Scott Conway was the verge of milestone but he’ll have to settle for the hat-trick instead-for now. The veteran’s second period hat-trick helped the Penticton Vees to a 4-3 win over the Trail Smoke Eaters Saturday.
Conway scored his 47th, 48th and 49th goals in the first seven-minutes of the second period and flirted with scoring his 50th. Chris Gerrie scored the only other Vees’ goal, as they swept a weekend home-and-home set with the Smokies.
Zach Driscoll overcame a few wacky bounces for his 15th win, kicking-out 20 of 23 shots; he’s 5-0 against Trail this season.
Despite a strong opening period, the Vees found themselves down a goal going into the intermission. Nolan Redler fired a shot from the right-wing goal-line that jumped off Driscoll’s pad at the near-post and in at 10:49; a bad bounce a few Vees’ goalies have experienced in Trail over the years.
Tempers flared late in the first when David Eccles was hit from behind by Redler. The Vees defenseman went into the boards awkwardly and was forced to leave the game. Darius Davidson stepped in and dropped the gloves with the Trail forward.
Penticton broke through in the second, scoring twice in just 20-seconds at the beginning of the period. First, Conway batted the puck out of the air for the equalizer 59-seconds into the middle stanza. Then, on the next shift, Gerrie took a drop pass and fired a shot from the right-circle, which beat the goalie on the far-side; Gerrie notching his 13th.
Trail came back, and used some more puck luck, as Kyle Star had his shot, from below the goal-line find its way into the back of the net. Star threw the puck back out front and it jumped off a defenseman before going off Driscoll and in on the near-side at 3:37.
Penticton, more specifically Conway, had an answer for that goal, as the Vees’ forward cashed-in on the power-play. Nic Jones, from behind the net, spotted Conway in the circle and he quickly roofed his shot at 4:30.
Conway and the power-play was at it again a couple of minutes later. Mitch Brooks tried to move out front but the puck rolled off his stick. Fortunately for the Vees, it rolled right to Conway who ripped a shot up, underneath the cross-bar at 6:41; when you’re good, the puck finds you.
There was more fisticuffs in opening seconds of the third, as Easton Brodzinski and Redler exchanged blows in the Vees end on the opening shift; both picking up automatic game misconducts.
Trail made things interesting in the third, as they scored on one of their six power-plays, to make it a one-goal game. Kale Howarth’s shot off the rush had just enough on it to roll up and over Driscoll’s shoulder and in at 10:31.
The Smokies had a late push but the Vees didn’t have any flashbacks to Wednesday in Merritt. Driscoll was rock-solid late, including making a lunging pad-save in the diving moments at the side of the net.
Final Score: 4-3 Vees
Shots: 39-23 Vees
Power-Plays: Vees 2-6 Trail 1-6
Three Stars: 1) Scott Conway 2) Bailey MacBurnie 3) Kyle Star
Conway’s next goal will be his 50th and he’ll be the first player in the franchise’s history to score 50-goals since Chuck Kobasew did it with the Penticton Panthers in 1999-2000. Conway’s two power-play goals moves him into a tie for most in the BCHL (17). Penticton has now won seven straight regular season games against Trail, dating back to January 16th of last season.
Penticton (41-6-1-0), who clinched their fifth consecutive regular season division pennant this weekend, heads to Vancouver Island next week for a three-game Island Division road trip starting in Victoria Thursday. The Vees are in Nanaimo Friday and Port Alberni on Saturday. All three games can be heard on EZ Rock AM 800, or fans can watch online, at www.fasthockey.com
