The Penticton Vees are back at the SOEC and looking to bounce back. The Vees are coming off just their sixth loss of the season, a 6-4 setback in Merritt on Wednesday night. The Trail Smoke Easters come into tonight’s game suffering back-to-back losses to West Kelowna and Vernon, and are three points out of playoff spot.
The Vees had their five-game win streak snapped at Nicola Valley Memorial Arena two nights ago, as the Centennials put together an improbable rally inside the final two-minutes, scoring three goals in just 35-seconds, to steal two points away from the Vees; it was Penticton’s first loss to Merritt in seven games.
Fans shouldn’t fret, as the Vees know how to bounce back after a loss, as they sport a 5-0 record when losing the game prior, and have outscored their opponents 24-10 in those five games; they thumped Wenatchee 6-1 the game after their last loss.
Penticton also has had a lot of success against Trail this year, owning a 4-0 record and they’ve outscored Trail 13-4 in two games at the SOEC this season. In their last meeting against Trail, the Vees scored an 8-1 win on November 28th.
The Vees have the BCHL’s best home record at 22-1-1-0 and Trail has the worst road record in the division at 7-17-0-1 and have lost eight straight on the road; their last win away from home was on December 13th in Cowichan Valley. The saving grace for the Smokies is after tonight, only three of their remaining 10 games are away from Cominco Arena. However, those three road games are against Penticton and Salmon Arm (2).
Season Series
Oct 7th 5-3 Vees
Nov 1st 6-1 Vees
Nov 10th 7-1 Vees
Nov 28th 8-1 Vees
Jan 29th at Penticton
Jan 30th at Trail
Feb 13 at Penticton
Scott Conway, who scored two short-handed goals on Wednesday, comes into tonight’s game riding an 11-game point streak; he has 16 goals during the run. Conway is four back of the 50-goal plateau and if he gets there, would be the 15th player in franchise history to reach the milestone.
Conway loves playing against Trail as well, as the 20-year-old had four goals and 10 points in four games against the orange and black. Demico Hannoun, who has four assists since coming back from injury, has scored six of his 11 goals this season against Trail; he had a hat-trick in Trail on November 1st.
Tyson Jost and Dante Fabbro return to the line-up after missing Wednesday’s game in Merritt, as they played in the CJHL Prospects Game in Surrey the night earlier. Zach Driscoll will look for some redemption in goal, as he gets the start after being pulled Wednesday. Driscoll is 3-0 against the Smokies, and owns a .971 save percentage in those three starts.
Colorado College bound Nick Halloran leads the Smoke Eaters in scoring with 21 goals and 39 points in 47 games; seven points better than any other Smokie. Veteran Kienan Scott (22-10-32) and Max Newton (10-20-30) round out the top three in scoring. Captain Evan MacEachern (8-12-20) is the highest scoring defenseman on Trail’s roster and had a two-goal outing three games ago against Chilliwack. Harlan Orr leads the team against the Vees, as the veteran forward has three points in four games against Penticton.
This is the Vees last home game until February 12th, as the team embarks on a three-game Island Division road trip, which starts next Thursday in Victoria.
