Penticton, BC: The Penticton Vees (38-12-2-3) finished their final road trip of the year with four of a possible six points after a 5-3 win over the Surrey Eagles, and now they finish the road portion of the 2017-18 schedule against the Salmon Arm Silverbacks (23-26-3-1) Wednesday night.
After a disappointing 5-3 loss to Langley the night before, the Vees were looking for a rebound effort against the Eagles Sunday afternoon. The game was even at one after Jeff Stewart and Chris Klack exchanged goals.
Klack scored his second of the game in the opening minute of the second period, but Surrey answered back with two more to take a 3-2 lead into the third period.
Owen Sillinger scored a shorthanded goal 28 seconds into the third before Michael Campoli’s shot from the left point went off Mario Cavaliere’s glove, up in the air and landed behind the goaltender for Campoli’s third goal of the year.
After the Eagles pressured inside Vees territory for a few minutes straight, Dakota Boutin was finally able to carry the puck to centre before hooking it from the neutral zone into the empty Surrey net to seal the 5-3 win. Adam Scheel finished with 30 saves for his 27th win of the year.
The Silverbacks were scheduled to play Saturday in Merritt, but the game had to be cancelled due to weather conditions. The game has been rescheduled for Thursday, meaning Salmon Arm now has games five days in a row to finish off the season, including an afternoon game Sunday in Penticton.
The pill may be especially tough to swallow for the Silverbacks who are fighting with the Merritt Centennials for sixth spot in the Interior Division. The two teams are tied with 50 points, though Salmon Arm has a game in hand. They are also six points back of the West Kelowna Warriors for fifth.
The Vees have won all four games against the Silverbacks this year, outscoring them by a 19-6 margin. The most recent meeting came nearly three weeks ago, a 5-1 Penticton win on the road.
The game turned ugly in the final minutes as Scheel was bowled over in his crease by Rhett Kingston and Campoli. Scheel was forced to leave the game and would miss the Vees following game in Trail.
Kenny Johnson dropped the gloves with Demetri Kambeitz shortly after Scheel left the game to set the stage for the rematch at the Shaw Centre. The Vees ended a seven-game winning streak for Salmon Arm that night, who bounced back with a 5-2 win over Coquitlam their next game but have now been shutout in back to back games.
Team Statistics
Leading Scorers
Penticton Vees
Owen Sillinger – 31 G 30 A 53 GP
Jonny Tychonick – 9 G 35 A 45 GP
Taylor Ward – 19 G 22 A 43 GP
Salmon Arm Silverbacks
Rhett Kingston – 23 G 24 A 49 GP
Tanner Campbell – 13 G 21 A 42 GP
Nick Unruh – 10 G 17 A 49 GP
Special Teams
Penticton Vees
Power play – 21.0% (3rd in BCHL)
Penalty kill – 86.4% (1st in BCHL)
Salmon Arm Silverbacks
Power play – 18.0% (10th in BCHL)
Penalty kill – 78.2% (15th in BCHL)
Season Series
September 15, 2017 – Vees 6 @ Silverbacks 2 Boxscore
November 24, 2017 – Vees 3 vs Silverbacks 2 OT Boxscore
December 6, 2017 – Vees 5 vs Silverbacks 1 Boxscore
February 3, 2018 – Vees 5 @ Silverbacks 1 Boxscore
February 21, 2018 – Vees @ Silverbacks
February 25, 2018 – Vees vs Silverbacks
