The Penticton Vees (19-2-0-1) look for their 20th win of the season as they host the Vernon Vipers (6-11-3-3) on Retro Night on Friday night at the South Okanagan Events Centre.
VEES VS. VIPERS REGULAR SEASON SCHEDULE:
Friday, October 8th @ South Okanagan Events Centre (4-2 Vees) (BOXSCORE)
Saturday, November 27th @ Kal Tire Place (4-3 Vees) (BOXSCORE)
Friday, December 17th @ South Okanagan Events Centre (7:00 PM)
Wednesday, February 9th @ South Okanagan Events Centre (6:30 PM)
Sunday, February 27th @ Kal Tire Place (5:00 PM)
Penticton will look to make it back-to-back victories after a strong game on Saturday night, bouncing back from a Friday loss in a 6-3 victory over the Trail Smoke Eaters at the Trail Memorial Centre. Six different goal scorers came together in Casey McDonald, Ryan Hopkins, Beanie Richter, Spencer Smith, Fin Williams and Brett Moravec for the victory. Kaeden Lane turned aside 19 of the 22 shots thrown his way in his 15th win of the season.
The Vees have earned a pair of wins in the season series against the Vipers this season, including the last head-to-head matchup, which was a come-from-behind 4-3 victory at Kal Tire Place in late November. The Vees trailed 3-0 heading into the 3rd period before a pair of markers from Brett Moravec along with single tallies from Ethan Mann and Josh Nadeau helped Penticton to the winning effort. Kaeden Lane turned aside 25 of the 28 shots thrown his way for the win in between the pipes.
Vees Leading Scorers:
Luc Wilson (13-18-31)
Josh Nadeau (17-13-30)
Fin Williams (9-21-30)
Brett Moravec (13-11-24)
Bradly Nadeau (10-11-21)
Fans are encouraged to get in their seats early as the Vees will be honouring local businessman Neil Jamieson with a pre-game ceremony. Neil was a pillar in the community and will be the 16th member inducted into the Vees Ring of Honour along with a ceremonial puck drop featuring Neil’s son Jackson and wife Michelle, in addition to the Vees Retro Night going on Friday.
The Vees added another college commit to their roster as forward Casey McDonald landed a scholarship to American International College (AIC) for the 2022/23 season. The 20-year-old ranks 7th in team scoring this season with 9 goals and 8 assists for 17 points this season including a goal and an assist on Saturday night in the Vees victory over the Smoke Eaters. The Plenty, Saskatchewan native was also named an assistant captain at the beginning of the season.
The goal streak of Vees forward Brett Moravec continued on Saturday night as the Airdrie, Alberta native has now potted markers in five straight contests. The Wisconsin University commit has posted 7 goals and an assist for 8 points over his last five games, including multi-goal games in two of those five matchups. Over the course of the season, Moravec has registered three multi-goal efforts, the most amongst any member of the Vees.
The Vees have earned at least a point in each of their last 12 games and have been filling the net with regularity over the course of those dozen contests. Penticton has registered 6 or more goals in 7 of those 12 games while scoring at least 3 goals in each contest. The Vees power play has done wonders over the last 12 games as well while scoring 27 goals on the season while up a man, ranking tied for 2nd in the league in that regard.
The Vernon Vipers come into Friday night’s matchup against the Vees after a 4-3 loss to the West Kelowna Warriors last Saturday at Kal Tire Place. Ryan Shostak, Cameron MacDonald and Luke Pakulak each found the back of the net in the defeat while Roan Clarke turned aside 28 of the 32 shots thrown his way in his 8th loss of the season.
Vipers Leading Scorers:
Luke Buss (9-11-20)
Reagan Millburn (8-8-16)
Ryan Shostak (8-7-15)
Cameron MacDonald (7-8-15)
Matthew Culling (6-7-13)
Veteran forward Cam MacDonald has been a strong scoring presence for the Vipers over the course of the season, especially in his last four games as he has registered points in three of those four contests. The Dartmouth University commit has three goals and two assists for five points in his last four games while the BC Hockey League veteran is playing in his third season with the Vipers, playing in 92 career games with 27 goals and 27 assists for 54 points.
The Vees and Vipers play in the third of their five game season series on Friday night at the South Okanagan Events Centre. Puck drop is slated for 7:00 PM with tickets available for purchase at the Valley First Box Office at the SOEC as well as online at valleyfirsttix.com. The game will also be broadcasted live on Bounce Radio 800 as well as BCHLTV.ca beginning with the pre-game show at 6:40 PM.
