The Whitehorse Mustangs one playoff hope at provincials lost 5-4 on a late goal to Smithers yesterday morning.

With the loss, the Bantam A Mustangs – the only one of the four boys rep hockey teams to make a provincial playoff appearance – were bounced from their Tier 3 tournament in Dawson Creek.

Coach Barry Blisner said the club reached one goal, which was to make the playoffs, but added his team seemed to be missing its top gear in the semifinal.

"We just didn't play our best hockey of the year,” he told the Star. "The way we were playing in December and January was just a step or two better, and at this tournament we needed that to reach the gold medal game.

"The boys battled hard and it was a great game to watch,” Blisner said. "Overall, we were proud of them. They didn't get the gold, but fourth overall is still a good result.”

The Bantam Mustangs began their tournament with a 4-4 tie versus the host team and a 2-0 loss to Langley, and needed to win their final two games to advance to the medal round. They did that, beating previously-unbeaten Smithers 5-3 and Port Moody 4-1.

"It was nice to see the boys bounce back and it showed a lot of character to reel off two wins in a row in a tournament like that,” Blisner said.

Levi Johnson scored six goals in round-robin play to lead the Mustangs. Playoff stats were unavailable.

Coach Blisner was proud of his team's off-ice performance, calling their behaviour "top shelf.”

Meanwhile in Port Alberni, the Midget A Mustangs played .500 hockey, but it wasn't enough to squeak into the playoffs.

The club dropped its first two games of the Tier 3 tournament Sunday, 4-2 to Whistler and 5-2 to Quesnel.

The Mustangs went on to beat Castlegar 4-1 Monday, and edged Victoria 3-2 Wednesday, but it was too little, too late.

The club had been aiming to win a chance to compete in the crossover game.

Mike Arnold and Matthew McCarthy both tallied three goals over the four games, while Jamie Tetlichi chipped in with a pair.

In Lilloet, the Midget B Mustangs did not fare well, getting blown out in all three games at their Tier 4 provincial tournament.

The Mustangs finished 0-3, after lopsided losses to Burns Lake 10-2, Lilloet 12-1, and Alberni Valley 12-3.

Karter Kazakoff had three goals to lead the team.

Finally, in Creston, the Peewee Mustangs finished their Tier 3 provincial tournament with a 0-5 record.

"Tough week,” head coach Martin Lawrie tweeted. "I think I learned a lot and I hope some of the kids did as well.”

The Peewees opened their tournament last Sunday with a 7-2 loss to Burnaby, but the bigger loss may have come when the young club lost Joe Stokes to a broken ankle following an awkward fall in the first period. Stokes went on to finish the game.

On Monday, Castlegar scored a late goal to edge the Mustangs 6-5.

Tuesday was a tale of two games, as Whitehorse dropped their first matchup 11-1 to Dawson Creek while getting outshot 62-17. The club bounced back that night however, outshooting Creston 39-22 en route to a 2-1 loss.

Despite a shot differential of 45-15 Wednesday, the Mustangs wrapped up their tournament with a 5-2 loss to Quesnel.

The two Midget clubs and the Bantam Mustangs will now return to the territory to complete their rec league playoff competition.

A variety of the Midget-aged players will also compete in this weekend's Native Hockey Tournament.