As the Central Interior Hockey League heads into a Christmas break, the Smithers Steelheads don’t have a lot of highlights to look back on from the first half of the season.
The Fish, coming off a heart-breaking 6-5 loss in a tight battle with the Hazelton Wolverines sit in third place in the league’s eastern division.
Tied in points with the Quesnel Kangaroos at 6, Smithers holds the edge with three wins compared to Quesnel’s two wins and two overtime losses. But the Roos — who have so far imploded in 2023-2024 after winning the league championship in 2022-2023 — have a game in hand having only played nine compared to Smithers’ 10.
The Steelheads are in striking distance, however, of the Nechako Northstars (Vanderhoof/Fort St. James), who have only four games left to play when competition resumes in 2024 while the Steelheads have six. The Stars currently sit at nine points with four wins and one overtime loss.
Smithers’ last matchup with the Stars on Dec. 10 in Vanderhoof came down to a shootout with the Steelheads prevailing 4-3.
Despite the two games in hand over Nechako, it is likely to be an uphill battle for the Fish with a tough second-half schedule ahead. Right out of the gates in 2024, the Steelheads face a doubleheader in Williams Lake. The Stampeders already have a virtual lock on first place in the east with a record of eight wins and two losses for 16 points.
And it doesn’t get any easier from there, while they will have a chance at home to take two points directly from Nechako on Jan. 21, they have to finish the season facing the two powerhouses of the western division.
The Prince Rupert Rampage went undefeated in the 2022-2023 regular season and despite a couple of stumbles this season during a grueling road trip to Williams Lake and Quesnel, they once again atop the western division with an 8-2-0-1 record going into the holiday break.
The Terrace River Kings are not far behind, though. The 2022-2023 western division champions currently sit three points behind the Rhinos with a game in hand at 7-2-0-0.
Smithers follows up its Jan. 21 tilt with Vanderhoof playing host to both the Rampage and Kings on Jan. 27 and 28 respectively before having to travel 4-and-a-half hours up Hwy 16 to the loudest barn in the league and a rematch with Prince Rupert to cap the season.
The Steelheads did finally get to play on their home ice Dec. 16 against the Wolverines though. Prior to Saturday’s game, they were playing home games on the second sheet due to renovations at the Civic Centre Arena.