
Eliot Compton couldn't have found a better time to score his first career BC Hockey League goal.
The 16-year-old Victoria native snapped a 3-3 tie with a gorgeous move from in tight to lift his West Kelowna Warriors to a 6-3 victory over Trail on Teddy Bear Toss night.
With the game deadlocked Jack Pridham slid a pass to Compton alone in front of Smoke Eater netminder Teagan Kendrick. The rookie deked to the backhand and lifted a shot high over the sprawling goaltender.
Compton, who played sparingly on the fourth line early in the season has been seeing more and more ice time as the year has gone on.
"I think he is going to be a dominant, elite player in this league. For me it's a slow trickle and it's going to build up and he is building himself slowly," said head coach Simon Ferguson.
"He has the IQ, he has the speed and brains an it's about putting it all together. I'm really happy to see him get his first."
Ferguson says Compton is the type of player who could work his way higher up the lineup as the year goes on.
"He's a guy that I peg as an elite player. Our conversation was come here and learn how to work hard.
"There are guys that stay at a level too long and I think he would have been too good for U18 and I think he had to learn to get his habits in line with junior.
"He's getting through those bumps right now and you're seeing the benefit of it."
The Warriors jumped all over the Smoke Eaters early, outshooting them 12-1 by the midway point of the first and getting rewarded when Cal Hughes tipped home his first of two on a centering pass from linemate Trent Wilson.
The goal launched several hundred stuffed animals from the crowd. The animals were collected and will be distributed among seniors homes in the community.
Some defensive miscues brought Trail back into the game. The Smokies scored on their third and fourth shots of the period then chased starter Matthew DellaRusso from the net with a third goal in a five minute span.
DellaRusso allowed three goals on eight shots before being relieved by Rorke Applebee who would go on to stop all 19 shots he faced to give the offence a chance to come back.
"There was one moment when he stopped a three or four man break and I thought that was a big moment.
"He made some big save when we had our blips."
Whether it was the change or not the Warriors regained the momentum and bagged a pair 89 seconds apart to head into the break tied at three.
Jackson Kyrkostas brought the crowd to its feet with a spectacular goal to cut the deficit to one. He raced down the left wing and powered his way to the front of the net before sliding the puck past Kendrick as he moved across the top of the crease.
Hughes tied it 1:29 later then sprung Pridham loose for his eighth with less than six minutes left in regulation time to grow the lead to two.
Wilson sealed the victory with an empty net goal with 73 second left.
Saturday's win was the Warriors sixth in a row and seventh in eight outings vaulting them ahead of Salmon Arm and Vernon into second spot in the Interior Division.
They're just eight behind first place Penticton after the Vees dropped their second straight in as many nights to Salmon Arm 2-1.
The Warriors host the Vipers Sunday afternoon at 2:30 at Royal LePage Place.
The game will mark the final game for Johannes Lökkeberg until the new year. He'll leave for Sweden next week for Norway's training camp ahead of the World Junior Hockey Championships.