Picture: Cherie Morgan
Penticton, BC – The Penticton Vees are going to enjoy their Thanksgiving long weekend, after their 4-2 win over the Salmon Arm Silverbacks, Friday at the South Okanagan Events Centre.
Penticton now has won four in a row, and six of their first seven games to start the season.
In a rematch of last May’s Interior Conference Final, the Vees found a way yet again in the third period, as Luke Posthumus scored the game-winner in the final frame. Friday marked the second-straight game the Vees came up with a third period push. Last Saturday, Penticton scored three times in the third in Vernon to come back to beat the Vipers. Friday, they found a way to score twice to unshackle themselves from a 2-2 game.
Landon Wright, Julien Wasmer, and Nolan Stevenson also scored for Penticton. Posthumus and Wright’s goals both came on the power play. The Vees now have scored six power play goals in their last three games.
Friday was a fast, physical game against two fierce playoff rivals, as this was the first meeting since that epic seven-game series last spring. Nine players in the Vees’ lineup Friday played in that series last season, seven Silverbacks. The emotion was palpable.
Salmon Arm got out ahead early after Will Ingemann mishandled the puck behind the Vees’ net. Aidan Willis tapped it into an open cage just 2:04 into the game to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.
Penticton bounced back and grabbed the lead after goals from Wright and Wasmer in the opening frame. Wright tied the game at 8:52 on the Vees’ first power play of the night. Wasmer scored his first with his new team at 17:23, after his point shot had eyes for the back of the net.
Salmon Arm scored the only goal in the second period, on the power play. Silverbacks’ captain Maddux Martin scored on a rebound at 16:39 to tie it 2-2. Penticton outshot Salmon Arm 9-0 in the first 10 minutes of the frame but found themselves in a deadlock heading to the third.
Posthumus took the lead back for the Vees with his power play goal at 7:58. The 19-year-old scored his second after he labeled his one-timer over the goalie’s glove. That goal stood up as the game-winner.
That power play was the result of a big hit by Vees’ forward Ben Merrill. The Montreal Canadiens’ draft pick caught Martin with a big hit along the boards. Martin’s teammate, Patrick Raftery, went after Merrill in retaliation and was handed a roughing minor.
Stevenson put the game on ice with his empty-net goal inside the final minute.
Forward Caton Ryan made his season debut on Friday after missing the first six games with a hand injury. Forward Anselmo Rego extended his season-opening point streak to seven games with an assist.
GAME STATS
Shots: Vees- 43 Silverbacks- 21
Scoring: Landon Wright, Julien Wasmer, Luke Posthumus, Nolan Stevenson
Goaltending: Will Ingemann (W): 60:00, 19/21
Vees Power-Play: 2/4
Vees Penalty-Kill: 1/2
Three Stars:
1) Luke Posthumus
2) Ryan Grout
3) Ryden Evers
Attendance: 2,716
Up Next: The Vees (6-1-0-0) face the Okotoks Oilers (2-5-0-0) at the BCHL Showcase in Abbotsford, on Tuesday, October 15th, at 7:00 pm
