The Penticton Vees (21-5-0-2) make their third trip of the season to Northern BC as they face-off against the Prince George Spruce Kings (17-9-2-1) on Wednesday night at the Rolling Mix Concrete Arena.
REGULAR SEASON SCHEDULE VS. PRINCE GEORGE
Wednesday, October 26th @ Rolling Mix Concrete Arena (7-1 Spruce Kings) (BOXSCORE)
Friday, October 29th @ South Okanagan Events Centre (3-0 Vees) (BOXSCORE)
Wednesday, December 1st @ Rolling Mix Concrete Arena (5-1 Vees) (BOXSCORE)
Wednesday, January 19th @ Rolling Mix Concrete Arena (7:00 PM)
Saturday, February 19th @ South Okanagan Events Centre (6:00 PM)
Friday, March 4th @ South Okanagan Events Centre (7:00 PM)
Penticton will look to get back in the win column after suffering a 5-2 setback to the Salmon Arm Silverbacks on Wednesday night at the South Okanagan Events Centre. Bradly and Josh Nadeau each tallied in the game for the Vees, suffering their first loss on home ice this season in regulation, while Carter Serhyenko turned aside 18 of the 23 shots thrown his way in his 3rd loss of the season.
The Vees and Spruce Kings have not met in about a month and a half with Penticton getting the better of Prince George in the two teams last meeting with a 5-1 victory in early December. Josh Nadeau, Stefano Bottini, Casey McDonald, Luc Wilson and Spencer Smith each found the back of the net while Kaeden Lane turned aside 26 of the 27 shots thrown his way for the victory in goal.
Vees Leading Scorers:
Luc Wilson (15-25-40)
Fin Williams (12-25-40)
Josh Nadeau (21-15-36)
Bradly Nadeau (11-15-26)
Brett Moravec (14-11-25)
Vees leading scorer Luc Wilson collected an assist in the losing effort to Salmon Arm a week ago and now has collected points in five of his last six games. The Duncan, BC product has posted 2 goals and 7 assists for 9 points in that span while continuing to lead the Vees in points. The University of Minnesota-Mankato commit sits in a tie for 4th in the BCHL in scoring with 15 goals and 40 points while in a tie for 4th as well in assists on the season.
A key for the Vees all season long has been scoring first and it has been a highly successful method of winning games. Penticton has registered the game’s opening goal in 21 of the team’s 28 contests this season, winning 17 of those games with a 17-3-0-1 record. The Vees have scored first the most out of any other team in the league, one over the Spruce Kings, who sit at 20 games where they have scored first and hold a 14-6-0-0 record when doing so.
The Vees continue to lead the league in regards to goal scoring with 135 total goals this season and the timing of their goals can make all of the difference. Penticton has registered 49 of their goals in the 2nd period, which leads the BCHL in that department, as well as in the 3rd period, where the Vees hold a +26-goal differential and 47 goals for on the season in the game’s final regulation frame.
The Prince George Spruce Kings enter play on Wednesday having won each of their last three games, including a 5-1 victory in their last game on Saturday night against the Merritt Centennials. Colton Cameron, Luc Laylin, Austin Fraser, John Herrington and Ty Gagno each scored in the game for the Spruce Kings while Aaron Trotter turned aside 12 of the 13 shots thrown his way in his 10th win of the season.
Spruce Kings Scoring Leaders:
John Herrington (17-18-35)
Nick Rheaume (14-14-28)
Simon Labelle (7-21-28)
Rowan Miller (12-12-24)
Kilian McGregor-Bennett (5-15-20)
Points in three straight games for John Herrington, who leads the Spruce Kings with 17 goals and 35 points on the season. The Hudson’s Hope, BC native has scored 3 goals and an assist for 4 points in his last three games, including his fourth multi-goal game of the season last Wednesday in a 3-1 victory over the West Kelowna Warriors. The Lake Superior State commit also ranks second on the Spruce Kings with 6 power play goals, trailing Rowan Miller by one goal.
The month of December was a good one for relatively newcomer Luc Laylin, who joined the team at the beginning of the final month of the calendar year. The St. Michael, Minnesota native has been a point-per-game player for Prince George, tallying 4 goals and 12 points in 12 games and has points in each of his last three contests, scoring 2 goals and 3 assists for 5 points during that time.
The Vees and Spruce Kings meet for the fourth time this season on Wednesday night at the Rolling Mix Concrete Arena. Puck drop is slated for 7:00 PM with the game being broadcasted on Bounce Radio 800 as well as streamed on BCHLTV.ca beginning at 6:40 PM with the pre-game show.
