Vees’ season ends in Game 7
Trail defeats Penticton 4-2 in deciding game to advance to Interior final against Wenatchee Wild
The Penticton Vees couldn’t find the Game 7 magic this time.
Ross Armour scored twice and added an assist as the Trail Smoke Eaters beat the Vees 4-2 in the seventh-and-deciding game of the Interior Division semifinal series in front of a largely subdued season-high crowd of 4,324 on Monday night at the South Okanagan Events Centre.
The Vees won three straight Game 7s — including two at the SOEC — to win the 2016-17 BCHL championship, but the Smoke Eaters got the early jump in this one and held on to guarantee there will be a new champion this season.
Andre Ghantous and Braeden Tuck also scored for Trail, which will now play the Wenatchee Wild in the Interior Conference final starting Friday in Wenatchee.
Wyatt Sloboshan and Kenny Johnson scored for the Vees, who lost at home for the second straight time in the series after winning 6-1 on Saturday in Trail to force the Game 7.
Adam Marcoux made 37 saves for the Smoke Eaters, who will be playing in the third round of the playoffs for the first time in club history.
Adam Scheel turned aside 25 shots for the Vees, who trailed 2-0 and 3-1 at the period breaks.
The Smokies opened the scoring on a broken play at 9:58. Blaine Caton’s weak shot was deflected right to Ghantous, who easily deposited the puck into the open side.
Ghantous — one of Trail’s most effective forwards in the series — was helped off at the 13-minute mark and did not return.
But after the Vees took a bench minor for too many men on the ice, Tuck took a centering feed from Armour and slid the puck past Scheel at 17:28.
The Vees finally got a power play early in the second period, but after a turnover in the slot, Armour zipped a 20-foot wrister past Scheel on the blocker side at 5:52.
Sloboshan scored at 9:12 to give the Vees some hope. A Trail defenceman stumbled near the blue line and Chris Klack burst in on a 2-on-1 break and made a perfect pass for Sloboshan to tap into the open side. Defenceman Jonny Tychonick also assisted, giving him points in each of the Vees’ 11 playoff games (3 goals and 13 assists).
The Vees poured it on for the remainder of the period but couldn’t get another.
On another 2-on-1, Dakota Boutin fed Taylor Ward, who rifled a shot that hit the underside of the bar and stayed out.
Video review confirmed the puck did not enter the net.
Trailing 3-1, the Vees had to open it up in the third period and it cost them. A turnover at the Trail blue line resulted in an odd-man rush and Armour beat Scheel after taking the pass from Tuck at 1:10.
The Vees cut it to 4-2 with eight minutes left as two defenceman combined on yet another 2-on-1 break as Luke Reid set up Johnson for his first BCHL playoff goal.
Before the goal was counted, video review was utilized to confirm Armour’s bid for a hat-trick earlier in the shift did not go in. The review showed the shot hit both posts but didn’t cross the line.
The Vees got Scheel to the bench for an extra attacker with 2:05 left but couldn’t get any closer.
Armour, Johnson and Marcoux were the three stars.
ICE CHIPS: The Vees outscored Trail 27-24 in the series . . . . After getting blanked in the first two games, the Smoke Eaters’ power play connected for six goals in their last five games of the series . . . . Powell River Kings play Prince George Spruce Kings in the Coastal Conference final.