HEADER

GAME PREVIEW: Vees Hit The Road To Central Okanagan To Battle Warriors

The Penticton Vees (3-0-0-0) aim to keep their undefeated record intact as they move to the Central Okanagan as they cap off a weekend home-and-home set against the West Kelowna Warriors (2-1-0-0) on Saturday night at Royal LePage Place.

WATCH

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 (7:00 PM)

Wednesday, October 7th vs. Vernon Vipers (6:00 PM)

Saturday, October 10th @ Vernon Vipers (6:00 PM)

Friday, October 16th @ West Kelowna Warriors (7:00 PM)

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 and Warriors play in the second of their back-to-back weekend after Penticton earned a 3-2 victory over West Kelowna on Friday night at the South Okanagan Events Centre. Ethan Martini, Tristan Amonte and Matteo Costantini each tallied in the game for the Vees while Yaniv Perets turned aside 31 of the 33 shots he faced in his 2nd Okanagan Cup victory.

Vees Okanagan Cup Leading Scorers:

Quinn Hutson (4-2-6)

Luc Wilson (2-3-5)

Matteo Costantini (1-4-5)

Liam Malmquist (0-5-5)

Tristan Amonte (3-1-4)

Quinn Hutson continued his strong play in the Okanagan Cup tournament, registering points in three straight games as he assisted on Matteo Costantini’s game-winning marker on Friday night. The Chicago, Illinois native has posted a league-leading 4 goals and 6 points through his opening three exhibition games, averaging two points per game. The Boston University commit had scored in back-to-back games (and in four straight games going back to two intrasquad games the Vees played) but could not find the back of the net a night ago.

The Vees have seen three different players earn game-winning goals in their opening three Okanagan Cup games with Matteo Costantini being the lasted to tally a ‘GWG’. The University of North Dakota commit posted three assists in last Saturday’s 8-2 victory over the Salmon Arm Silverbacks before tallying the game’s final goal on Friday night just over seven minutes into the 3rd period. The St. Catharines, Ontario product has posted a goal and four assists for five points in three games, good enough for third on the Vees in scoring and third in the BC Hockey League.

Penticton makes their first trip on the road in this Okanagan Cup tournament as they travel to the Central Okanagan and a spot that they have enjoyed visiting, historically. The Vees have earned victories in five of their last six visits to Royal LePage Place, dating back to the 2018/19 season including last season’s playoff series, which saw the Vees go 1-1 in West Kelowna. The Vees were as solid a road team as any last season in the league, playing to a 22-7-0-0 record away from home and outscoring their opposition by a 115-73 clip.

The West Kelowna Warriors will look to rebound after their first loss of the Okanagan Cup, coming on Friday night in Penticton with the 3-2 defeat. The Warriors tied the game twice on goals from Tyson Jugnauth and Elan Bar Lev Wise but could not find a third equalizer. Johnny Derrick turned aside 28 of the 31 shots thrown his way in his 1st loss of the Okanagan Cup.

Warriors Okanagan Cup Leading Scorers:
Elan Bar Lev Wise (2-0-2)

Deegan Mofford (2-0-2)

Felix Trudeau (2-0-2)

Carter Wilkie (1-1-2)

John Evans (0-2-2)

Tying the game late in the 2nd period, Warriors forward Elan Bar Lev Wise also evened himself with Deegan Mofford and Felix Trudeau for the team lead in goal scoring, each notching a pair of markers. The Vancouver, BC product is a veteran of 113 career BCHL games, splitting his time in West Kelowna and with the Vernon Vipers as he has amassed 11 goals and 44 points in that span. The Ohio State University commit had not tallied a shorthanded marker in his career before he potted a shorthanded tally on Friday night.

Special teams played a factor in Friday night’s action as both teams combined to go 0-for-12 in the game, including the Warriors operating at an 0-for-7 rate. West Kelowna will look to push their power play in the right direction, having gone the opening three games of the Okanagan Cup without finding the back of the net on the man advantage, going 0-for-17 in that span. The Vees penalty kill has remained strong, having not surrendered a goal and going 11-for-11 through the Okanagan Cup.

The Vees and Warriors conclude their weekend set with a 7:00 PM puck drop tonight in the Central Okanagan at Royal LePage Place. The game is available on Shaw Spotlight tonight (Channel 11) as well as on pay-per-view at HockeyTV.com.