PHOTO: Cherie Morgan/Cherie Morgan Photography
The Penticton Vees (42-12-1-1) host a pair of games to conclude the regular season as welcome their rivals from south of the border in the Wenatchee Wild (30-22-3-1) on Friday night at the South Okanagan Events Centre.
REGULAR SEASON SCHEDULE vs. WENATCHEE
Friday, October 5th @ South Okanagan Events Centre (5-3 Vees) (BOXSCORE)
Friday, November 8th @ Town Toyota Center (4-1 Vees) (BOXSCORE)
Saturday, November 9th @ Town Toyota Center (5-3 Vees) (BOXSCORE)
Saturday, November 16th @ South Okanagan Events Centre (2-1 Vees/OT) (BOXSCORE)
Wednesday, December 4th @ Town Toyota Center (4-3 Wild) (BOXSCORE)
Friday, February 21st @ South Okanagan Events Centre (7:00 PM)
Saturday, February 22nd @ South Okanagan Events Centre (6:00 PM)
Penticton comes into the final weekend of the regular season after scoring in the dying seconds of regulation and notching the winning goal just 16 seconds into overtime in a 3-2 victory over the Alberni Valley Bulldogs on Saturday night at the South Okanagan Events Centre. Jackson Niedermayer scored twice in the game, including with 8 seconds remaining in regulation to force overtime, while Steve Holtz netted the winner in the extra frame. Yaniv Perets was solid in between the pipes for the Vees, making 29 saves on 31 shots in his 25th win of the season.
The Vees have posted victory in four of their five meetings against the Wild this season, with Wenatchee coming away with their first win in the season set in the teams’ last meeting in early December at the Town Toyota Center by a 4-3 score. Colton Kalezic, Darwin Lakoduk and Jackson Niedermayer each tallied in the game for the Vees while Yaniv Perets turned aside 22 of the 26 shots he faced in the losing effort in the blue paint.
Vees Leading Scorers:
Jay O’Brien (24-39-63)
David Silye (20-42-62)
Danny Weight (24-32-56)
Lukas Sillinger (20-36-56)
Jackson Niedermayer (22-22-44)
The second season is just around the corner as the Vees will take on the West Kelowna Warriors in the opening round of the Shaw BCHL Playoffs. The best-of-seven Interior Division Quarter Final is set to get underway on Thursday, February 27th with Game #1 and #2 taking place at the South Okanagan Events Centre before the series shifts to Royal LePage Place for Games #3 and #4. 2020 will mark the 6th time the two franchises have squared off in postseason play with the Vees coming out on top in five of the six sets, dating back to 2010.
Scoring the overtime winner was the second game winning goal of the season for Vees rearguard Steve Holtz, who is enjoying a solid month of February from the back end. The University of Michigan commit has posted two goals and four assists for six points over the half dozen games played in the month thus far. The White Lake, Michigan native leads the Vees back end with 8 goals on the season, ranking in a tie for 9th in the league in that department amongst blue liners.
An assist on the overtime winning marker on Saturday night pushed Jay O’Brien to an eight-game point streak, matching the longest consecutive stretch of games with a point he has had this season. The Boston University commit has tallied 7 goals and 6 assists for 13 points during that span and currently sits as the BC Hockey League’s 4th leading scorer with 24 goals and 39 assists for 63 points on the campaign. The Hingham, Massachusetts native has relished in playing the Wild this season, registering 4 goals and 7 assists for 11 points in just 5 games of the season series thus far.
The Wenatchee Wild enter play on Friday night having won each of their last seven games, including three wins in three nights over the past weekend, concluding in a 4-1 victory over the Salmon Arm Silverbacks on Sunday night at the Shaw Centre. Sam Morton, Brett Chorske, Harrison Scott and Matt Dorsey each found the back of the net for Wenatchee in the contest while Daniel Chenard stopped 25 of the 26 shots thrown his way in his 21st win of the season.
Wild Leading Scorers:
Nick Cafarelli (17-23-40)
Brett Chorske (18-21-39)
Brian Adams (19-18-37)
Matt Dorsey (11-26-37)
Tyler Young (9-28-37)
The Wild are one of the league’s hottest teams, having won each of their last seven contests, and are in a tight race for 3rd place in the Interior Division, coming into the night with a one-point lead over the Vernon Vipers and Salmon Arm Silverbacks for that spot. Wenatchee has posted a 7-0 record in the month of February, outscoring their opposition by a 27-14 margin in that span.
With 3 goals and 5 assists for 8 points over a three-game point streak, Wild forward Sam Morton was named as the BCHL’s Player of the Week and helped his team to three consecutive wins on the weekend. The University of Minnesota State-Mankato commit returned to Wenatchee after playing the last season a half at Union College in the NCAA and has produced plenty of offense for the club, scoring 11 goals while adding 19 assists for 30 points in 24 games played with the Wild this season. The Layfette, Colorado native is a three-year BCHL veteran, registering 47 goals and 62 assists for 109 points over the course of 125 career regular season games.
Between the pipes for the Wild is veteran goaltender Daniel Chenard, who has caught fire as of late and hasn’t lost a game since January 31st. The RIT commit has scored victories in each of his last six games, posting a 1.80 goals against average and a .928 save percentage in that span. The Waterloo, Ontario native has not surrendered more than two goals against since that game in late January while playing in the 6th most games amongst netminders this season at 40 games played.
The Vees and Wild will play in the fifth of their six-game season series tonight at the South Okanagan Events Centre with puck drop scheduled for 7:00 PM. Tickets are available for purchase at the Valley First Box Office as well as online at ValleyFirstTix.com.
Tickets are now on sale as the Vees will face-off against the West Kelowna Warriors in the opening round of the Shaw BCHL Playoffs. The best-of-seven Interior Division Quarter Final gets underway on Thursday, February 27th with Game #1 at the South Okanagan Events Centre with a 7:00 PM puck drop. Tickets are available for purchase at the Valley First Box Office as well as online at ValleyFirstTix.com.
