Trail Smoke Eaters forward Quinn Disher scored with three seconds remaining in the first overtime period to lift the home team to a dramatic 4-3 victory over the West Kelowna Warriors on Saturday.
Disher picked up the puck off a face off at the blue line, skated into the Warriors end, toe dragged around the defenceman, and wired it over the blocker of West Kelowna goalie Cayden Hamming for the dramatic overtime win.
The victory was the Smokies second in as many nights, as Trail skated to a 7-5 triumph over the Wenatchee Wild on Friday at the Trail Memorial Centre to improve their record to 3-3-0-0.
Trail outshot the Warriors 17-11 in the first period yet the game remained scoreless thanks to strong performances from Hamming and Smokies rookie goalie Teagan Kendrick.
However, just 18 seconds into the middle frame Alexi Van Houtte-Cachero made it 1-0 West Kelowna and Jaiden Moreillo scored on the powerplay four and a half minutes later for the 2-0 lead.
The Smoke Eaters Josh Schenk was in the right spot at the right time, as a shot into the Warriors end caromed off the board to the front of the net, where the Whitehorse product shoveled it in to cut the lead in half.
The Warriors responded on a quick shot from Jake Bernadet from the right circle that beat Kendrick with eight minutes left in the period, but the Smoke Eaters got it back when Adam Marshall’s centering pass banked in off a defenceman’s stick to make it 3-2.
Both teams were called for too-many-men on the ice in the third period, but it was Trail that would capitalize when Brady Hunter took a pass from Evan Bushy at the right dot, and wristed a shot stickside on Hamming with 13:46 remaining.
From then on, it was a defensive battle as both teams played a tight checking period with West K outshooting Trail 5-4.
The Warriors had four shots in the extra five-minute period, before Disher beat the buzzer for the game winner.
West Kelowna outshot Trail 39-38, with the Smokies going 1-for-4 on the power play and 2-for-3 on the PK.
Disher earned first star honours, with West K’s Jaden Moriello second star, and Hunter the third star for Trail.
In Friday’s match up, the Smoke Eaters scored four goals in the third period for a come-from-behind 7-5 victory over Wenatchee.
Smokies forward Jack Kurrle scored the game winner, netting his first of the season with just under five minutes to play to give Trail a 6-5 lead.
The teams traded goals in the first with Josh Schenk opening the scoring five minutes in, before David Hejduk tied it with 7:29 remaining in the period.
Trail product Judah Makway tallied his first of the season with a shorthanded goal 3:35 into the middle frame. Makway sprinted down the left wing and fired a shot top shelf to make it 2-1 Trail. However, Wenatchee tied it on a goal from Gabe Dombrowski, then took the lead six minutes later on a Cade Littler goal.
Trail forward Brady Hunter tied it at 5:27, but Garrett Szydlowski restored the Wild lead just 24 seconds later, making it 4-3 heading into the third.
Nic Remissong tied it again at 5:14, and Mathieu Cobetto-Roy netted his second of the season on a power play with 11 minutes to play in the third period to give Trail a 5-4 lead.
The Wild’s captain Littler, however, notched his second of the night to tie it at 5-5 with just over seven minutet to play.
After Kurrle restored the Trail lead, Smokies captain Evan Bushy scored his first of the campaign into an empty net with 36 seconds left on the clock for the 7-5 final. Bushy had a three point night with a goal and two assists.
Wenatchee outshot Trail 46-42, with Cole Tisdale picking up his first win of the season for the Smoke Eaters and Owen Millard taking the loss for the Wild.
Smoke Eaters forward Brady Hunter (1G, 2A) was named the first star, Littler the second star, and Schenk the third star. Kurrle earned the Fortis Energy Player of the Game.
Trail next faces off against the Salmon Arm Silverbacks on Friday, Oct. 14 at the Trail Memorial Centre and the Cranbrook Bucks on Saturday, Oct. 15. Puck drop is at 7 p.m.