After another close loss at the Coy Cup, the Steelheads are now out of championship contention.
The team fell 5-3 to the Fort St. John Flyers Wednesday.
Even with a Smithers win and Whitehorse loss Thursday, the Huskies hold the head-to-head tiebreaker (Whitehorse beat Smithers 6-5 on Tuesday). Guaranteed to finish in fourth place, the Steelheads cannot advance to the semi-finals and are, therefore, will be eliminated after their game Thursday vs. Terrace.
Coach Tom DeVries says the team’s 0-and-2 record doesn’t reflect how well the team has played.
“I thought we played a couple of really good games. A few bounces, I believe we could’ve won both games, but that’s the way the game goes,” he says.
Smithers can still play a major role in how the rest of the tournament shapes up. With a win Thursday, combined with a Fort St. John loss to Whitehorse, Terrace can secure the tournament’s top spot and a bye to the finals. The Steelheads aren’t used to playing spoiler, but DeVries says the team won’t just roll over.
“There’s always a little pride when we play Terrace so we’re going to come out hard and try to beat them.”
Puck drops on the CIHL rivals tonight at 7 PM.
The semi-final game is on Friday. The Championship game is on Saturday.