The Penticton Vees (2-0-0-0) look to keep their momentum going this weekend as they renew their Highway 97 rivalry in a home-and-home set against the West Kelowna Warriors (2-0-0-0) beginning on Friday night at the South Okanagan Events Centre.
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 (6:00 PM)
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)
Penticton looks to keep their momentum going after opening the Okanagan Cup on a strong note, outscoring the Salmon Arm Silverbacks by a combined 15-2 margin last weekend at the SOEC, including an 8-2 victory on Saturday night. Quinn Hutson and Luc Wilson each tallied a pair of goals in the game while Ryan Upson, Devlin O’Brien, Jackson Niedermayer and Jack Bar each tallied singles in the win. Kaeden Lane got the start between the pipes, turning aside 20 of the 22 shots he faced in his 1st Okanagan Cup victory.
The Vees and Warriors saw a lot of each other during the 2019/20 campaign, playing six regular season games and five games against one another in the playoffs. Penticton swept West Kelowna with six regular season victories, outscoring the Warriors by a 28-12 margin in that span before earning a 4-1 series win in the opening round of the BC Hockey League playoffs.
Vees Okanagan Cup Leading Scorers:
Quinn Hutson (4-1-5)
Luc Wilson (2-2-4)
Liam Malmquist (0-4-4)
Jackson Niedermayer (2-1-3)
Matteo Costantini (0-3-3)
It was an opening weekend to remember for forward Quinn Hutson as the 18-year-old potted four goals on the weekend, including back-to-back two-goal games to help the Vees to a pair of Okanagan Cup opening wins. The Chicago, Illinois native scored 31 goals in 23 games with the North Jersey Avalanche last season before making the move to Penticton. The Boston University commit currently leads the league in goals scored with his 4 after the opening weekend of exhibition play and stands atop of the BCHL point standings with 5.
Outscoring their opposition by a staggering 15-2 margin over the course of the weekend, the Vees had many bog offensive contributions to go along with Hutson’s big weekend. BCHL veteran Luc Wilson played a big factor in the scoring as well, finishing the two-game set with a pair of goals and a pair of assists for 4 points. The Duncan, BC native has played a total of 110 regular season games before being acquired by the Vees in the offseason after a strong year offensively a season ago, notching 19 goals and 34 assists for 53 points in 55 games played with the Cowichan Valley Capitals while securing a scholarship to the University of Minnesota State-Mankato.
Special teams played a factor into the Vees winning ways in the opening weekend of Okanagan Cup action as well, scoring a power play goal in each game and shutting down Salmon Arm’s power play very effectively. Penticton’s power play is operating at a 2-for-4 rate heading into the weekend of games on the strength of goals from Wilson and Devlin O’Brien on the power play while the penalty kill has yet to yield a marker, going 4-for-4 thus far.
The West Kelowna Warriors come into the weekend home-and-home set against the Vees after a strong opening to their Okanagan Cup as well, sweeping the Vernon Vipers with 4-1 and 2-1 victories over the weekend set. Veteran returners Carter Wilkie and Deegan Mofford scored in Saturday’s 2-1 win with Zach Bennett turned aside 25 of the 26 shots he faced in the victory.
Warriors Okanagan Cup Leading Scorers:
Deegan Mofford (2-0-2)
Felix Trudeau (2-0-2)
John Evans (0-2-2)
Elan Bar Lev Wise (1-0-1)
Carter Wilkie (1-0-1)
The Warriors have eight players who return from their 2019/20 squad to compete in the new season, including four forwards, three defensemen and one goaltender. Forwards John Evans, Carter Wilkie, Deegan Mofford and Elan Bar Lev Wise return while defenders Skyler Cameron, Nick Ardanaz and Corey McCann are back on the blue line with Johnny Derrick making his way back into the crease for West Kelowna.
West Kelowna had a big summer of recruiting and will see one of their biggest recruits draw into the lineup for tonight’s game as Colorado Avalanche draft pick Matthew Steinburg will don a Warriors jersey for the first time. The Halifax, Nova Scotia native was selected 63rd overall by the Avs in 2019 National Hockey League draft while playing last season for Cornell University, scoring 5 goals and 10 points in 27 games played.
Another piece offensively for the Warriors coming into the exhibition season is forward Felix Trudeau, who is coming off of a two-goal performance in the Warriors opening game last Friday on home ice. The Terrebonne, Quebec native is no stranger to goal scoring, tallying 30 goals and 63 points in 55 games last season with Northwood School in the United States High School Prep league. The 6’1”, 176-pound forward is set to attend Maine University and play for the Black Bears after his Junior hockey career comes to a close.
The Vees and Warriors will do battle for the first time in the Okanagan Cup tonight at the South Okanagan Events Centre with a 6:00 PM puck drop. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, fans are not permitted to be in attendance with the game available with a FREE audio stream at mixlr.com/pentictonvees as well as pay-per-view on HockeyTV.com.
