PHOTO: Cherie Morgan/Cherie Morgan Photography
The Penticton Vees (3-0-0-0) head out on the road for the first time in the regular season as they take on the Langley Rivermen (3-0-0-0) at the BC Hockey League Showcase in Chilliwack at the Chilliwack Coliseum.
REGULAR SEASON SCHEDULE vs. LANGLEY
Wednesday, October 20th @ Chilliwack Coliseum (7:30 PM)
The Vees come into the midweek set of games at the BCHL Showcase looking to make it four straight wins to open the season after earning their second straight overtime victory on Saturday night in a 4-3 victory over the Trail Smoke Eaters at the South Okanagan Events Centre. Luc Wilson was the overtime hero in the game, scoring with just 15 seconds left in the extra frame to give the Vees a win while Stefano Bottini, Bradley Nadeau and Josh Nadeau scored singles. Kaeden Lane turned aside 25 of the 28 shots thrown his way in his 2nd win of the season.
It has been over a year and a half since Penticton and Langley last met, which took place on January 8th, 2020 at the SOEC. The Vees earned the series win over the Rivermen in the last season series between the two sides, coming out victorious in each of the two games while both contests were tightly contested. The Vees won in Langley by a 4-3 score in mid-November, 2019 before defeating the Rivermen by a 3-1 score at the SOEC in early January 2020.
Vees Leading Scorers:
Josh Nadeau (3-1-4)
Fin Williams (2-2-4)
Luc Wilson (1-2-3)
Frank Djurasevic (0-3-3)
Josh Niedermayer (2-0-2)
Josh Nadeau has found his way in the BCHL to begin his tenure in Penticton, adding a goal and an assist on Friday night in the Vees win over the Smoke Eaters. The University of Maine commit now leads the team with three goals and sits second in points with four through the Vees opening three games. Nadeau is tied for 15th in goal scoring throughout the whole league after putting up 31 points in 15 games with the Edmundston Blizzard in the Maritime Hockey League.
Saturday’s overtime hero scored his second overtime goal of his BCHL career and his first in the regular season as Luc Wilson notched career goal number 44 for the Vees win on Friday. The Duncan, BC native has posted a goal and two assists for three points on the season while currently sitting at 44 goals and 64 assists for 108 points in 133 career regular season contests. The game-winning marker was the second for the University of Minnesota-Mankato commit in his Vees career and his 8th overall in the league, splitting time between the Vees and Cowichan Valley Capitals.
Heading into the BCHL Showcase in Chilliwack, the annual league event has faired well for the Vees over years past, compiling an overall record of 14 wins, one loss and one overtime loss. Penticton has won their past two Showcase games, coming during the 2019 season when the Interior Division portion of the Showcase was held at the South Okanagan Events Centre. The Vees have outscored their opponents by a 51-30 margin while at the Showcase, including a head-to-head matchup against Langley back in 2016, a game in which Owen Sillinger recorded a hat trick and Taylor Ward had a pair of goals in a 6-4 victory.
The Langley Rivermen head into the BCHL Showcase having collected points in each of their first four games of the season, suffering their first setback of the year to the Surrey Eagles on Sunday afternoon by a 4-3 score in a shootout at George Preston Arena. Tyler Schleppe scored a pair of goals in the game while Owen Kim added a single before the Rivermen could not score in a six-round shootout. Jameson Kaine turned aside 28 of the 31 shots before denying 5 of the 6 shooters he faced in the shootout in his first shootout loss of the season.
Rivermen Leading Scorers:
Tyler Schleppe (6-1-7)
Riley Wallack (1-5-6)
Joseph Messina (2-3-5)
Tanner Attew (0-5-5)
Stephen Sielsky (0-5-5)
The Rivermen are off to a good start to begin their 2021/22 season as they look to get back into playing for the first time in two seasons after taking the 2020/21 campaign off due to COVID-19. Veteran forwards Riley Wallack and Chase Sandhu remain from the 2019/20 season, along with captain Stephen Sielsky including the additions of BCHL veterans Tyler Schleppe, Max Bulawka and former Vee Ryan Upson.
Forward Tyler Schleppe is suiting up for his fourth season in the BCHL and his first with the Rivermen after spending the last three seasons split between the Prince George Spruce Kings and Coquitlam Express. The Vancouver, BC native has enjoyed a strong start to his Rivermen career, including a hat trick on October 16th against the Chilliwack Chiefs before adding a pair of goals on Sunday against Surrey and was named the BCHL’s 3rd Star of the Week for his efforts. In 134 career games between the three teams, Schleppe has amassed 35 goals and 36 assists for 71 points.
A familiar face will be lining up against the Vees on Wednesday night as Ryan Upson suits up against his former team. The West Vancouver, BC product spent the 2020/21 season with the Vees, playing in the Okanagan Cup and Penticton Pod, scoring 6 goals and adding 15 assists for 21 points in 20 games for the Vees during the 20-game Pod season. Upson had quite the debut with the Rivermen, scoring twice in an opening night 7-4 win over the Chiefs and has tallied 3 goals thus far.
The Vees and Rivermen do battle for the only time this season at the BCHL Showcase in Chilliwack with a 7:30 PM face-off at the Chilliwack Coliseum. The game will be broadcasted on Bounce 800 Radio as well as viewed online on BCHLTV.ca.
