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West Âé¶¹AV Warriors fall 4-3 to Trail Smoke Eaters in overtime

West Âé¶¹AV hosts the Vernon Vipers at Royal LePage for their home opener on Sept. 27
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West Âé¶¹AV Warriors players warm up before a game against the Trail Smoke Eaters on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024.

It was not the opening to the BC Hockey League 2024 season the West Âé¶¹AV Warriors wanted.

Coming off a 9-0 thrashing by the Cranbrook Bucks on Friday, Sept. 20, the Warriors dropped a 4-3 overtime decision to the Smoke Eaters in Trail on Sept. 21. Trail’s (3) Jason Stefanek scored the only goal of the first period at the 18:19 mark. 

There was a scary moment for West Âé¶¹AV in the final seconds of the period as Smoke Eaters forward Dylan Lariviere ran Warriors defenceman Brady Flynn from behind into the corner boards. Lariviere received a five-minute major for boarding and a game misconduct.  Flynn did not return to the game.

The Warriors struck early in the second as Jack Pridham (1) tied the game 1-1 at 0:32 on the power play. Elias Callgren and Callum Hughes had the assists. Hughes netted his own power-play goal at 4:04 putting West Âé¶¹AV up 2-1, with Pridham and Jackson Kyrkostas assisting. The Smoke Eaters tied the game at 12:52 as Jack Ziliotto (2) found the back of the net on the power play. Laz Giardina (1) put West Âé¶¹AV up 3-2 with just under three minutes left in the period.

It looked like that’s how the game might end until Trail’s Noah Ziskie (1) tied the game 3-3 at 18:03 of the third period. Lucal Lemieux (2) scored unassisted in the extra frame to give the Smoke Eaters a 4-3 win. 

The Warriors outshot the Smoke Eaters 37/30 and went 2/5 on the power play and killed three of four penalties.

West Âé¶¹AV hosts the Vernon Vipers at Royal LePage for their home opener on Friday, Sept. 27.



About the Author: Gary Barnes

Journalist and broadcaster for three decades.
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