PHOTO: Tami Quan Photography
The Penticton Vees (20-2-0-1) will make the trip to the Central Okanagan for the first of four consecutive head-to-head matchups against the West Kelowna Warriors (15-9-0-0) on Saturday night at Royal LePage Place.
2021/22 REGULAR SEASON SCHEDULE vs. WEST KELOWNA
Tuesday, November 23rd @ Royal LePage Place (6-3 Vees) (BOXSCORE)
Saturday, December 18th @ Royal LePage Place (7:00 PM)
Wednesday, December 29th @ Royal LePage Place (7:00 PM)
Friday, December 31st @ South Okanagan Events Centre (7:00 PM)
Saturday, January 1st @ Royal LePage Place (7:00 PM)
Friday, January 7th @ South Okanagan Events Centre (7:00 PM)
Wednesday, March 16th @ South Okanagan Events Centre (6:30 PM)
The Vees will look to conclude their Christmas break on a strong note after a 6-0 victory over the Vernon Vipers on Friday night at the South Okanagan Events Centre. A pair of goals from Fin Williams was followed by markers from Luc Wilson, Thomas Pichette, Stefano Bottini and Josh Nadeau helped Penticton to the win. Mason Dunsford made his first career BC Hockey League start, stopping all 13 shots thrown his way in his first win of the season.
Penticton and West Kelowna have met once in their seven-game season series which was a matchup in late November that saw the Vees come out on top by a 6-3 score. Six different goal scorers in Spencer Smith, Fin Williams, Josh Nadeau, Stefano Bottini, Frank Djurasevic and Ethan Mann all found the back of the net in the victory while Kaeden Lane turned aside 37 of the 40 shots thrown his way for the win in between the pipes.
Vees Leading Scorers:
Luc Wilson (14-21-35)
Fin Williams (11-23-34)
Josh Nadeau (18-13-31)
Brett Moravec (13-11-24)
Bradly Nadeau (10-12-22)
With two goals and two assists in Friday night’s triumph over the Vipers, Vees forward and captain Fin Williams has vaulted to the second spot in team scoring and has earned points in every game but two so far this season. The University of Michigan commit has posted 4 goals and 5 assists for 9 points over his last 4 games, earning him a four-game point streak. The North Vancouver, BC native has registered 10 multi-point efforts with Friday night’s game being a career-high of four points.
Another four-game point streak that carries into Saturday night’s action comes in the way of forward Stefano Bottini, who has been collecting points at a strong pace recently including a shorthanded marker on home ice on Friday. The Lugano, Switzerland native has earned a goal and five assists for six points in that span and has well surpassed his total in points from a season ago, sitting at 18 points in his sophomore campaign compared to his rookie season total of 8
Going 3-for-5 on Friday night, the Vees power play has been a major source of their momentum and was on Friday in the effort to beat the Vipers. Penticton sits 4th in the BCHL with a 29.7% power play, tying the Prince George Spruce Kings for the most goals while up a man at 30 this season. To add to that on the special teams side, Penticton’s penalty kill has been suburb this season as well, operating at 84.7% and ranking 2nd in the league.
The West Kelowna Warriors come into Saturday night’s action, refreshed after not playing on Friday, but will look to get back in the win column after back-to-back losses with the most recent being a 4-1 setback to the Wenatchee Wild on Saturday night. Tyler Cristall scored the lone goal for the Warriors in the 2nd period while Justin Katz started the game, making 10 saves on 13 shots in his 4th loss of the season while Johnny Derrick came on and stopped 29 of the 30 shots he faced.
Warriors Leading Scorers:
Felix Trudeau (17-15-32)
Elan Bar-Lev-Wise (12-13-25)
Tyler Cristall (14-9-23)
Marcus Joughin (2-19-21)
John Evans (7-13-20)
Since returning from a three-game suspension, Warriors forward Tyler Cristall has been one of the more consistent offensive contributors for West Kelowna, riding a three-game point streak into Saturday night’s action. The St. Lawrence University commit has scored in each of those three games, registering three goals and two assists for five points in that span and has also collected at least a point in 18 of his last 19 games.
Another forward coming in on a point streak into Saturday night’s contest is John Evans, who also has points in his last three consecutive games. The University of New Hampshire commit has scored two goals and added four assists for six points over the course of those three contests and has points in four of his last five games. In 87 career games, the South Surrey, BC native has earned 30 goals and 41 assists for 71 points over the course of his time in West Kelowna and as an affiliated player with the Surrey Eagles.
The Vees and Warriors play the second of their seven-game season series and the first of four consecutive head-to-head matchups on Saturday night at Royal LePage Place. Puck drop is slated for 7:00 PM with the game being broadcasted live on Bounce Radio 800 as well as BCHLTV.ca beginning with the pre-game show at 6:40 PM.
