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GAME PREVIEW: Vees Look For 12th Straight Win In Port Alberni vs. Bulldogs

PHOTO: Cherie Morgan/Cherie Morgan Photography

The Penticton Vees (11-0-0-0) conclude their weekend on Vancouver Island as they face-off against the Alberni Valley Bulldogs (6-8-0-0) on Saturday night at Weyerhaeuser Arena.

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REGULAR SEASON SCHEDULE vs. ALBERNI VALLEY

Saturday, October 12th @ Weyerhaeuser Arena (7:00 PM)

Saturday, February 15th @ South Okanagan Events Centre (6:00 PM)

The Vees enter Saturday night’s contest after earning their 11th straight win to start the season with a 6-2 victory over the Powell River Kings on Friday night at Hap Parker Arena. Jay O’Brien, David Silye, Evan McIntyre, Lukas Sillinger, Danny Weight and Liam Malmquist each scored in the game while Yaniv Perets made 33 saves on 35 shots in his 6th victory of the season.

Penticton won each of the two games in their two-game season series against Alberni Valley during the 2018/19 campaign.  The Vees opened up their schedule on home ice last season at the South Okanagan Events Centre with a 2-0 victory over the Bulldogs before travelling to Port Alberni and earned a 4-3 win at the Weyerhaeuser Arena. Penticton has won each of the past five meetings against Alberni Valley over the past two seasons.

Vees Leading Scorers:

Jay O’Brien (7-14-21)

Danny Weight (7-9-16)

Lukas Sillinger (4-10-14)

Colton Kalezic (5-6-11)

David Silye (4-7-11)

Another four-point night was registered for Vees forward Jay O’Brien, his third in his last four games and now has him sitting 3rd in the BCHL in scoring with 21 points. The Philadelphia Flyers 19th overall selection in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft has scored two goals and six assists for eight points in his last two games. The Boston University commit has 14 assists on the season, which ranks him 2nd in the league in helpers behind Trail’s Kent Johnson.

The string of strong play continued for forward Lukas Sillinger, who now has points in three of his last four games including finding the back of the net in each of those contests. The Regina, Saskatchewan native has three goals and four assists for seven points in those three games and now sits third in team scoring with 14 points on the season. The University of Nebraska-Omaha commit now has 101 career BCHL games under his belt, scoring 25 goals and 35 assists for 60 points.

The Vees handed the Kings their first loss on home ice on Friday night and have been exceptional when playing away from home, having gone 9-0 in games away from the South Okanagan Events Centre. Penticton has scored 50 goals on the road this season, tops in the BCHL, and have tallied no less than four markers in each of those nine road contests. The +31-goal differential is the best of any team on the road in the league as well.

The Alberni Valley Bulldogs enter Saturday night’s game after a 5-3 win on home ice against the Victoria Grizzlies on Friday night at Weyerhaeuser Arena. Austin Spiridakis, Ryan Doolin, Dawson Tritt, Josh Zary and Jacob Bosse each scored in the game for the Bulldogs while Jackson Glassford turned aside 36 of the 39 shots he faced in his 4th win of the season.

Bulldogs Leading Scorers:
Mitch Deelstra (10-3-10)

Jackson Munro (3-9-12)

Ryan Doolin (4-7-11)

Tommy Bannister (5-2-7)

Jacob Bosse (2-5-7)

Joe Martin took over the reigns as the new Head Coach and General Manager of the Bulldogs in the summer and has eight players returning from 2018/19 including forward and captain Mitch Deelstra. Dawson Tritt, Jackson Doucet, Josh Zary, Stephen Castagna, Ethan Jones and Austin Spiridakis join Deelstra up front while Grayson Valente remains on the back end for Alberni Valley. The Bulldogs made a pair of trades to beef up their BCHL experience in the offseason by adding forward Caige Sterzer from the Surrey Eagles and defenseman Jackson Munro from the Merritt Centennials.

Acquiring a familiar face from his time in Merritt, Head Coach and GM Joe Martin brought in defender Jackson Munro from Merritt and has paid dividends in the early part of the season. The Vancouver, BC native sits 2nd in team scoring with 3 goals and 9 assists for 12 points while collecting points in each of his last four games, tallying 2 goals and 4 assists for 6 points over that four-game span. Munro currently sits tied for 4th in the BCHL in scoring amongst defencemen and leads the Bulldogs with 9 helpers on the season.

Weyerhaeuser Arena has been a tough environment for opponents to play in and this season has been no different, posting a 5-0 record on home ice this season. The Bulldogs have outscored the opposition by a 19-10 margin over the course of those five games while scoring a power play goal in three of those five contests on home ice.

The Vees and Bulldogs get set for the first of their two-game season series on Friday night at Weyerhaeuser Arena for a 7:00 PM puck drop. The game will broadcasted live on EZ Rock AM 800 as well as HockeyTV.com with the pre-game show beginning at 6:40 PM with the Voice of the Vees, Trevor Miller.