Trail forward Ridge Dawson scored the game winner and goalie Teagan Kendrick made 30 saves in a crucial 4-1 Smoke Eaters victory over the Salmon Arm Silverbacks on Saturday.
The Smoke Eaters bounced back from a 3-2 loss to the Penticton Vees on Sunday, Feb. 25 with a thrilling 6-5 overtime win over the West Kelowna Warriors on Friday night making it back-to-back wins over Interior Conference rivals.
Dawson tallied his 21st of the season on the power play, firing in a setup from Christian Kim and Ethan Warrener to give Trail a 2-0 lead 9:17 into the second period.
Trail’s record improves to 23-17-6-0 and with a Vernon Vipers 4-2 loss to West K on Saturday, the Smoke Eaters are just three points back of the fourth-place Vipers in the Interior.
Salmon Arm carried the play in the opening 20 minutes outshooting the Smoke Eaters 12-5, but the Stefanek brothers teamed up to give Trail a 1-0 lead early with Chase setting up Jason 16 seconds after the opening face off.
Trail carried the play in the second and after Dawson’s goal, Max Potvin scored at 11:43 for a 3-0 Smokies lead.
Silverbacks forward Cole Coolsey spoiled Kendrick’s shut out bid with eight minutes remaining in the third period, and Smoke Eaters defenceman Lucas Lemieux scored into an empty net for the 4-1 final.
Trail and Salmon Arm each had 30 shots on goal, while the Smoke Eaters were 1-for-4 on the power play and 1-for-1 on the penalty kill.
Kim and Warrener each had two assists and were named first and second star, while Kendrick earned the third star.
On Friday, March 1, Trail came back from 3-1 and 5-3 deficits to force overtime and win 6-5 in the extra frame over the Warriors.
Trail captain Warrener tallied a hat trick and Dawson scored twice including the game winner in a spirited effort from the Smoke Eaters.
A shot from Smokies forward Adam Marshall missed the net, but caromed off the back boards to the side of the net, where it bounced off Dawson and past the Warrirors goalie 1:54 into the extra frame.
After falling behind 3-1 eight minutes into the opening frame, Dawson cut it to 3-2 at 10:19, and Warrener tied it up less than two minutes later.
But the Warriors restored the lead 51 seconds later, on a power play goal from Callum Hughes.
Trail played determined hockey through the final 40 minutes outshooting the Warriors 26-13. However, Jack Pridham’s goal at 4:43 of the second period gave West K a 5-3 lead heading into the third period.
But Warrener completed the hat trick with a power play goal at 11:33.
Another lucky bounce went Trail’s way as the West Kelowna goalie Rorke Applebee went out to play the puck, but it ricocheted to Jason Stefanek in front and the Yorba Linda, Calif. product made no mistake tallying his 13th of the campaign to tie it with 6:10 left to play.
Trail outshot West Kelowna 40-26 and were 2-for-6 on the power play and 2-for-4 on the PK.
Dawson (2G) earned first star and Warrener third star for his three goals and four point night.
The Smoke Eaters return to the Cominco Arena this weekend and will host Interior rivals, the eighth place Prince George Spruce Kings on Friday and the Vernon Vipers on Saturday.
The Smoke Eaters have eight games remaining in the regular season, and have a chance to catch third place Salmon Arm if they can go on a run. The Smoke Eaters currently trail the 27-16-0-3 Silverbacks by five points, and Vernon by three.
The puck drop is at 7 p.m.