Just a day before the two rivals faceoff in a critical regular season match, the Flamez hosted the Smokies in a friendly affair. The smokies, sitting in 3rd spot in league IV.11, have beaten every team this year except for the 7th place Flamez, incredibly going 0-6 (including one regular season loss) against the Flamez. This game proved no different.
After a tight two periods, with the Flamez leading 2-1, there was an explosion of goals in the third, with the Flamez outscoring the Smokies 6-3 in the period, giving the Flamez an 8-4 win. Smokies star goaltender
Rihards Puriņš sat out the game in favour of the backup Habal, which may have resulted in the high scoring affair.
However even with an 0-7 record (including friendlies), the Smokies can even the important regular season series at 1-1 tomorrow when they host the Flamez.