It was a tough day for Greater Trail minor hockey teams at the provincial playdowns on Monday, but the Bantam AA team was able to turn it around in Salmon Arm Tuesday with a win over Langley.
The four local teams went winless Monday with GTMHA’s Pee Wee AA Smoke Eaters falling to Powell River 3-2, the Bantam AA losing a 5-2 match to Williams Lake, the Midget AA succumbing to Vancouver 3-1, and the West Kootenay Bantam A female Wildcats getting shut out by Juan de Fuca 3-0.
Despite the loss, the Bantam AA’s are still in the playoff mix thanks to a 3-1 win over a tough Langley side early Tuesday morning.
Jason Mailhiot made 36 saves for the Bantam Smokies while Karsten Jang, Blake Sidoni, and Spencer McLean scored to hand Langley its first loss of the tournament. With a win over Kelowna Tuesday night, the double-A Bantams should make it to the playoff round today.
The Wildcats meanwhile had a chance to advance to the semifinal round but had must-win games against Tri-Cities and Prince George Tuesday. Unfortunately, Tri-Cities ruined their chance with an early 5-1 victory.
“The Tri-Cities are very talented and not dirty, nice to watch,” said team spokesperson Lori Dawson. “Too bad for us, but it is nice to play a team like this that isn’t looking for dirty stuff.”
The Pee Wee AA team was essentially eliminated from the playoff round Monday, but can play spoiler with a win over Cranbrook, who sit at 1-1 with a 7-5 win over Powell River and a 6-5 loss to Burnaby.
The Midget loss also means they’ll be on the outside looking in with just one game remaining against 0-2 Williams Lake.
If the Bantam AA Smokies win the semi-final game this morning, they’ll play tonight at 8 p.m. in the final.