PHOTO: Cherie Morgan/Cherie Morgan Photography
The Penticton Vees (17-4-1-0) look to make it back-to-back wins to conclude their weekend doubleheader south of the border as they take on the Wenatchee Wild (11-9-1-1) on Saturday night at the Town Toyota Center.
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 (7:05 PM)
Saturday, November 16th @ South Okanagan Events Centre (6:00 PM)
Wednesday, December 4th @ Town Toyota Center (6:00 PM)
Friday, February 21st @ South Okanagan Events Centre (7:00 PM)
Saturday, February 22nd @ South Okanagan Events Centre (6:00 PM)
The Vees come into Saturday night’s matchup after earning their 17th win of the season on Friday night in a 4-1 victory over the Wild at the Town Toyota Center. Jay O’Brien scored a pair of second period goals with his first standing up as the game winning marker while Jackson Niedermayer and Lukas Sillinger tallied singles in the win. Carl Stankowski turned aside 20 of the 21 shots he faced in his 3rd victory of the season between the pipes.
Vees Leading Scorers:
Jay O’Brien (13-20-33)
Danny Weight (9-16-25)
Lukas Sillinger (9-15-24)
David Silye (5-18-23)
Colton Kalezic (7-8-15)
Three points, including two goals, helped Jay O’Brien to a seven-game point streak on Friday night as he extended his points lead on the team with 33 on the season. The 19th overall pick in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft by the Philadelphia Flyers has registered five goals and five assists for ten points over that span. The Hingham, Massachusetts native now sits in a tie for 3rd in the BCHL in goals with his 13 and leads the Vees with 3 game winning markers on the season.
Danny Weight has been one of the most consistent sources of offence for the Vees this season and comes into Saturday’s game with points in four of his last five games. The Boston College commit has scored a goal and six assists for seven points in those five contests with two of those games being multi-point affairs. The Lattingtown, New York native is second behind O’Brien for the team lead in goals (9), assists (16) and points (25).
The winning ways on the road continued for Penticton, who earned their 5th straight win away from home and lead the BCHL with 14 victories on the road. The Vees have scored a staggering 73 goals while on the road and have surrendered just 37 against with their 14 victories just one shy of their total from all of last season while on the road.
The Wenatchee Wild come into Saturday’s game looking to avenge a 4-1 loss to the Vees on Friday night at the Town Toyota Center. Matt Dorsey scored the lone goal in the opening period in a three-goal defeat while Noah Altman stopped 27 of the 31 shots in his 5th loss of the season.
Wild Leading Scorers:
Nick Cafarelli (10-11-21)
Tyler Young (4-16-20)
Brett Chorske (7-12-19)
Brian Adams (10-7-17)
Trevor Griebel (4-8-12)
With an assist on the lone goal for the Wild on Friday night, forward Brett Chorske has points in three straight contests. The Edina, Minnesota native sits third in scoring amongst Wenatchee players with 7 goals and 19 points on the season and comes into the second game of the doubleheader against the Vees with a goal and three assists for four points during a three-game point streak as well as earning a point in four of his last five games.
Although it wasn’t successful a night ago with the Vees killing off three penalties very well, the Wenatchee power play is still one to be fearful of, having converted on 17 of its 64 chances this season. Over the last five games, the Wild man advantage has gone 7-for-25, operating at a 28% clip over that span while also tallying a goal on the man advantage in three of those five contests.
The Wild play the final of a four-game home stand tonight after a pair of victories last weekend over the Merritt Centennials on home ice. Wenatchee heads back out on the road with the start of a five-game stretch away from home beginning next Saturday against the Vees in Penticton. The Wild have been the beneficiaries of the comforts of home in the early part of the season, tied with five other BCHL clubs with the most games played on home ice at 13 games.
The Vees and the Wild drop the puck on the third of their six-game season set at 7:05 PM at the Town Toyota Center with the game being broadcasted live on EZ Rock AM 800 as well as HockeyTV.com. The pre-game show gets underway at 6:40 PM with the Voice of the Vees, Trevor Miller.
