The Westside Warriors can become the third Interior Conference team to earn a berth into the Interior semi-finals with a home-ice win tonight over the Trail Smoke Eaters, who trail 3-1 in this quarter-final meeting.
With a victory, No. 3 Westside would join the Interior’s other two top seeds, No. 1 Vernon Vipers and the No. 2 Penticton Vees, in the second round of the BCHL playoffs.
After dropping their playoff opener at home, the Warriors have put together a three-game winning streak, including two big road victories on Monday and Tuesday night at Cominco Arena. During that stretch, Westside has scored four goals in each of the wins to set up the potential clincher tonight.
Grayson Downing has been terrific for the Warriors, currently tied for fourth in playoff scoring with five goals and two assists to lead Westside to the 3-1 advantage. Tyler Krause only trails by a point in that department, contributing to the cause with a goal and five assists through four games of the BCHL playoffs.
On the backend, defenseman Brendan Ellis has also stepped up his game for the Warriors, tallying three goals, including a two-goal night in the 4-0 win in Game 3.
For its part, Trail, needing a victory to keep its season alive, will lean on rookie forward Sam Mellor who is tied for sixth in BCHL playoff scoring with three goals and three helpers. Nick Sandor has also contributed nicely for the Smoke Eaters with a pair of goals and three assists.
A win tonight by Trail will push the series to a Game 6, which would take place on Saturday evening back at Cominco Arena.
In other Interior Conference action Thursday night:
- In tonight’s game, the Quesnel Millionaires and the Salmon Arm SilverBacks return to the ice for an all-important Game 5 meeting with the series tied 2-2. For the third straight game, the two teams will play at the Sunwave Centre in Salmon Arm, where the home team has won two in a row to even the Interior quarter-finals. After Quesnel opened with two playoff victories on its home ice, the SilverBacks were able to hold serve on Monday and Tuesday to give themselves a chance to advance as the No. 4 seed. Salmon Arm put up five goals in each of the last two contests and will be looking to continue their offensive roll. The road team, meanwhile, scored four goals apiece in their two home playoff games in late February, including a 4-3 overtime victory in Game 1. But Quesnel has struggled away from home and are 1-3 in Salmon Arm this season, dating back to the regular season.
