PHOTO: Cherie Morgan/Cherie Morgan Photography
The Penticton Vees (16-1-0-1) head down the home stretch of their regular season and face-off against the Trail Smoke Eaters (9-10-0-0) for the final time on Saturday night at the South Okanagan Events Centre.
2021 REGULAR SEASON VS. TRAIL
Friday, April 2nd @ Trail (4-1 Vees) (BOXSCORE)
Thursday, April 8th @ Trail (6-0 Vees) (BOXSCORE)
Sunday, April 11th vs. Trail (6-1 Vees) (BOXSCORE)
Wednesday, April 14th vs. Trail (3-2 Smoke Eaters) (BOXSCORE)
Saturday, April 17th @ Trail (3-0 Vees) (BOXSCORE)
Friday, April 23rd vs. Trail (4-1 Vees) (BOXSCORE)
Monday, April 26th @ Trail (5-0 Vees) (BOXSCORE)
Thursday, April 29th @ Trail (7-2 Vees) (BOXSCORE)
Sunday, May 2nd vs. Trail (3-1 Vees) (BOXSCORE)
Saturday, May 8th vs. Trail (6:00 PM)
Penticton comes into Saturday night’s affair having not played for four days following a 5-1 defeat of the Cranbrook Bucks on Monday night at the SOEC. It was the Vees eighth consecutive win as Tristan Amonte, Grayson Arnott, Liam Malmquist, Jacob Quillan and Tom Richter all found the back of the net in the victory. Kaleb McEachern made his 4th start of the season and stopped 12 of the 13 shots thrown his way in his 4th win of the campaign.
The Vees have won eight of their nine meeting against the Smoke Eaters this season, including the last five consecutive matchups and a 3-1 victory the last time these two teams squared off on Sunday evening. Devlin O’Brien scored in the 1st period while Ben Wozney got the Vees ahead by two goals in the 2nd frame. Jacob Quillan found the back of the empty net in the 3rd frame for the victory. Kaeden Lane made 23 saves on 24 shots in goal as he earned the win in between the pipes.
Vees Leading Scorers:
Luc Wilson (14-12-26)
Jacob Quillan (11-12-23)
Liam Malmquist (7-15-22)
Fin Williams (5-13-18)
Ryan Upson (6-11-17)
We have hit another milestone in this 20-game abbreviated season and it is a big one for Vees defenseman Ethan Martini, who is set to suit up in his 200th career BC Hockey League regular season tilt. The Long Island University commit will be heading to the Sharks in the fall while coupling his long tenured regular season play with 36 playoff games as well. It is only fitting that the Trail, BC native will play his 200th career regular season game against the team he opened his BCHL career with in the Smoke Eaters, playing in over 114 games with Trail while spending time in Powell River with the Kings and finishing his career in Penticton.
The impressive point streak of Jacob Quillan continued on Monday as the Vees forward pushed his consecutive points streak to six games with a three-point performance in the 5-1 win over the Bucks. The Quinnipiac University commit has scored in each of his last four games while registering 5 goals and 6 assists for 11 points over his last six games. The Dartmouth, Nova Scotia native has seen four of his last six games result in multi-point contests while no one in the league has been more clutch this season than Quillan, who leads the BCHL with four game-winning tallies.
Veteran 20-year-old forward Tristan Amonte is set to hit the ice for his final two games of Junior hockey in his career over the weekend and is going out on a strong note with points in four of his last five games. The Boston University commit has two goals and four assists for six points in that span, including a goal and an assist on Monday night against the Bucks. The Norwell, Massachusetts native is heating up at the right time down the stretch for the Vees and sits with 4 goals and 11 points in his 16 games played this season.
The Trail Smoke Eaters come into their final game of the regular season on Saturday looking to bounce back from a tough loss on Friday night at the SOEC, falling to the Cranbrook Bucks by a 5-4 score. Kalen Szeto, Chase Dafoe, Ethan Willoughby and Quinn Disher all found the back of the net in the loss while Cayden Hamming turned aside 23 of the 28 shots he faced in the game in his 6th loss of the campaign.
Smoke Eaters Leading Scorers:
Kalen Szeto (7-8-15)
Noah Wakeford (5-9-14)
Quinn Disher (7-5-12)
Coalson Wolford (4-7-11)
Ryan Helliwell (3-8-11)
With three multi-point games in his last five outings, Smoke Eaters forward Kalen Szeto has found his offensive production as the season has grown on and, with over 100 games of BCHL experience, adds a steady veteran presence to a young Trail team. The Yale University commit has posted 5 goals and 2 assists for 7 points over his last 5 games, while coming into April 26th with just 2 goals, the speedy forward has found the back of the net with regularity down the stretch.
Saturday night will mark the final Junior hockey game for a few Smoke Eaters, some aging out while others will head to college next year. Noah Wakeford is one of those players who is in both categories as the Brown University commit will go to college next year while playing his final game in the league tonight. Wakeford, an Okotoks, Alberta native, sits second in team scoring with 5 goals and 9 assists for 14 points in 19 games with those 9 helpers good for the team lead. Hunter Floris will be another 20-year-old from the Smoke Eaters who will be aging out and playing in his last Junior hockey game tonight.
The Vees and Smoke Eaters drop the puck on the tenth of ten meetings between the two sides on Saturday night at the SOEC. Puck drop is slated for 6:00 PM with the game available to listen on EZ Rock AM 800 as well as watch on pay-per-view at HockeyTV.com and Shaw Spotlight beginning with the pre-game show at 5:40.
