PHOTO: Cherie Morgan/Cherie Morgan Photography
The Penticton Vees (40-11-1-1) look for their 10th consecutive victory in a potential first round playoff matchup as they host the West Kelowna Warriors (14-30-5-3) on Sunday afternoon at the South Okanagan Events Centre.
REGULAR SEASON SCHEDULE vs. WEST KELOWNA
Friday, September 27th @ South Okanagan Events Centre (3-0 Vees) (BOXSCORE)
Saturday, September 28th @ Royal LePage Place (7-3 Vees) (BOXSCORE)
Friday, December 6th @ South Okanagan Events Centre (5-1 Vees) (BOXSCORE)
Saturday, December 7th @ Royal LePage Place (3-2 Vees) (BOXSCORE)
Tuesday, January 21st @ Royal LePage Place (5-2 Vees) (BOXSCORE)
Sunday, February 9th @ South Okanagan Events Centre (2:00 PM)
The Vees look to extend their win streak to ten games after earning a 3-2 overtime victory against the Salmon Arm Silverbacks on Friday night at the South Okanagan Events Centre. Lukas Sillinger and Jay O’Brien each found the back of the net in regulation before Danny Weight concluded the game in overtime with his team-leading 24th goal of the season. Yaniv Perets turned aside 16 of the 18 shots he faced in his 23rd win of the season in between the pipes.
Penticton will look to sweep the six-game season series against West Kelowna after earning a 5-2 victory over the Warriors at Royal LePage Place in late January in the teams’ last meeting. Jay O’Brien tallied twice in the game while Darwin Lakoduk, Drew Elser and Tyler Ho each notched singles in the victory. It was Yaniv Perets who stood tall in the Vees crease, pushing aside 27 of the 29 shots he faced for the win.
Vees Leading Scorers:
Jay O’Brien (23-37-60)
David Silye (19-38-57)
Danny Weight (24-30-54)
Lukas Sillinger (19-35-54)
Jackson Niedermayer (18-20-38)
With his 19th goal of the season on the power play on Friday night, third-year forward Lukas Sillinger eclipsed the 100-point mark in his BC Hockey League career. The Bemidji State University commit has registered 19 goals and 35 assists for 54 points on the season, pushing his career totals to 40 goals and 60 assists. The Regina, Saskatchewan native is the second Vee to amass 100 career points in the league, joining captain David Silye.
A goal and an assist extended Jay O’Brien’s point streak to five games on Friday night as the Boston University committed forward has been on a tear recently. The 18th overall selection in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft by the Philadelphia Flyers has scored 6 goals and added 4 assists for 10 points in that span while scoring 8 goals in his last 8 games. The Hingham, Massachusetts native sits in a tie for 3rd in league scoring with 60 points while leading all BCHL skaters with 8 game winning goals on the season.
Forward Danny Weight carries a four-game point streak into Sunday afternoon’s affair, including multi-point efforts in three of those four contests. The Boston College commit has scored four goals while adding three assists for seven points in that span while scoring his first overtime winning goal on Friday night. The Lattingtown, New York native has two game winning goals in the teams’ last three games while leading his club with eight power play markers on the season.
The West Kelowna Warriors come into Sunday afternoon’s affair looking to get back in the win column after falling by a 5-4 score to the Trail Smoke Eaters on Friday night at the Trail Memorial Centre. Elan Bar Lev Wise scored a pair of goals in the game while Holden Kodak and Colby Elmer each found the back of the net in the loss. Riley Morgan turned aside 26 of the 31 shots he faced in his 2nd loss of the season.
Warriors Leading Scorers:
John Evans (18-23-41)
Tyler Cristall (14-23-37)
Carter Wilkie (10-20-30)
Nicolas Ardanaz (3-27-30)
Brendan Pigeon (7-17-24)
Rookie forward John Evans saw his season-long nine-game point streak come to a close on Friday night in Trail but the 17-year-old has been playing some of his best hockey since December. The South Surrey, BC native scored 6 goals and 5 assists for 11 points over the course of those 9 games and leads the Warriors with 18 goals and 23 assists for 41 points on the season. Evans has collected 3 goals and an assist for 4 points in his last two games against the Vees, including a pair of goals in the teams’ last meeting on January 21st.
Another 17-year-old that has turned on the offensive production in the second half of the season has been Tyler Cristall, who owns a three-game point streak and has collected points in five of his last six games. The St. Lawrence University commit has scored a goal while adding two assists for three points in his last three games while the Vancouver, BC native has scored a goal and a pair of assists for three points in two games against Penticton this season.
The Warriors have been road warriors over the past few weeks, playing five of their last six games away from home after completing a six-game home stand. West Kelowna holds a 7-16-1-1 record on the road but have had success with their penalty killing in each of their last four games, going 12-for-13 when down a man and hold a 76.4% PK while away from Royal LePage Place.
The Vees and Warriors are set to conclude their six-game season series on Sunday afternoon with a 2:00 PM start time at the South Okanagan Events Centre. Tickets are available at the Valley First Box Office as well as online at ValleyFirstTix.com.
Make sure to join President, General Manager and Head Coach Fred Harbinson after the game at Match Eatery and Public House for a special Coaches Corner! Fred will be joined by forward Lukas Sillinger and defenseman Ethan Martini as they will be available to answer questions. Match will also be offering half-priced appetizers, running from 5:00 to 6:00 PM.
