PHOTO: Jack Murray
The Penticton Vees (17-2-0-0) will look for their 10th victory in a row as they travel to the Nicola Valley for the first time this season to take on the Merritt Centennials (1-13-1-0) on Tuesday night at the Nicola Valley Memorial Arena.
2021/22 REGULAR SEASON SCHEDULE VS. MERRITT
Friday, November 26th @ South Okanagan Events Centre (8-0 Vees) (BOXSCORE)
Tuesday, December 7th @ Nicola Valley Memorial Arena (7:00 PM)
Friday, January 21st @ South Okanagan Events Centre (7:00 PM)
Friday, February 4th @ Nicola Valley Memorial Arena (7:00 PM)
Friday, February 25th @ South Okanagan Events Centre (7:00 PM)
Saturday, February 26th @ South Okanagan Events Centre (6:00 PM)
Wednesday, March 2nd @ Nicola Valley Memorial Arena (7:00 PM)
The Vees come into Tuesday night’s game against the Centennials after earning their 9th consecutive win in a 5-3 triumph over the Wenatchee Wild on Saturday night at the South Okanagan Events Centre. Five different goal scorers including Spencer Smith, Thomas Pichette, Brett Moravec, Frank Djurasevic and Josh Nadeau came together for the win. Kaeden Lane was terrific in goal once again, turning aside 26 of the 29 shots he faced in his 13th win of the season.
Penticton and Merritt play the second of their seven-game season series in which the Vees opened with an 8-0 shutout victory in late November at the SOEC. Casey McDonald and Ethan Mann each scored twice in the game for Penticton while Fin Williams, Brett Moravec, Josh Nadeau and Luc Wilson each found the back of the net. Kaeden Lane turned aside each of the 22 shots thrown his way for the shutout and victory in between the pipes.
Vees Leading Scorers:
Josh Nadeau (16-12-28)
Luc Wilson (12-15-27)
Fin Williams (7-18-25)
Brett Moravec (9-11-20)
Bradly Nadeau (10-8-18)
The scoring streak of forward Josh Nadeau continued in Saturday night’s victory over the Wild, pushing him up to nine consecutive games with a goal. The University of Maine commit has scored 10 goals and 6 assists for 16 points over that span, including being named the BC Hockey League’s 2nd Star of the Week with a three-goal, four-assist week over the course of three Vees wins.
Between the pipes, the Vees have had Kaeden Lane playing at the top of his game, holding a 13-1-0-0 record and winning each of his last 10 starts. In those 10 games, the Northern Michigan commit has allowed a goal or less in 6 of the 10 games while posting a 1.61 goals against average and a .935 save percentage over that span. The Burnaby, BC native currently sits 3rd in the league with a 2.05 GAA and is tied for 7th with a .913 SV% while leading the BCHL with his 13 wins.
The BCHL named the winners of the fan vote for the All-Star Game and Vees forward Luc Wilson was named as one of six players to head to Penticton in January. The University of Minnesota-Mankato has posted 12 goals and 15 assists for 27 points on the season and has posted a point in each of his last eight games, scoring 4 goals and 9 assists for 13 points over the course of those eight contests and sits tied for 6th in the league in points.
The Merritt Centennials come into Tuesday night’s game after picking up their first win of the season on Friday night against the Wild in overtime but fell to the Trail Smoke Eaters on Saturday night at the Nicola Valley Memorial Arena by a 9-2 score. Jacksenn Hungle and Jerzy Orchard each found the back of the net for Merritt while Keegan Maddocks made 20 saves on 28 shots in his 7th loss of the season while John Hicks turned aside 9 of the 10 shots thrown his way.
Centennials Leading Scorers:
Jerzy Orchard (6-6-12)
Levi Carter (1-7-8)
Jacob Dewitt (2-5-7)
Ben Ward (4-1-5)
Jacksenn Hungle (2-3-5)
The first career BCHL hat-trick for Ben Ward on Friday night was the highlight of Merritt’s first win of the season, in which Ward scored the overtime winner. The Kamloops, BC native is 2nd in scoring for the Centennials with 4 goals and had a four-point night on Friday with three goals and an assist. Ward is one of the veterans on the Centennials roster, scoring 20 goals and adding 12 assists for 32 points in 107 career BCHL games.
The Vees and Centennials meet for the second of seven times this season on Tuesday from the Nicola Valley Memorial Arena. Puck drop is slated for 7:00 PM with the game being broadcasted live on Bounce Radio 800 as well as streamed on BCHLTV.ca beginning with the pre-game show at 6:40 PM.
