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Trail Smoke Eaters overpowered by playoff bound teams

A young Trail Smoke Eaters team couldn't compete with the older and more potent Penticton Vees on Saturday.

A young Trail Smoke Eaters team dropped a pair of games to the Penticton Vees and Surrey Eagles on the weekend.

On Saturday, Western Hockey League veteran Shane McColgan netted the winner at 4:45 of the second period to pace the Penticton Vees to a 5-2 victory over Trail. McColgan, a 2011 fifth round draft pick of the New York Rangers, scored his fouth point in five games after joining the Vees at the Jan. 10 deadline from the Portland Winterhawks of the WHL. The 21-year-old is a veteran of 291 Major Junior matches playing with the Kelowna Rockets, Saskatoon Blades, and Portland. The acquisition lends even more firepower to a stacked Vees line up.

Steen Cooper started the scoring 68 seconds into the first period, before Trail defenceman Dylan Bowen tied it on a power play 43 seconds later. However, the Vees’ leading scorer Brad McClure would score his 34th of the season to put the Vees up 2-1 heading into the second period.

After McColgan made it 3-1, Nic Peirog would put the Vees up by three at 16:50 of the middle frame. Smoke Eater captain Adam Wheeldon would cut the lead to two converting a Dylan Mascarin feed but Ben Dalpe would round out the scoring at 6:01 of the third.

Penticton outshot the Smokies 43 to 22 with Hunter Miska getting the win in goal and Adam Todd suffering the loss for Trail.

It was a bounce-back weekend for the Vees who beat the Vernon Vipers 6-1 Friday to end a three game losing streak.

On Friday at the Cominco Arena, a power-play goal at 13:42 of the first period by Brian Drapluk was all Surrey needed as they shut out the Smoke Eaters 3-0.

Chase McMurphy would give the Eagles a two goal lead with just 49 seconds remaining in the middle frame as they fired 19 shots in the period at the game’s third star Todd.

Nathan Renouf would put the game out of reach despite a better third period by the Smokies who outshot the Eagles in the final frame 11-6.

Todd faced 38 shots while Surrey goaltender Devon Fordyce earned the shut out stopping 31 on the night.