PHOTO: Cherie Morgan/Cherie Morgan Photography
The Penticton Vees (10-2-0-0) will make their first ever trip to the East Kootenays as they face-off against the Cranbrook Bucks (8-5-0-0) for the first time this season on Sunday evening at Western Financial Place.
2021/22 REGULAR SEASON VS. CRANBROOK
Sunday, November 21st @ Western Financial Place (3:00 PM)
Friday, December 3rd @ South Okanagan Events Centre (7:00 PM)
Sunday, February 20th @ South Okanagan Events Centre (4:00 PM)
Friday, March 18th @ Western Financial Place (6:00 PM)
Saturday, March 19th @ Western Financial Place (6:00 PM)
The Vees will play their first game in over a week after a pair of postponements due to the flooding and highway closures in BC. Penticton earned a 6-3 victory over the Victoria Grizzlies on Saturday night at the South Okanagan Events Centre with Jackson Nieuwendyk scoring a pair of goals in the win. Brett Moravec, Josh Nadeau, Luc Wilson and Frank Djurasevic added singles while Colin Purcell turned aside 15 of the 18 shots thrown his way in his 4th win of the season.
Penticton and Cranbrook have seen plenty of each other despite the Bucks young tenure in the BC Hockey League with both teams playing a total of 10 games head-to-head in the Penticton Pod. The Vees earned 9 wins in those 10 games against the Bucks with Cranbrook collecting a shootout win as their lone triumph. The Vees outscored the Bucks by a 43-14 during their 10-game season series and will meet for the first of their five-game season set on Sunday.
Vees Leading Scorers:
Luc Wilson (9-8-17)
Josh Nadeau (9-7-16)
Bradly Nadeau (9-6-15)
Fin Williams (3-11-14)
Brett Moravec (3-8-11)
Scoring a goal in four of his last five games, Vees forward Josh Nadeau has found his stride offensively and is a point back of the Vees team lead in scoring. The University of Maine commit has scored five goals and four assists for nine points in four of his last five games, including each of those four games being multi-point contests.
After being held off the scoresheet for the first time all season, Vees forward Luc Wilson found his way back in the point totals in a big way by tallying a goal and two assists for three points in the Vees 6-3 victory over Victoria last Saturday. The University of Minnesota-Mankato commit has tallied a point in every game but one so far this season and has scored a goal in five of his last six games to tie with Bradly and Josh Nadeau for the team lead in goal scoring with 9 and possess the overall team lead in points with 17.
A similar path has been followed for Vees captain Fin Williams, who also has a point in every game but one so far this season and currently leads the Vees with 11 assists on the campaign. The University of Michigan commit has earned an assist in five of his last six contests and sits tied for 18th in the league with his 11 helpers this season.
The Cranbrook Bucks make their way into Sunday evening’s affair after falling by a 4-3 score in overtime to the Trail Smoke Eaters at Western Financial Place. Luke Pfoh, Noah Quinn and Kellan Hjartarson each found the back of the net for the Bucks while Nathan Airey turned aside 30 of the 34 shots thrown his way in his 1st overtime defeat of the season.
Bucks Leading Scorers:
Tyson Dyck (8-13-21)
Noah Quinn (7-8-15)
Luke Pfoh (5-9-14)
Johnny Johnson (8-4-12)
Kellan Hjartarson (5-5-10)
After five points in six games during the Penticton Pod a season ago, Bucks forward Tyson Dyck is having quite the sophomore season as he leads his team with 21 points in just 14 games. The Abbotsford, BC native had his season cut short due to an injury last year but is tied for the team lead in goal scoring with 8 tallies this season and leads the Bucks in points, going pointless in just two of the Bucks 14 games this season. Dyck enters Sunday’s contest scoring a point in each of his last 7 games, registering 4 goals and 10 assists for 14 points over that span, including 6 of the 7 games being multi-point efforts.
Another player for the Bucks who had their 2021 Pod Season cut short is Noah Quinn, who recently committed to join the Sillinger brothers at Bemidji State University. Quinn, a Nelson, BC product, played in 5 games a season ago, collecting 4 points before exploding for 15 points in his opening 13 games of the season this year. Quinn enters Sunday’s tilt against the Vees riding a five-game point streak, amassing 4 goals and 3 assists for 7 points over that span.
The Vees and Bucks are set to drop the puck on the first of their five-game season series and first ever matchup in Cranbrook at 3:00 PM PST from Western Financial Place. The game will be broadcasted live on Bounce Radio 800 as well as BCHLTV.ca beginning at 2:40 PM PST with the pre-game show.
