Playoffs Game 2: Vernon 7 Trail 2

Don't forget tickets for Game 3 and a possible Game 4 are on sale at the Cominco Arena box office on Monday from 12pm to 4pm. Fill that barn up!

The Smoke Eaters are a confident group right now. They lost 3-2 last night, but the feeling around the room is that they were in the game and absolutely should be able to step up and earn a split here tonight. They're comfortable with the way the game went in a lot of ways. However, they want to make sure they don't take as many penalties (though they didn't like some of the calls) and get some more rubber on Gore in Vernon's net.

I think that's reasonable. It was a 3-2 game with some real close calls both ways. Stefan Decosse nearly put a puck in with two seconds left in yesterday's game. It was that close to an overtime. Put some more pucks on net and you never know what could happen.

The Smokies also realize they came out a bit flat. They think it was playoff nerves. They were a little hesitant in the first, but once they got a few chances they shook off the nerves and played with Vernon the rest of the way. They aren't expecting to deal with a nervous or tentative start today.

Vernon's Coach Ferner says they didn't get as much traffic as they wanted yesterday. He wants more guys going to the net for second and third chances. He liked their puck possession and wants to use their size and puck possession to take advantage of Trail's shorter bench and tire them out.

It's a huge game tonight. If Trail can earn a split we're guaranteed games Monday and Tuesday. Either way expect another great battle between teams who have been close every game this year. 6 out of 7 have been decided by one goal. There's very little reason to expect any different tonight.

What do you guys think? What are the keys for a Smokies victory? Let me know here or send me an e-mail at shawnsamsmullin@hotmail.com

Pre-game show starts at 6:45pm tonight on Mountain FM.