The Smoke Eaters open a weekend road trip tonight in Okotoks.
It’s also the lid-lifter of a tough stretch with six of the next seven games on the road.
The Smokies are coming off a grinding pair of games last weekend at home with a 4-1 win over West Kelowna and a hard-fought 4-1 loss to Penticton in a game that could have gone either way, if not for a pair of goal posts and a cross bar that got in the way of potential goals for the Trail troupe.
The Oilers have lost three of their last four, including a 7-4 defeat last Friday in Vernon and a 5-0 setback Saturday in West Kelowna.
They fell behind 2-0 after a slow start against the Warriors, but when the final buzzer went, the shots were even at 30.
The night before in Vernon, they trailed the Vipers 5-1 after one period and outshot Vernon 39-16 through the final two periods, reducing the deficit to 6-4 before the Vipers sealed the win with an empty net goal.
The Oilers (7-11) are led offensively by Brett Wilson. His 16 points includes six goals, with two of them on the power play.
Jackson Rowland has a team-leading seven goals.
Defenseman Lucas Lemieux still leads the Smoke Eaters (11-7-1-1) with 17 points, two ahead of Evan Sundar, Captain Ridge Dawson and Jason Stefanek who scored his team leading 10th goal against the Warriors.
Dawson skated on a line with Stefanek and Christian Kim during Friday’s practice, as that trio appears to be reunited after starting the season together.
Sundar did not take part in practice after missing both games last weekend with a lower body ailment.
Jack Kennedy was a full practice participant.
The 20-year-old defenseman and assistant captain missed both games last weekend, after an injury sustained during practice.
The Smoke Eaters have also acquired a 20-year-old Aidan Castle.
The 6’1″ 185-lb forward from Toronto comes over from Blackfalds for future considerations.
Castle joined the Bulldogs after three seasons in the OHL, where he scored 39 goals and 86 points in 176 games.
The Smokies are still eligible to add another overager.
The showdown with the Oilers in Okotoks begins at 6:05 Pacific Time with all the action available on Mixlr and FloHockey.
