PHOTO: Cherie Morgan/Cherie Morgan Photography
The Penticton Vees open up the playoffs with Game #1 of their best-of-seven Interior Division Quarter Finals against the West Kelowna Warriors at the South Okanagan Events Centre on Thursday night.
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 (7:00 PM)
Game #2: Friday, February 28th @ South Okanagan Events Centre (7:00 PM)
Game #3: Sunday, March 1st @ Royal LePage Place (3:00 PM)
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
Penticton comes into the playoffs after concluding their regular season on a high note, coming back from a three-goal, third period deficit to defeat the Wenatchee Wild by a 4-3 score in overtime on Saturday night at the South Okanagan Events Centre. Lukas Sillinger tallied a pair of goals with Jackson Niedermayer providing a single in the game before Jay O’Brien found the back of the net for the overtime winner. Carl Stankowski tossed aside 27 of the 30 shots he faced in the game in his 14th victory of the campaign.
The Vees earned a victory in each of their six-game season series against the Warriors during the 2019/20 campaign, including finishing off the set with a 5-4 overtime win at the South Okanagan Events Centre in mid-February. Jackson Niedermayer scored twice in the game while David Silye and Conner Hutchison added singles in regulation before Nico Somerville netted the winner in the extra frame. Yaniv Perets turned aside 33 of the 37 shots he faced in the Vees crease for the victory.
2020 marks the 6th time the Vees and Warriors will meet in the playoffs, with their last meeting taking place in 2016. Penticton has come out on top in five of the six sets with the Vees holding an 18-8 record all-time against the Warriors in playoff action.
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)
The come-from-behind, overtime victory to conclude the regular season on Saturday night was the 8th victory in extra time for the Vees this season, the most of any teams in the BC Hockey League. 44 wins for Penticton is the most the team has amassed since the 2015/16 season, which Penticton posted 50 victories. The Vees finished the regular season with the second most goals in the league at 225 and the third least goals against at 135.
Scoring the game winning tally in overtime on Saturday pushed Vees forward Jay O’Brien to a season-high ten-game point streak while finished off his regular season with 25 goals and 66 points. The 19th overall selection in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft by the Philadelphia Flyers has posted 8 goals and 8 assists for 16 points during that ten-game stretch while closing the season with a league-leading 9 game winning tallies. The Boston University commit saw his strong season rewarded on Tuesday when he was named a BCHL First Team All-Star.
Penticton will look to improve upon their strong play against West Kelowna in the opening round of the playoffs after earning six wins in six tries against them in the regular season. The Vees outscored the Warriors by a 28-12 margin in the season set as special teams played a big part in how the games were decided. Penticton’s power play operated at a 6/24, a 25% clip, throughout the regular season against West Kelowna while the penalty kill went 20/23, coming out to an 87% rate.
The West Kelowna Warriors come into the opening round of the playoffs after scoring back-to-back wins to close out their regular season against the Vernon Vipers, ending things off with a 6-5 shootout victory at Royal LePage Place on Saturday night. Colby Elmer tallied twice for the Warriors while Levi Stauber, Elan Bar-Lev-Wise and Deegan Mofford added singles before Carter Wilkie and Ryan Upson converted in the five-round shootout. Riley Morgan turned aside 42 of the 47 shots he faced for his 2nd win of the season, including stopping four of the five shooters he faced in the shootout.
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)
Finishing his rookie season as the Warriors leading scorer, Warriors forward John Evans brings a five-game point streak into his first playoff experience in his Junior ‘A’ career. The South Surrey, BC native has registered 4 goals and 5 assists for 9 points over that span, including a hat-trick on February 21st against the Vipers. Evans concluded the regular campaign with 22 goals and 50 points, despite not playing in the team’s final game of the season, while tying for the league lead shorthanded goals with 5 on the season.
It was a big final weekend of the regular season for forward Ryan Upson, who played a large part in helping the Warriors come away victorious in the final game of the season with his shootout winning efforts. The West Vancouver, BC native earned a goal and three assists for four points over the last weekend of the campaign, breaking a six-game scoreless stretch to do so. The four points on the weekend for Upson was a fourth of his production from the 54 games he got into in his first BCHL season.
Shorthanded goals has been something West Kelowna has done as well as any other team this season, tying with the Wenatchee Wild for the most in the BCHL with 10 on the season. The Warriors have scored 7 of those 10 shorthanded markers while on the road and took the fourth-least penalties in the Interior Division, going shorthanded 245 times this season while surrendering 58 goals against on the PK.
The Vees and Warriors will drop the puck on Game #1 of their best-of-seven Interior Division Quarter Final series tonight at the South Okanagan Events Centre. The opening face-off is set for 7:00 PM with tickets available for purchase at the Valley First Box Office as well as online at ValleyFirstTix.com.
