PHOTO: Garrett James/BCHL
The Penticton Vees (29-10-1-1) return to home ice for the first time in 2020 and open up a new decade of hockey at the South Okanagan Events Centre with a visit from the Victoria Grizzlies (15-25-0-0) on Saturday night.
2019/20 REGULAR SEASON VS. VICTORIA
Friday, November 2nd @ The Q Centre (4-1 Vees) (BOXSCORE)
Saturday, January 4th @ South Okanagan Events Centre (6:00 PM)
The Vees enter Saturday night looking to make it three wins in a row after a 5-2 defeat over the Salmon Arm Silverbacks on Friday night at the Shaw Centre. Jackson Niedermayer and Jack Barnes each tallied a pair of goals in the hockey game while David Silye added the lone single in the win. Yaniv Perets was outstanding in between the pipes for the Vees, turning away 41 of the 43 shots he faced in his 18th win of the season in the crease.
Penticton will try to close out their brief two-game season series against the Grizzlies with a sweep after earning a 4-1 win in Victoria at The Q Centre earlier this season at the beginning of November. Lukas Sillinger, Liam Malmquist, Jay O’Brien and former Vee Vincent Nardone each tallied in the game while Yaniv Perets turned aside 30 of the 31 shots he faced in net for the triumph in the blue paint.
Vees Leading Scorers:
Jay O’Brien (15-32-47)
Lukas Sillinger (15-29-44)
Danny Weight (17-25-42)
David Silye (14-27-41)
Jackson Niedermayer (13-15-28)
The Vees return to the comfy confines of the South Okanagan Events Centre for the first time in 2020 and will be a familiar place for the team over the next two months. 14 of Penticton’s remaining 17 games will take place on home ice and is a building where they are starting to gain more confidence. The Vees have collected a point in their last five games at the SOEC, earning four wins in that span while outscoring their opposition by a 23-8 margin in that time.
With an assist on the Vees first goal of the game on Friday night, forward Lukas Sillinger extended his point streak to five games. The Regina, Saskatchewan native has scored three goals while adding six assists for nine points over that span, including an assist in each of those contests. The University of Nebraska-Omaha commit ranks 5th overall in league scoring with 15 goals and 29 assists for 42 points with those 29 helpers good for 7th in the BCHL.
Another point streak will carry into Saturday night for the Vees in the way of defender Evan McIntyre, who carries points in each of his last five games as well. The Ohio State University commit has scored a goal and added five assists for six points over the course of those five contests while the Oakville, Ontario native has also registered a point in six of his last seven games including two assists in Friday night’s victory in Salmon Arm.
The Victoria Grizzlies make their way to Penticton in the middle of a three-game road trip after falling at the beginning of that stretch in an 8-0 loss to the Wenatchee Wild on Friday night at the Town Toyota Center. Blake Wood made 20 saves on 25 shots in the start and his 11th loss of the season before being relieved by Joe Howe, who stopped 4 of the 7 shots he faced in the 3rd period. The blanking marked the 5th time this season that the Grizzlies have been held off the scoresheet.
Grizzlies Leading Scorers:
Cody Monds (16-23-39)
Marty Westhaver (15-18-33)
Henri Schreifels (13-16-29)
Alex DiPaolo (6-14-20)
Vincent Nardone (7-12-19)
Despite the setback in Wenatchee, the Grizzlies have been on a stretch of playing some of their best hockey of the season, posting four victories in their last six games. Playing at The Q Centre as helped that with Victoria earning three of their four wins over the last stretch of games on home ice. During the last four games, three of their victories have come against the Nanaimo Clippers and a single victory over the Chilliwack Chiefs.
Grizzlies leading scorer Cody Monds will be a name to watch for throughout the game as he sits with 39 points in 39 games played thus far in the year. The Providence College commit comes into the game recently removed from a 10-game point streak, which came to an end on December 20th. Over the course of those 10 contests, the Brockville, ON native posted 8 goals and 12 assists for 20 points, accounting for over half of his point total on the season and has registered 12 multi-point performances in his first BCHL campaign.
The Grizzlies will look to turn around what has been a rough record while playing away from home, posting 6 wins and 11 losses while on the road and have also played the second fewest road games of the season of any team in the BCHL at 17, only trailing the Langley Rivermen in that regard. Victoria has dropped six of their last seven games on the road, being outscored 31-11 in that span.
The Vees and Grizzlies conclude their two-game season series tonight at the South Okanagan Events Centre with a 6:00 PM face-off. Tickets are available for purchase at the Valley First Box Office as well as online at ValleyFirstTix.com.
