PHOTO: Cherie Morgan/Cherie Morgan Photography
The Penticton Vees head back to the Central Okanagan for Game #4 of their best-of-seven Interior Division Quarter Final against the West Kelowna Warriors on Tuesday night at Royal LePage Place with the Vees holding a 3-0 series lead.
REGULAR SEASON SCHEDULE vs. WEST KELOWNA
Friday, September 27th @ South Okanagan Events Centre (3-0 Vees) (BOXSCORE)
Saturday, September 28th @ Royal LePage Place (7-3 Vees) (BOXSCORE)
Friday, December 6th @ South Okanagan Events Centre (5-1 Vees) (BOXSCORE)
Saturday, December 7th @ Royal LePage Place (3-2 Vees) (BOXSCORE)
Tuesday, January 21st @ Royal LePage Place (5-2 Vees) (BOXSCORE)
Sunday, February 9th @ South Okanagan Events Centre (5-4 Vees/OT) (BOXSCORE)
PLAYOFF SCHEDULE vs. WEST KELOWNA
Game #1: Thursday, February 27th @ South Okanagan Events Centre (7-1 Vees) (BOXSCORE)
Game #2: Friday, February 28th @ South Okanagan Events Centre (4-1 Vees) (BOXSCORE)
Game #3: Sunday, March 1st @ Royal LePage Place (9-2 Vees) (BOXSCORE)
Game #4: Tuesday, March 3rd @ Royal LePage Place (7:00 PM)
*Game #5: Wednesday, March 4th @ South Okanagan Events Centre (7:00 PM)
*Game #6: Saturday, March 7th @ Royal LePage Place (7:00 PM)
*Game #7: Monday, March 9th @ South Okanagan Events Centre (7:00 PM)
*- If Necessary
The Vees look to punch their ticket to the second round of the BC Hockey League playoffs after picking up a 3-0 series lead with a 9-2 victory in Game #3 of the Interior Division Quarter Final set ay Royal LePage Place on Sunday afternoon. Jay O’Brien and Danny Weight each collected a pair of goals in the game while Colton Kalezic, Ethan Martini, Tristan Amonte, Jackson Niedermayer and Tyler Ho added singles in the win. Yaniv Perets was terrific, making 24 saves on 26 shots in his 3rd win of the postseason.
Vees Regular Season Leading Scorers:
Jay O’Brien (25-41-66)
David Silye (20-42-62)
Danny Weight (25-35-60)
Lukas Sillinger (22-37-59)
Jackson Niedermayer (23-22-45)
Vees Playoff Leading Scorers:
Jay O’Brien (5-2-7)
Danny Weight (4-2-6)
Colton Kalezic (1-5-6)
Liam Malmquist (2-3-5)
Tyler Ho (4-0-4)
The hot stretch of play for Vees forward Jay O’Brien continued in Game #3 on Sunday afternoon as the 19th overall selection in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft by the Philadelphia Flyers posted two goals and an assist for three points in the Vees 9-2 victory. The Boston University commit comes into Tuesday night’s action ranking 2nd in the league in playoff scoring with 7 points while leading the BCHL in goals through the postseason with 5. The Hingham, Massachusetts native has goals in each of the first three games of the series, including multi-goal efforts in back-to-back contests.
After one two-plus point game during the regular season, forward Colton Kalezic has doubled that total in the playoffs with his second three-point affair coming on Sunday afternoon. The Toronto, Ontario product opened the scoring in Game #3 before adding a pair of assists in the win while posting three assists in Game #1 on Thursday night and is tied for the lead in BCHL playoff action with 5 assists.
The Vees have received strong goaltending over the series thus far as 19-year-old netminder Yaniv Perets has been dialed in in the crease. The Quinnipiac University commit has compiled a 1.33 goals against average along with a .944 save percentage in the first three games of the series, turning aside 68 of the 72 shots thrown his way. In 37 regular season games, the Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Quebec native posted a 2.19 GAA and a .918 SV% while placing second in the league with 5 shutouts.
The West Kelowna Warriors will look to keep their season alive in Game #4 after falling by a 9-2 score in Game #3 to the Vees on home ice. Carter Wilkie and Deegan Mofford each found the back of the net for the Warriors while Johnny Derrick started in the goal for the Warriors, making 33 saves on 40 shots in his 3rd loss of the series before Riley Morgan came on in relief in the 3rd period, turning aside 7 of the 9 shots he faced.
Warriors Regular Season Leading Scorers:
John Evans (22-28-50)
Tyler Cristall (16-25-41)
Carter Wilkie (12-21-33)
Nicolas Ardanaz (4-28-32)
Brendan Pigeon (9-17-26)
Warriors Playoff Leading Scorers:
John Evans (1-1-2)
Tyler Cristall (1-0-1)
Deegan Mofford (1-0-1)
Carter Wilkie (1-0-1)
Elan Bar-Lev-Wise (0-1-1)
Veteran players will be leaned on for the Warriors in Game #4 and one of those that is looked to in key situations is Warriors forward Carter Wilkie. The Calgary, Alberta product tallied his first career playoff goal in Game #3 on Sunday afternoon but brings over 100 career BCHL games into the West Kelowna lineup each night. Wilkie has amassed 24 goals and 45 assists for 69 points in 107 career regular season games while Game #4 on Tuesday night will mark his 11th playoff game of his career.
Another player who will be looking to extend his season, and Junior hockey career, is Warriors captain Jake Harrison. The 20-year-old defender has 166 career regular season games under his belt, posting 18 goals and 65 assists for 83 points in that span and is the only player remaining from the Warriors National Championship team from 2016. The West Kelowna, BC native has gotten into 34 career playoff games, registering 3 goals and 12 points along with 5 Western Canada Cup games and 6 games in the RBC Cup National Championship games.
The Vees and Warriors will drop the puck on Game #4 of their best-of-seven Interior Division Quarter Final tonight at Royal LePage Place for a 7:00 PM puck drop with Penticton looking to punch their ticket to the second round. The game will be broadcasted live on EZ Rock AM 800 as well as on HockeyTV.com beginning with the pre-game show at 6:40 PM with the Voice of the Vees, Trevor Miller.
