The Smithers Steelheads home opener Saturday night was a rematch of the season opener with similar results.
The home team came up short dropping a close one to the Prince Rupert Rampage by a final score of 4-3.
Gary Kinsey opened the scoring at 1:25 of the first period giving Smithers a 1-0 lead going into the break.
Jordan Weir tied it up for the Rampage with the only goal of the second period.
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After taking the lead back with a goal from captain Randall Groot the Steelheads gave up three consecutive goals in the third period to go down 4-2. Two of those were from Weir to complete his hat trick.
Gary Cloutier would make it three for the home team with just 24 seconds remaining, but it was too little too late.
The Steelheads managed to pelt Rampage goalie Tomoki Yoshizawa with 46 shots but he was up to the task.
Tyran Hunter stopped 32 Prince Rupert shots in the losing effort for Smithers.
The Steelheads are now 1-2 on the season.
While the team didn’t win, the Civic Centre Arena was packed with fans happy to see the team back in action, with parking spilling out into the side streets around the game.
It was the first home Central Interior Hockey League (CIHL) game held in Smithers since the 2016-2017 CIHL season when the Steelheads last played.
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The team won the CIHL championship in the 2015-2016 season.
The Steelheads next game is Nov. 2 against the Hazelton Wolverines at the Civic Centre Arena in Smithers.
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