The Trail Smoke Eaters wrapped up their home regular season on a high note with two wins against the Coquitlam Express and Surrey Eagles on the weekend.
Trail ended a five game losing streak with a 5-2 victory over the Express Friday and then beat the Eagles 6-3 on Saturday.
Smokies forwards Ethan Mann scored twice and added two assists, while Adam Marshall pitched in with four helpers in the victory over Surrey.
The game against the 31-15-2-1 Eagles marks the return of former Smoke Eaters coach Cam Keith to the Cominco Arena. The Nelson product coached the Smoke Eaters for two seasons including a trip to the Interior Conference final in 2018, and has led the Eagles to second place in the Coastal Conference this season.
The Smoke Eaters struggled through February and early March with a long list of injured and ill players, but are slowly becoming healthier and more competitive just in time for a late season rally.
Trail forward Mathieu Cobetto-Roy scored what stood as the game winner 3:41 into the second period on a setup from Mann and Marshall for a 4-1 lead.
With four games remaining in the regular season and a Wenatchee win over Merritt Friday, Trail clinched the eighth seed in the Interior Conference and will play the Penticton Vees in the first round of playoffs.
The Smoke Eaters jumped out to a 1-0 lead on a goal from Adam Parsons just 22 seconds into the first period. Cobetto-Roy tallied his first of the game midway through the period, and Brody Juck’s goal chased Eagles goalie Ben Montgomery with 1:18 remaining in the opening frame.
The Eagles Ante Zlomislic beat Trail goalie Teagan Kendrick to get Surrey on the board and Trent Wilson scored at 12:22 to cut the lead to 4-2.
Mann converted a pass from Marshall to restore the three goal lead, but the Eagles Aaron Shwartz got a lucky one with under two minute to play in the middle frame.
Mann, a Grafton, WI product, tallied his 12th of the season for the 6-3 final with 3:04 to play in regulation.
The Eagles outshot the Smoke Eaters 40-34 with Trail going 0-for-1 on the power play, and 3-for-3 on the penalty kill.
On Friday, Josh Schenk scored twice and Brady Hunter added three assists in the 5-2 victory in a physical tilt against the Coquitlam Express.
Hunter set up Schenk’s game winner and 13th of the season at 11:08 of the third period to give the Smoke Eaters a 3-2 lead.
The Express are fighting the Victoria Grizzlies for fourth place in the Coastal conference with playoff home ice advantage on the line, while the Smoke Eaters were mathematically still able to catch seventh place Wenatchee, so emotions and tensions were high for both teams early on.
After the Express went up 1-0, Cobetto-Roy tied the game at 1-1 late in the first period. The Express went up 2-1 midway through the second, but Schenk replied tallying his first of the game to tie it at two.
Marshall and Mann scored late in the third for the 5-2 final.
Trail outshot Coquitlam 47-27 and went 2-for-4 on the power play, while the Express went 1-for-2.
The Smoke Eaters travel to Vernon for a pair of games against the Vipers March 17-18, and wind up the regular season in Wenatchee March 24-25.