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GAME PREVIEW: Vees Host Eagles On Final Wicked Wednesday Of Season

PHOTO: Damon James/BCHL

The Penticton Vees (38-11-1-1) host their final Wicked Wednesday of the season as they welcome the Surrey Eagles (22-21-3-4) to the South Okanagan Events Centre to conclude their season series.

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REGULAR SEASON SCHEDULE VS. SURREY

Friday, November 1st @ South Surrey Arena (5-3 Vees) (BOXSCORE)

Wednesday, February 5th @ South Okanagan Events Centre (6:30 PM)

The Vees come into the mid-week affair looking to extend their win streak to eight games after a 7-1 win over the Vernon Vipers on Saturday night at the South Okanagan Events Centre. Lukas Sillinger scored twice in the game while Danny Weight, Tyler Ho, Colton Kalezic, Ethan Martini and Liam Malmquist each added singles in the victory. Yaniv Perets turned aside 23 of the 24 shots he faced in his 22nd win in between the pipes this season.

Penticton is looking for the sweep of the season series over Surrey tonight after a 5-3 defeat of the Eagles in early November. Lukas Sillinger, Tristan Amonte, Liam Malmquist, Tyler Ho and Jay O’Brien each found the back of the net in the game while Carl Stankowski stopped 32 of the 35 shots he faced for the win in the blue paint.

Vees Leading Scorers:

Jay O’Brien (20-26-56)

David Silye (19-36-55)

Lukas Sillinger (18-35-53)

Danny Weight (23-27-50)

Jackson Niedermayer (18-20-38)

Penticton is looking to extend their winning streak to eight games, having only lost once in 12 games since the beginning of 2020. The Vees boast an 11-1 record since the holiday break while also having won each of their last seven games at the South Okanagan Events Centre and collecting at least a point in 12 straight contests on home ice. Penticton holds a 16-4-1-1 record at the SOEC this season, outscoring their opposition by an 85-44 margin.

A goal and an assist performance for Vees forward Colton Kalezic in Saturday night’s 7-1 victory over the Surrey Eagles earned him second star honours in the game and points in each of his last three games. The Toronto, Ontario native has scored a goal while adding four assists for five points in that span, including a pair of two-point efforts. Kalezic is one of ten Vees who have amassed 30+ points this season, the most of any team in the BC Hockey League.

Two assists in Saturday night’s triumph for blue liner Conner Hutchison extended his season-long point streak to five games as he continues to lead the Vees back end offensively. The Vermont University commit has tallied a goal and seven assists for eight points during that five-game stretch while the Hicksville, New York native ranks 4th amongst defensemen in scoring this season with 37 points.

The Surrey Eagles come into Wednesday night’s matchup after earning wins in back-to-back games over the Chilliwack Chiefs on the weekend, concluding with a 3-0 shutout victory on Saturday night at the Chilliwack Coliseum. Carter King scored a pair of empty net goals while Hudson Schandor tallied the game winning marker in the 2nd period with Thomas Scarfone posting 43 saves for his first career BCHL shutout and 12th win of the season.

Eagles Leading Scorers:

Cristophe Tellier (26-34-60)

Hudson Schandor (20-33-53)

Brandon Santa Juana (12-21-33)

Gabe Schovanek (11-21-32)

Carter King (11-11-22)

Carrying a seven-game point streak into action on Wednesday, Eagles forward Cristophe Tellier has been the go-to source of offence in Surrey this season. The Quinnipiac University commit has scored 5 goals and added 10 assists for 15 points over those seven games and was recently named the BCHL’s Player of the Month for January, posting 8 goals and 12 assists for 20 points in 12 games played in the month. The Sherbrooke, Quebec native leads the Eagles with 26 goals and 34 assists for 60 points on the season and ranks 2nd overall in league scoring.

Contributing in the offensive attack for the Eagles is captain Hudson Schandor, who is riding a career-high 11-game point streak into the SOEC on Wednesday as the three-year BCHL veteran has set a new career high in goals, assists and points. A University of Connecticut commit, Schandor has registered 6 goals and 11 assists for 17 points during that span while possessing 53 points in 50 games played this season.

In a tight race in the Mainland Division for positioning into the playoffs, the Eagles come into Penticton playing some of their best hockey. Surrey has won four of their last five games, including back-to-back victories against the Chiefs on the weekend, while being strong away from home this season. The Eagles own a 14-12-2-0 record on the road this season, second in the Mainland Division, while they have just two road games left on the year before a long stretch of games at the South Surrey Arena.

The Vees play the first of their three games over the week and conclude their season series against the Eagles tonight at the South Okanagan Events Centre with a 6:30 PM face-off. Tickets are just $5 and available for purchase at the Valley First Box Office as well as online at ValleyFirstTix.com.

Penticton will finish up their weekend of play at the SOEC on Sunday afternoon with their Family Game against the West Kelowna Warriors at 2:00 PM. After the game, Match Eatery and Public House will be hosting a “Coaches Corner” with President, General Manager and Head Coach Fred Harbinson, who will be joined by Vees forward Lukas Sillinger and defender Ethan Martini, to answer questions from fans.