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GAME PREVIEW: Vees Aim For Eighth Straight Win Hosting Warriors

The Penticton Vees (7-0-0-0) hope to push their consecutive win streak to eight games as they conclude their Okanagan Cup series schedule against the West Kelowna Warriors (3-3-0-1) on Saturday night at the South Okanagan Events Centre.

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PENTICTON VEES OKANAGAN CUP SCHEDULE: 

Friday, September 25th vs. Salmon Arm Silverbacks (7-0 Vees) (BOXSCORE)

Saturday, September 26th vs. Salmon Arm Silverbacks (8-2 Vees) (BOXSCORE)

Friday, October 2nd vs. West Kelowna Warriors (3-2 Vees) (BOXSCORE)

Saturday, October 3rd @ West Kelowna Warriors (3-2 Vees/SO) (BOXSCORE)

Wednesday, October 7th vs. Vernon Vipers (4-0 Vees) (BOXSCORE)

Saturday, October 10th @ Vernon Vipers (BOXSCORE)

Friday, October 16th @ West Kelowna Warriors (BOXSCORE)

Saturday, October 17th vs. West Kelowna Warriors (6:00 PM)

Friday, October 23rd vs. Salmon Arm Silverbacks (6:00 PM)

Saturday, October 24th @ Salmon Arm Silverbacks (6:00 PM)

Friday, November 6th @ Vernon Vipers (6:00 PM)

Saturday, November 7th vs. Vernon Vipers (6:00 PM)

The Vees will look to make it eight wins in a row after a five-goal 2nd period helped them to a 7-3 victory over the Warriors on Friday night at Royal LePage Place. Jackson Niedermayer scored twice in the game while Jason Marsella, Ryan Upson, Owen Murray, Tyler Ho and Jacob Quillan each added singles in the victory. Kaeden Lane was terrific in the game for the Vees in the blue paint, turning aside 38 of the 41 shots he faced in his 3rd victory over the Okanagan Cup.

Vees Okanagan Cup Leading Scorers:

Matteo Costantini (3-9-12)

Liam Malmquist (0-11-11)

Quinn Hutson (6-4-10)

Luc Wilson (3-4-7)

Jackson Niedermayer (4-2-6)

The big offensive night was kick started by a strong return to the lineup from Jackson Niedermayer, who missed the last four games but showed no signs of rust. The Arizona State University commit found the back of the net twice with a pair of power play tallies for the Vees in the middle stanza and finished the night with three points. The Penticton, BC native now has registered 9 goals and 5 assists for 14 points in just 8 career games against the Warriors.

Kaeden Lane showed well in his 3rd appearance of the Okanagan Cup on Friday night in West Kelowna, turning aside 38 shots on 41 attempts as the Vees will look to veteran puck stopper Yaniv Perets to try and keep them in the win column. The Quinnipiac University commit has played the 3rd most minutes of any goaltender in the BC Hockey League during the exhibition season, while posting a 1.22 goals against average and a .957 save percentage in four games thus far. The Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Quebec native had a stellar opening season for the Vees last year with a 2.18 GAA and a .918 SV% and a league-leading 5 shutouts.

Three power play goals on Friday night pushed the Vees total of goals on the man advantage to 11 throughout the teams’ first seven Okanagan Cup games. Niedermayer, Devlin O’Brien and Quinn Hutson each are tied for the team lead with a pair of power play goals to go along with a team percentage of 36.7% on the power play. The eleven power play goals ranks at the top of the BCHL standings in terms of power play goals scored while the penalty kill continues on, operating at 93.1% and adding a shorthanded goal courtesy of Tyler Ho on Friday night, their first of the Okanagan Cup tournament.

The West Kelowna Warriors will try and make their way back into the win column after falling by a 7-3 score to the Vees on home ice on Friday night. Matthew Stienburg potted a pair of goals in the 3rd period while Carter Wilkie opened the scoring in the 1st frame for West Kelowna. Johnny Derrick started the game for the Warriors, making 11 saves on 11 shots before leaving the game due to injury with just over a minute and a half remaining in the 1st period. Zach Bennett came on in relief, turning away 14 of the 21 shots he faced in his 3rd loss of the Okanagan Cup.

Warriors Okanagan Cup Leading Scorers:
Carter Wilkie (3-5-8)

Elan Bar Lev Wise (2-6-8)

John Evans (2-6-8)

Matthew Stienburg (3-1-4)

Wyllum Deveaux (2-2-4)

Two 3rd period goals from forward Matthew Stienburg was a bright spot for the Warriors on Friday night as the 63rd overall pick in the 2019 National Hockey League Entry Draft by the Colorado Avalanche has collected goals in back-to-back contests. The Halifax, Nova Scotia native tallied 5 goals and 10 points in 27 collegiate games a season ago with Cornell University before making his way to the Junior ‘A’ ranks with the Warriors and has contributed with three goals and an assist in his last two games.

Returning forward John Evans is tied for the team lead in points with 8 through his first six Okanagan Cup games and has been a consistent stream of offense over the last handful of games. The University of New Hampshire commit comes into Saturday night riding a four-game point streak with 2 goals and 4 assists for 6 points during that span. The South Surrey, BC native led the Warriors in scoring a season ago, as a rookie, with 22 goals and 28 assists for 50 points while playing in 57 games.

Opening the scoring in the 1st period of last night’s game, Carter Wilkie saw his point streak extended to three games with a goal and an assist performance a night ago. Wilkie enters his third season in the BC Hockey League, splitting time between the Warriors and Chilliwack Chiefs while suiting up for 107 career regular season games, amassing 24 goals and 69 points in that span. The Calgary, Alberta native currently has tallied 2 goals and 4 assists for 6 points over the span of his three-game point streak.

The Vees and Warriors conclude their Okanagan Cup series from the South Okanagan Events Centre tonight at 6:00 PM. The game is available to be viewed on Shaw Spotlight (Channel 115 & Shaw Satellite, Channel 299) as well as on pay-per-view on HockeyTV.com. The action can also be caught with a FREE audio steam on mixlr.com/pentictonvees.