The Trail Smoke Eaters forced the Brooks Bandits into overtime, but lost 5-4 in the extra frame in it's third game in three days on Sunday, Sept. 29.
Trail started off on a winning note with a dominant 7-2 victory over the Spruce Grove Saints, Friday, before falling 6-3 to the Sherwood Park Crusaders on Saturday to earn 3-of-6 points in its first venture to Alberta to play its Interior Conference rivals.
The Smokies toughest match up came Sunday against the Rocky Mountain Challenge champion Bandits who were coming off a 4-1 win over the Penticton Vees Friday and are undefeated in the 2024-25 season.
Brooks opened the scoring with a short-handed marker by Davide Patella 3:14 into the first. The Quebec product drove wide to the net, then beat Smokies starter Teagan Kendrick top shelf for a 1-0 lead.
Bandits forward Nathan Free made it 2-0 on an end-to-end rush starting with a pass from defenceman Mathieu Taillefer with 6:12 remaining, as Brooks outshot Trail 13-10 through one.
Trail replied early in the second, when Calgary product Carter Matthews netted his first as a Smoke Eater on a great individual effort just 15 seconds in.
Brooks restored the two goal lead on the power play, when Nick Peluso wired a pass from Free at 18:01.
But Trail clawed its way back. First Judah Makway forced a turnover and scored a short-handed goal to cut the lead to 3-2, then Alex Hebblethwaite tied it on an unassisted effort with 5:40 to play in the middle frame, despite being outshot 18-6 in the period.
Former Powell River Kings forward, Parker Lalonde, tallied his fifth of the season 4:43 into the final frame to give Brooks the lead.
However, with time winding down, Trail's Evan Sundar converted a pass from Ridge Dawson and tied it with 1:48 remaining in regulation to force the extra frame.
Three minutes into the 10-minute overtime period, the Smoke Eaters were stopped on a 2-on-1. The tide turned, and BCHL leading scorer Lalonde, broke in and wired a low shot past Kendrick for the game winner and his ninth point in four games.
Brooks outshot Trail 49-21, and went 1-for-3 on the power play, while Trail was 0-for-5.
The Bandits lead the Interior with a 4-0 record, while Trail sits in second place at 3-1-0-1 in the Interior Conference.
In its Saturday match against the Sherwood Park Crusaders, the Smoke Eaters ran into a hot goalie in James Venne, who stopped 33 shots and two penalty shots in a 6-3 loss.
The Crusaders scored the loan goal in the first period, despite Trail holding a 16-8 advantage in shots. And they continued their onslaught scoring three unanswered in the second to take a 4-0 lead, before Trail could respond with a power-play marker from Cohen Carter who wired a shot past Venne with 64 seconds left in the middle frame.
Attila Lippai cut the lead to 4-2, on a gutsy drive to the net 1:17 into the third period.
The Smoke Eaters had a golden opportunity to tie it when Smoke Eaters Pierce and Lucas Lemieux were awarded back-to-back penalty shots 73 seconds apart, but were stymied again by Venne.
Trail would pay for the missed chances as goals from the Crusaders Christian Chouha and Jeremy Loranger put the game out of reach.
Smokies defenceman Drew Anastasio tallied his first of the season with less than two minutes to play to complete the scoring and the 6-3 final.
Ryan Parker faced 31 shots in the Smoke Eaters net in his first start of the season, while Venne stopped 33 of 36.
On Friday, the Smoke Eaters jumped out to a 5-0 first period lead on goals from Sundar, Hebblethwaite, Lemieux, Pierce and Deacon Drummond on their way to an impressive 7-2 victory over the Spruce Grove Saints.
Lemieux and Pierce also netted their second of the game in the second and third periods, while Colin Doherty and Ethan Kronewill scored for the Saints.
Spruce Grove outshot Trail 41 to 33, and went 0-for-5 on the power play, while Trail was 0-for-2.
The Smoke Eaters return home on Friday, Oct. 4 for a 7 p.m. tilt against the West Kelowna Warriors, and travel to West Kelowna on Saturday.
