PHOTO: Cherie Morgan/Cherie Morgan Photography
The Penticton Vees (12-3-1-0) head back out on the road to open a four-game stretch away from home, beginning on Saturday night against the Chilliwack Chiefs (9-5-2-1) at the Chilliwack Coliseum.
2019/20 REGULAR SEASON VS. CHILLIWACK
Saturday, October 26th @ Chilliwack Coliseum (7:00 PM)
Friday, November 22nd @ South Okanagan Events Centre (7:00 PM)
The Vees come into Saturday night’s matchup looking for back-to-back wins after a 4-2 victory over the Trail Smoke Eaters on Wednesday night at the South Okanagan Events Centre. Colton Kalezic’s shorthanded third period goal stood up as the game winning marker with David Silye, Alex DiPaolo and Jay O’Brien also finding the back of the net. Yaniv Perets stood tall in the Vees crease, turning aside 24 of the 26 shots he faced in his 7th win of the season.
Penticton and Chilliwack have a storied history, with playoff meetings in two of the past five seasons while each of the regular season matchups being highly entertaining. The teams split their season series during the 2018/19 campaign, with the Vees opening up the two-game set with a 5-2 victory on home ice before the Chiefs concluded the season series with a 3-2 win in Chilliwack.
Vees Leading Scorers:
Jay O’Brien (9-15-24)
Danny Weight (8-10-18)
Lukas Sillinger (5-12-17)
David Silye (5-10-15)
Colton Kalezic (6-6-12)
Ahead of Wednesday night’s game, the Vees added some new faces to their lineup as goaltender Carl Stankowski, defenseman Colton Kitchen and forward Tyler Ho were acquired. Stankowski, 19, brings a wealth of Western Hockey League experience with him, including a WHL Championship as a 16-year-old in 2017. Kitchen adds an experienced hand on the backend, playing in 44 career BCHL games while Ho playing in the BCHL Final last season and brings another veteran presence up front.
Captain David Silye has been a steady source of offence throughout the course of his BCHL career and was a big part in Wednesday’s win, posting a goal and an assist including opening the scoring in opening five minutes of the 2nd period. The Clarkson University commit comes into Saturday night with points in three of his last four games, posting a goal and three assists for four points in that span. The Arnprior, Ontario native has earned 15 points through 16 games this season and has collected 44 goals and 136 points in 176 career BCHL games.
Between the two teams heading into Saturday night, there is a total of 25 players who are committed to attend NCAA schools. The Vees possess 15 players on their roster who have secured their collegiate futures while 10 Chiefs have committed to schools. There is also a mix of four National Hockey League draft picks in the game tonight with the Vees having two in Jay O’Brien and Cade Webber while Cooper Moore and Nikita Nesterenko are in Chiefs jerseys.
The Chilliwack Chiefs come into Saturday night’s game after a stretch of four games away from home including a weekend in Prince George, with the Chiefs splitting their two games with the Spruce Kings. A week ago, it was the Chiefs picked up a 2-1 victory over the Spruce Kings as Peter Reynolds and Brody Gagno tallied in the win. Mathieu Caron turned aside 35 of the 36 shots he faced in his 6th win of the season.
Chiefs Leading Scorers:
Ethan Bowen (7-10-17)
Peter Reynolds (6-8-14)
Joey Larson (5-9-14)
Nikita Nesterenko (3-9-12)
Kyle Penney (5-6-11)
The Chiefs have eight returnees back from last year’s squad that bowed out in the Mainland Division Final including captain Nathan Kelly on the back end. Brett Rylance, Brett Willits, Ethan Bowen, Carter Wilkie and Clark Nelson are back up front while Brody Gagno joins Kelly on the blue line as returners. Mathieu Caron remains between the pipes for the Chiefs after playing in 26 games a season ago.
There is a lot of youth on this year’s version of the Chiefs and 16-year-old Peter Reynolds fronts that youth movement and is currently second in the league in points amongst 2003-born players with 14. The Boston College commit comes into Saturday’s matchup carrying a three-game point streak and has scored a goal in each of those three contests. Reynolds was recently selected to represent Canada at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, taking place in Medicine Hat and Swift Current in November.
Back for his third full season with the club is goaltender Mathieu Caron, who possess a career .908 save percentage in 77 BCHL games with the Chiefs. The Abbotsford, BC native currently sits 6th in the league in goals against average (2.08) and save percentage (.931) while being tied for 6th in the BCHL for wins with 6.
The Vees and Chiefs drop the puck at 7:00 PM from the Chilliwack Coliseum with the game being broadcasted live on EZ Rock AM 800 as well as HockeyTV.com beginning with the pre-game show beginning at 6:40 PM with the Voice of the Vees, Trevor Miller.
Make sure to catch the game at Match Eatery and Public House with the first Viewing Party of the season. A burger and beer special is running for just $11 with a chance to win a Vees third jersey in a draw. Anyone who attends the event will also get a complimentary ticket to the next Vees home game on Wednesday, November 6th against the Trail Smoke Eaters.
