PHOTO: Cherie Morgan/Cherie Morgan Photography
The Penticton Vees (16-3-1-0) return to home ice for another Wicked Wednesday and a midweek clash against the Trail Smoke Eaters (13-6-2-1) at the South Okanagan Events Centre on Wednesday night.
2019/20 REGULAR SEASON VS. TRAIL
Friday, September 6th @ Trail Memorial Centre (4-1 Vees) (BOXSCORE)
Saturday, September 7th @ Trail Memorial Centre (7-1 Vees) (BOXSCORE)
Wednesday, October 23rd @ South Okanagan Events Centre (4-2 Vees) (BOXSCORE)
Wednesday, November 6th @ South Okanagan Events Centre (6:30 PM)
Friday, January 10th @ Trail Memorial Centre (7:00 PM)
Saturday, January 11th @ South Okanagan Events Centre (6:00 PM)
The Vees come into Wednesday night’s contest after earning their fifth straight victory in a 4-1 win over the Victoria Grizzlies on Saturday night at The Q Centre. Lukas Sillinger, Liam Malmquist, Jay O’Brien and Vincent Nardone each found the back of the net in the victory while Yaniv Perets turned aside 30 of the 31 shots he faced in his 9th win of the season.
Penticton and Trail are set to play in the fourth of their six-game season series in which the Vees have won each of the first three meetings, including a 4-2 victory on October 23rd at the South Okanagan Events Centre. David Silye, Alex DiPaolo and Colton Kalezic scored in the game before Jay O’Brien added an empty net tally. Yaniv Perets turned aside 24 of the 26 shots he faced in between the pipes for the victory in the crease.
Vees Leading Scorers:
Jay O’Brien (11-18-29)
Danny Weight (9-15-24)
Lukas Sillinger (8-13-21)
David Silye (5-16-21)
Colton Kalezic (7-8-15)
Liam Malmquist comes into Wednesday night’s game having tallied a goal in three straight games, including two of those markers being game winning goals, which was the case with his second period goal in Victoria. The University of Wisconsin commit sits in a tie for 10th amongst rookies in the BCHL in goals scored with 6 while scoring three goals and an assist for four points during a three-game point streak. The Edina, Minnesota native is tied for the rookie lead for game winning goals with two on the season.
The point streak continued for Vees captain David Silye, who extended to his 6th consecutive game with a point after an assist on Saturday night. The Clarkson University commit has registered a goal and eight assists for nine points over that six-game span with three of those matchups being multi-point contests. The Arnprior, Ontario native has collected seven multi-point games this season, sitting second behind O’Brien for the team lead in that regard.
Wednesday night marks the lone home game at the SOEC for the Vees in an eight-game stretch that saw them on the road for the end of October and most of the beginning of November. Excluding the games at the BCHL Showcase Festival, presented by Bauer, Penticton has only played four games on home ice heading into their midweek matchup against Trail before heading back on the road for a pair of games south of the border in Wenatchee this weekend followed by a Wednesday night game in Salmon Arm.
The Trail Smoke Eaters enter Wednesday night’s tilt after taking three of a possible four points in Salmon Arm against the Silverbacks over the weekend in back-to-back games. A 5-4 victory on Friday night at the Shaw Centre was followed up by a 2-1 shootout defeat on Saturday night with Philippe Lapointe scoring the only Trail tally in regulation. Logan Terness stopped 32 of the 33 shots thrown his way before two players scored in the shootout in his first shootout loss of the season.
Smoke Eaters Leading Scorers:
Kent Johnson (15-26-41)
Michael Colella (12-23-35)
Owen Ozar (10-17-27)
Diarmad DiMurro (5-14-19)
Tyler Ghirardosi (7-6-13)
After an 0-5-1-0 start to the season, Trail has been one of the hottest teams in the BCHL, posting a record of 13-1-1-1 and collecting points in 15 of their last 16 games. The Smoke Eaters lead the league in goals for, sitting with 82 goals registered on the season, three ahead of the Vees and Cowichan Valley Capitals for top spot in the league, while holding a +20 goal differential, which places them in 5th in the BCHL in that department.
Smoke Eaters forward Kent Johnson remains at the top of the BCHL scoring race, holding 15 goals and 26 assists for 41 points in 22 games played this season. The University of Michigan commit leads the league in goals, assists and points as well as being tied atop the BCHL’s power play goal scorers with 6 markers and his 13 power play assists are tied for the league lead as well. The Port Moody, BC native comes into Wednesday’s game riding a six-game point streak where he has collected 6 goals and 7 assists for 13 points in that span.
Trail possesses three of the league’s top five point getters, including second-year forward Owen Ozar who currently sits 5th in league scoring with 10 goals and 27 points. The University of Denver commit comes into Wednesday night’s contest riding a seven-game point streak, spanning back to October 19th. The Prince Albert, Saskatchewan product has collected 3 goals and 8 assists for 11 points during that seven-game span.
The Vees and Smoke Eaters play the fourth of their six-game season series tonight with puck drop slated for 6:30 PM from the South Okanagan Events Centre on the second Wicked Wednesday of the season. Tickets are just $5 and available at the SOEC Box Office as well as online at ValleyFirstTix.com.
