Penticton, BC: The Penticton Vees jumped out to a 2-1 lead through 20 minutes in game five of the Interior Division semifinals against the Trail Smoke Eaters, but would score three unanswered goals en route to a 4-3 win.
Trail opened the scoring just 4:21 in with Kale Howarth skating down the middle before firing a wrist shot over the glove of Adam Scheel.
After killing off a penalty for too many men, Lukas Sillinger came out of the penalty box and came in on a two-on-one rush with Massimo Rizzo. Rizzo slide the puck to Sillinger on right wing who fired a one timer on goal.
Adam Marcoux nearly made a miraculous save, diving over to his left to get his glove on the shot, but the puck deflected up in the air and landed in the net to tie the game.
The penalty kill and goal seemed to spark the Vees, as they took the lead just 47 seconds later. After a Trail pass was picked off at the blue line, Taylor Ward skated down the middle before finding Marcus Mitchell in the left circle.
The Vees forward fired the puck past an outstretched Marcoux to give the Vees a 2-1 lead with 7:20 to play in the first. Trail was given a power play late in the period, but couldn’t take advantage as the shots read 10-4 for the Vees through 20.
The second period was nearly a polar opposite of the first. The Vees had difficulties generating offence through the full 20 minutes, registering just three shots on Marcoux.
Penticton also ran into penalty trouble, taking three penalties in a 5:29 span. Trail capitalized on the second one as Levi Glasman deflected in a pass to the front of the goal to tie the game with 5:55 to go in the period. The second mercifully came to an end with the Vees being outshot 15-3.
The first few minutes of the third appeared to be more of the same until the Vees started getting extended zone time deep in Trail territory.
Against the flow of play the Smoke Eaters would take the lead. After a puck just barely came out of the zone in Trail’s end, the Vees dumped it down the left wall but it was gathered by the Smoke Eaters to skate out three-on-two.
Carter Jones came down the right wing before swinging a pass across the zone to Glasman who picked the top corner to give Trail a 3-2 lead with under 10 minutes to play.
Penticton got two more power plays in the final seven minutes of the period, and pulled Scheel to begin the second with two minutes to go. Unfortunately for the Vees, Wyatt Sloboshan’s shot was blocked by Andre Ghantous who skated out to centre before backhanding the puck into the open cage.
Taylor Ward would score on the power play with 18 seconds to go, but that was all the Vees would get as the game ended 4-3.
Penticton now faces a must-win situation Saturday night as the two teams meet at Cominco Arena at 7:00 for game six.
