Photo: Tav Morrison Media
SURREY, B.C. – The Penticton Vees are facing elimination after their 4-0 loss to the Surrey Eagles in Game Five, Friday at South Surrey Arena.
The Eagles now lead the best-of-seven Fred Page Cup Final 3-2, with Gam Six back in Penticton on Sunday.
Penticton had another troublesome start, as the Eagles went ahead by a pair of goals in the first seven minutes of the game. Surrey led 2-0 after 20 minutes and added goals in each of the last two periods for the 4-0 shutout win.
“The few chances we gave them. They finished, and we didn’t generate enough. We’re not producing enough high-quality chances right now. We got to find a way to get some shots from the inside and make life a little harder on them,” said Vees’ Assistant Coach Matthew Vanden Berg.
Surrey’s Ajeet Gundarah stopped 31 shots for his second shutout of the series. He blanked the Vees in Game One. Evan Brown, Ryden Evers, Ryan Evenhuis, and Rylan Bonkowski scored for the Eagles.
“We’ve been in this spot before and came back in our last series against Salmon Arm. We’re going back home and it’s gut check time and we need to bring it Sunday,” said Vanden Berg.
The Eagles opened the scoring 5:41 into the first period after Brown tipped in a point shot past Vees’ goaltender Andrew Ness. Then, just over a minute later, Evers doubled Surrey’s lead as he jammed in a round from inside the Penticton crease at 6:57.
Simon Meier had a great chance to get the Vees on the scoresheet late in the opening frame, as he had a breakaway after the Eagles turned the puck over in the neutral zone. However, Meier couldn’t get his shot off as the Surrey defender backtracked and reached in with his stick to break up the chance.
Evenhuis put the Eagles up 3-0 just before the five-minute mark of the second. Evenhuis came down the right wing and tried to throw the puck across to the far side, but his pass went off the defenceman’s skate and trickled in at 4:29.
Bonkowski finished off the scoring in the third period for the Eagles. The Surrey defenceman scored his first of the playoffs, on a power-play, just 15 seconds after the penalty was called.
Penticton will look to force a Game Seven Tuesday, when they host the Eagles in Game Six on Sunday, at the South Okanagan Events Centre (SOEC). The Vees are 2-0 when facing elimination so far in this postseason.
GAME STATS
Shots: Vees- 31 Eagles- 16
Vees Scoring: No scoring
Vees Goaltending: Andrew Ness 60:00 12/16 (L)
Power-Plays:
Vees: 0/1
Eagles: 1/2
Three Stars:
1) Ajeet Gundarah (31 SVS)
2) Ryan Evenhuis (1G, 1A)
3) Nathan Oickle (2A)
Next Game: Game Six, Sunday, May 26, at the SOEC; puck drop 5:00 pm. Tickets available at www.valleyfirsttix.com. SOEC box office is open Saturday, May 25, from 10:00 am – 2:00 pm. Opens again on Sunday, May 26, at 10:00 am.
