PHOTO: Jack Murray
The Penticton Vees (23-9-1-0) host their annual Teddy Bear Toss at the South Okanagan Events Centre as they take on the West Kelowna Warriors (5-19-4-2) for the first half of a home-and-home set on Friday night.
REGULAR SEASON SCHEDULE vs. WEST KELOWNA
Friday, September 27th @ South Okanagan Events Centre (3-0 Vees) (BOXSCORE)
Saturday, September 28th @ Royal LePage Place (7-3 Vees) (BOXSCORE)
Friday, December 6th @ South Okanagan Events Centre (7:00 PM)
Saturday, December 7th @ Royal LePage Place (6:00 PM)
Tuesday, January 21st @ Royal LePage Place (7:00 PM)
Sunday, February 9th @ South Okanagan Events Centre (2:00 PM)
The Vees come into Friday’s Teddy Bear Toss after a 4-3 defeat to the Wenatchee Wild on Wednesday night at the Town Toyota Center. Colton Kalezic, Darwin Lakoduk and Jackson Niedermayer found the back of the net for Penticton while Yaniv Perets turned aside 22 of the 26 shots he faced in his 5th loss of the season.
Penticton will look to make it three wins in a row against West Kelowna to begin the 2019/20 season, including a 7-3 win for the Vees in late September at Royal LePage Place. Jay O’Brien, David Silye, former Vee Vincent Nardone, Tristan Amonte, Colton Kalezic, Connor Hutchison and Lukas Sillinger tallied goals in the game while former Vees goaltender Derek Krall made 23 saves on 26 shots for the win in net.
Vees Leading Scorers:
Jay O’Brien (15-32-47)
Danny Weight (15-19-34)
Lukas Sillinger (12-22-34)
David Silye (11-22-33)
Colton Kalezic (11-13-24)
The scoring streak continued for Vees forward Colton Kalezic, who now has goals in each of his last three games. The Northern Michigan University commit enters the game with a four-game point streak, scoring three goals and adding an assist for four points over that span. The Toronto, Ontario native has opened the scoring in each of the last two contests and sits in a tie for third in team goal scoring with his 11 markers.
Bolstering the back end for the Vees will be defender Ethan Martini, who returns to the lineup after an 18-game absence. The 6’7”, 195-pound rearguard plays his first game since October 19th against the Nanaimo Clippers after suffering an injury. The Trail, BC native brings his veteran presence of 158 games of BCHL experience back to the Vees blue line.
The Vees will look to keep their string of strong play against the Warriors going into Friday night’s game as they have won each of the team’s last five meetings. Penticton has outscored West Kelowna by a 28-11 margin over that five-game span with a power play goal in each of those five contests.
The West Kelowna Warriors come into Friday night’s matchup after a 4-3 overtime loss to the Nanaimo Clippers on home ice at the Royal LePage Place on Saturday night. John Evans, Max Bulawka and Tyler Cristall each tallied in the game for the Warriors while Johnny Derrick turned aside 35 of the 39 shots he faced in his 9th loss of the season.
Warriors Leading Scorers:
Lucas Cullen (7-12-19)
Max Bulawka (10-8-18)
Tyler Cristall (5-10-15)
John Evans (6-8-14)
Carter Wilkie (2-12-14)
Third year Warrior Max Bulawka has seen a surge of offence over his last seven games, tallying a goal in five of those contests. The Kelowna, BC native leads West Kelowna in scoring with his 10 goals on the season and sits just two tallies off of his total from 58 games in the 2018/19 campaign. Bulawka ranks 2nd on the Warriors in overall points with 18 in 30 games played this season while also collecting goals in two of his last three games.
17-year-old Tyler Cristall has enjoyed his time with his new team after being acquired by the Warriors from the Chilliwack Chiefs. The Vancouver, BC native has points in three of his six games with West Kelowna, including a four-point effort on November 23rd against the Salmon Arm Silverbacks. Cristall has also registered points in two of his last three games, including two goals and three assists for five points in that span.
The Warriors just completed a four-game home stand that included three points with a win and an overtime defeat. West Kelowna tallied a total of 10 goals over that four-game stretch, including power play markers in three of the four games.
The Vees and Warriors drop the puck at 7:00 PM from the South Okanagan Events Centre with fans encouraged to bring a new or gently-used stuffed animal, mittens, toques, socks and diapers to throw onto the ice after the Vees opening goal. Tickets are available at the Valley First Box Office as well as online at ValleyFirstTix.com.
