PHOTO: Cherie Morgan/Cherie Morgan Photography
The Penticton Vees (12-1-0-1) look to extend their winning streak to four games as they face-off against the Trail Smoke Eaters (7-7-0-0) for the eighth time this season on Thursday night at the South Okanagan Events Centre.
2021 REGULAR SEASON VS. TRAIL
Friday, April 2nd @ Trail (4-1 Vees) (BOXSCORE)
Thursday, April 8th @ Trail (6-0 Vees) (BOXSCORE)
Sunday, April 11th vs. Trail (6-1 Vees) (BOXSCORE)
Wednesday, April 14th vs. Trail (3-2 Smoke Eaters) (BOXSCORE)
Saturday, April 17th @ Trail (3-0 Vees) (BOXSCORE)
Friday, April 23rd vs. Trail (4-1 Vees) (BOXSCORE)
Monday, April 26th @ Trail (5-0 Vees) (BOXSCORE)
Thursday, April 29th @ Trail (7:00 PM)
Sunday, May 2nd vs. Trail (4:00 PM)
Saturday, May 8th vs. Trail (6:00 PM)
The Vees come into Thursday night’s matchup against the Smoke Eaters looking for their fourth win in a row after defeating Trail on Monday night by a 5-0 score to earn their third consecutive victory. Luc Wilson scored twice in the game while Grayson Arnott, Philippe Chapleau and Liam Malmquist each added singles in the victory. Kaeden Lane was superb in net once again, stopping each of the 20 shots thrown his way in his league-leading 4th shutout of the season and 10th win on the campaign.
Vees Leading Scorers:
Luc Wilson (12-8-20)
Liam Malmquist (6-12-18)
Jacob Quillan (7-8-15)
Ryan Upson (5-9-14)
Fin Williams (4-9-13)
Earning his BC Hockey League leading 4th shutout of the season on Monday, goaltender Kaeden Lane has been as good as one can be in between the pipes for the Vees this season. The Burnaby, BC native has the most wins of any goalie in the BCHL, the only crease keeper to have double digit victories on the year with 10, while also leading the league in goals against average (1.18) and save percentage (.947%), along with his 4 shutouts. To couple that, Lane has played the 5th most minutes of any goaltender in the league as well in leading all of the major goaltending categories.
After a torrid pace to begin the season, Lane’s roommate, Luc Wilson, slowed a bit with two points in four games before breaking open once again with a pair of goals on Monday night to bring him to 12 on the season, tying him for 2nd amongst goal scorers in the BCHL. The University of Minnesota-Mankato commit ranks 7th among point getters in the league with his 20 and is averaging 1.43 points-per-game, which would be the best of his BCHL career if continued through to the end of the season.
Scoring his first BCHL goal on Friday against the Smoke Eaters has made for quite the stat line for defender Josh Niedermayer, who enters Thursday’s tilt riding a three-game point streak. The Penticton, BC native has a goal and three assists for four points in those three games and leads all Vees defenders with a goal and eight assists for nine points on the season. The 16-year-old is tied for fourth amongst rookie defenseman in the BCHL in scoring and is tied for 3rd in assists amongst the same group.
The Trail Smoke Eaters come into Thursday night’s action looking to make it back-to-back wins after they collected their first shutout of the season in a 3-0 victory over the Cranbrook Bucks on Wednesday. Goals from Kalen Szeto, Noah Wakeford and an empty netter from Chase Dafoe helped Trail to the win. Logan Terness picked up his first shutout of the season in terrific fashion, turning aside each of the 30 shots he faced in the game for his 5th win of the campaign.
Smoke Eaters Leading Scorers:
Quinn Disher (6-5-11)
Noah Wakeford (5-6-11)
Ryan Helliwell (3-7-10)
Kalen Szeto (3-7-10)
Coalson Wolford (3-6-9)
The first shutout of the season for the Smoke Eaters came on Wednesday night as goaltender Logan Terness made 30 saves in his 5th win of the season, including half of the total saves he made in the game coming in the 2nd period where he turned aside 15 shots in the middle stanza for the victory. The University of Connecticut commit has posted a 2.79 GAA and a .921 SV% in his 9 games this season while the 18-year-old earned his second shutout of his career after posting one shutout a season ago.
The Vees and Smoke Eaters drop the puck on the eighth of ten meetings between the two sides on Thursday night at the SOEC. Puck drop is slated for 7:00 PM with the game available to listen on EZ Rock AM 800 as well as watch on pay-per-view at HockeyTV.com and Shaw Spotlight beginning with the pre-game show at 6:40.
