
(22 G, 51 A)

GF – 195
GA – 205

PP – 10th - 22.4% (59 for 264)
PK – 3rd - 82.1% (188 for 229)

Head-to-Head Lifetime – West Kelowna is 42-14-0-6 vs. All-time vs Trail
2013/2014 Head to Head – West Kelowna went 6-1 vs. Trail
2014/2015 Head to Head - West Kelowna is 4-2-0-1 vs. Trail this season

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