The Trail Smoke Eaters will look to extend their two game win streak against the Langley Rivermen tonight (Friday) , following a thrilling 3-2 overtime victory over the Penticton Vees on Wednesday.
The Smoke Eaters wrap up their six-game homestand, and with four games remaining in the regular season have moved to within three points of sixth place West Kelowna Warriors and are two wins away from the .500 mark.
Related read: Smoke Eaters ready for Penticton Vees
Langley, 25-24-2-1, sits in fourth place in the Mainland Division, just three points behind the Coquitlam Express for the third seed.
On Wednesday, an overtime goal from Carter Jones and an outstanding performance by Smokies goalie Donovan Buskey backstopped Trail to a 3-2 win over the first-place Penticton Vees.
Jones scored off the opening faceoff in the 3-on-3 overtime period, breaking in with Diarmad DiMurro and Owen Ozar on an odd-man rush. DiMurro flew over the blue line and dropped to a trailing Ozar, who dished it back to DiMurro. The Highland Hills, NY product sent a pass over to Jones, and the Bemidji State commit buried it blocker side on Vees goalie Jack Lafontaine for a thrilling Trail victory just nine seconds into OT.
The Smokies win was made possible by Buskey who stood on his head in the first period, stopping 17 of 18 shots. The only way Penticton could beat the Vancouver product was on a bounce off the back boards that ricocheted out to David Silye. The Vees forward batted it out of the air and past Buskey for a 1-0 lead with just 33 seconds left to play in the opening frame.
Ozar netted his first of the game, finishing a centering pass from Braeden Tuck to tie it 20 seconds into the second period. Trail picked up the pace in the middle frame, with chances going both ways, but Lafontaine and Buskey came up big when called upon, with Penticton outshooting the Smokies 27-19 through two periods.
The intense back-and-forth match up continued into the third, and the Vees reclaimed the lead with 2:46 remaining on an Owen Sillinger tally. But again, Trail answered, and seven seconds later, Jones carried the puck down the right wing and fed a streaking Ozar, who tipped it past Lafontaine to tie it at two and force the extra frame.
The reuniting of the Tuck, Jones, and Ozar line last weekend paid dividends the past two games. Jones netted a goal and an assist, Tuck had two assists, and Ozar two goals and an assist on Wednesday, and combined for 12 points in the past two games.
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Ozar’s second goal of the game was his 12th of the season to go along with 23 points, and the Prince Albert, Sask. native’s three-point night was also good for the game’s first star.
Buskey stopped 33 of 35 shots and was named the game’s second star, and Lafontaine took third-star honours with 28 saves.
Trail faces Langley tonight (Friday) at the Cominco Arena at 7 p.m. and the Merritt Centennials, 31-15-4-3, on Saturday in Merritt in what is likely to be a preview of the first round playoff matchup.
Trail has lost twice to Langley this season, falling 4-1 to the Boatman at the Showcase on Sept. 20, and 3-1 on Dec. 8 in Langley, where Trail managed just 13 shots on goal through three periods.
The Centennials currently sit comfortably in second place four points behind Penticton and five points up on Wenatchee with five games remaining. The Cents have won 3 of 5 games versus the Smoke Eaters this season, but Trail has the most recent win, beating the Cents 3-2 in a shootout earlier this month.
Trail wraps up its season with a home-and-home against West Kelowna Feb. 22 and 23.
sports@trailtimes.ca
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