Who's got the power?

Powerplay goals have been a telltale stat through the first four games of the Penticton Vees and Trail Smoke Eaters second round series.

In all of those games, the winning team has scored multiple powerplay goals and allowed none.

The Vees scored twice with the extra man in game one and five more times in game two. The Smokies, meanwhile, were two-for-four on the powerplay in both game three and game four, which they won both of.

"Both the two games here were a tale of maybe undisciplined play on Trail's part, and then it kind of flipped when we went to their building," Vees head coach and general manager Fred Harbinson said.

Trail was shorthanded 13 times in the first two games of the series, while Penticton was down a man eight times in the next two.

It's not a surprise that powerplays have been clicking for both teams in this series. The Vees had the third-best powerplay in the BCHL regular season at 22 per cent, while the Smokies were fourth at 21.1 per cent.

"Powerplays go in waves. We had the same looks [in games three and four] that we had here, and just didn't execute," Harbinson said. 

While the Vees scored the opening goal in both games three and four, Harbinson felt his group "chased the game" too much in those games. 

"[We were] giving up the next few goals, and they were getting timely saves... We kept scratching and clawing in both games, maybe ran out of gas a little bit in game four," he said.

"Now it's a best-of-three, with an opportunity to play two out of three, if needed, in our building and a place we've been good all year."

Game five goes at 7 p.m. on Friday night at the South Okanagan Events Centre, before the teams travel to the Cominco Arena for a 7 p.m. start on Saturday.

For attendance, the four games so far in the Vees-Smokies series have been far-and-away the highest attended games of any teams in the second round.

"It was an outstanding atmosphere in one and two, same with three and four. It says a lot about our division and the fans in both places. It's what makes it exciting and what makes you want to play in the playoffs," Harbinson said. 

"We need a great push from our crowd (Friday) night."