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Trail teams just miss playoff berths

Williams Lake faced Penticton in one semifinal while Mission, at 4-0, would face the North Shore Winter Club in the other semi.

The Greater Trail AA Bantams looked to have booked their ticket into the provincial semifinal with a convincing 5-1 win over Cranbrook on Tuesday but a tie in the standings spoiled their chances.

The win over Cranbrook put the Smokies in a tie with Williams Lake with identical 2-1-1 records, but Trail would lose the berth due to a goals for and against differential.

Williams Lake faced Penticton in one semifinal while Mission, at 4-0, would face the North Shore Winter Club in the other semi.

The GTMHA AA Midget Smoke Eaters narrowly missed a berth in the semifinal on Tuesday, losing to Smithers 3-2 in their third and deciding game of the round robin at the provincial championships in Penticton on Tuesday.

The Midget Smokies defeated last-year’s champion Penticton 8-3, but dropped a 3-1 decision to Vancouver Monday, so it was a must win matchup against Smithers. Chris Colquhoun and Nick Colbachini scored for Trail, but Mitchell Turko would net the winning goal for Smithers, to go with a pair from Mathew Deveau. In the semifinal Wednesday morning, Kelowna would defeat Smithers 2-0 to advance to the gold medal game.

The Pee Wee AA Smokies also lost a potential playoff berth, by dropping a close 3-0 match to Williams Lake who went undefeated through the tournament. They play Campbell River in the semifinal, while Burnaby Winter Club, also 3-0, face Penticton.

Meanwhile the West Kootenay Wildcats are 0-4 in their provincial championship in Prince George, losing 4-1 to South Island on Tuesday.