Penticton, BC: The Penticton Vees 2017-18 has come to an end after a 4-2 loss in game seven
to the Trail Smoke Eaters. Wyatt Sloboshan and Kenny Johnson provided the goals for the Vees.
Trail opened the scoring in the game on a broken play. Blaine Caton took a shot from the slot that deflected off a Vees leg and right to the slot where Andre Ghantous had a wide open net 9:58 into the game.
A few minutes later, Trail was given a power play after the Vees were called for too many men on the ice. It took the Smoke Eaters just 47 seconds into the power play as Ross Armour slid a pass to Braeden Tuck in front of the goal, who pulled it to his backhand before finding a hole on Scheel’s blocker side with 2:32 to play in the first.
The Vees best period of the night was the seconds, as they generated a ton of high quality scoring chances. After getting their first power play of the game, the Vees looked to cut into the Smokies lead.
Unfortunately it was Trail taking advantage, as Armour found a turnover in front of the Penticton net and beat Scheel under the blocker to make it 3-0 less than six minutes into the period.
Sloboshan cut into the lead when he and Chris Klack came in on a two-on-one rush. Klack cut to the middle of the ice before sliding the puck to Sloboshan, who fired it past the blocker side of Adam Marcoux.
Taylor Ward was an inch away from making it 3-2, as his shot from the right circle off a Trail turnover hit the underside of the cross bar but stayed out.
Trailing 3-1 into the third, the Vees came out with jump in the final period. After holding Trail in their zone for a minute, the Smokies took advantage of another turnover. Tuck came down the left wing into the Trail zone before finding Armour heading to the front of the net who tipped the pass through Scheel to make it 4-1 just 70 seconds into the period.
Johnson pulled the Vees to within two after throwing a massive hit along the Trail blue line. The Vees regrouped at centre, and Luke Reid skated down the right wing in the Trail zone before firing it across the ice for Johnson who tapped it in backdoor.
The goal came with eight minutes to play, but that was as close as the Vees would come as the game, and season, ended with the 4-2 score.
The loss ends the junior careers of Sloboshan, Jordan Henderson, Dakota Boutin, Jackson Keane, Klack and Owen Sillinger a they were in their final year of eligibility.
The announced attendance for game seven was 4,324.
