PHOTO: Cherie Morgan/Cherie Morgan Photography
The Penticton Vees (40-7-0-2) return to action for the first time in nine days as they play the first of two games against the Cranbrook Bucks (23-19-2-3) on Friday night at Western Financial Place.
2021/22 REGULAR SEASON VS. CRANBROOK
Sunday, November 21st @ Western Financial Place (7-1 Vees) (BOXSCORE)
Friday, December 3rd @ South Okanagan Events Centre (7-1 Vees) (BOXSCORE)
Sunday, February 20th @ South Okanagan Events Centre (5-4 Vees) (BOXSCORE)
Friday, March 18th @ Western Financial Place (6:00 PM)
Saturday, March 19th @ Western Financial Place (6:00 PM)
Penticton comes into Friday night’s game having won each of their last eight games, including their last a week and a half ago in a 6-0 shutout win over the Salmon Arm Silverbacks last Wednesday at the SOEC. Casey McDonald, Luc Wilson, Josh Nadeau, Grayson Arnott, Aydar Suniev and Spencer Smith scored in the win for the Vees while Carter Serhyenko turned aside all 24 shots he faced in his 8th win of the season and 2nd shutout of the year.
The Vees and Bucks will play the final two games of their regular season series with Penticton having won each of the first three games of the season series, including a come-from-behind 5-4 victory in February at the South Okanagan Events Centre. Josh Nadeau, Luc Wilson, Ethan Mann, Bradly Nadeau and Braden Doyle each found the back of the net in the win while Carter Serhyenko made 5 saves on 8 shots before Kaeden Lane turned aside 12 of the 13 shots thrown his way for the win in net.
Vees Leading Scorers:
Luc Wilson (26-42-68)
Josh Nadeau (37-27-64)
Bradly Nadeau (16-22-38)
Fin Williams (12-25-37)
Brett Moravec (19-16-35)
For the 15th time in the Vees organization history and 5th time since 2012, Penticton has claimed the Ron Boileau Trophy as BC Hockey League regular season champions. After a Salmon Arm loss in West Kelowna on Thursday night, the Vees earned the honour and will be the only team in the league to reach 40 wins on the season as well. In the process of winning the regular season, the Vees also collected their 10th consecutive Interior Conference Pennant.
No team has been better over the last two months than the Vees, who have won each of their last eight games and 19 of their last 20 games played. Penticton has lost just once since January 21st, a big reason as to why they clinched the league’s top spot. The defence and goaltending has specifically shown strongly as the Vees have not surrendered more than two goals in their last eight games.
The Cranbrook Bucks come into Friday night’s game against the Vees following a 3-2 shootout loss to the Vernon Vipers on Sunday afternoon at Kal Tire Place. Noah Quinn scored both of the goals in regulation for the Bucks while Liam Hansson was the lone shooter for Cranbrook to find the back of the net in the shootout. Nathan Airey turned aside 22 of the 24 shots thrown his way and stopped 1 of the 3 shooters he faced in the shootout in his 5th overtime loss of the season.
Bucks Leading Scorers:
Tyson Dyck (33-35-68)
Noah Quinn (24-29-53)
Kellan Hjartarson (19-16-35)
Liam Hansson (8-26-34)
Johnny Johnson (19-14-33)
Despite the shootout loss on Sunday in Vernon, Bucks goaltender Nathan Airey has been terrific for his team since February, winning each of his last six starts before the game on Sunday. The Abbotsford, BC native has not surrendered more than three goals since January 8th while owning a 6-0-1 record in his last 7 games, amassing a 2.30 goals against average and a .929 save percentage over that span.
The Vees and Bucks will play the fourth of their five-game season series on Friday night at Western Financial Place with a 7:00 PM MST puck drop (6:00 PM PST). The game will be broadcasted live on Bounce Radio 800 as well as streamed on BCHLTV.ca beginning with the pre-game show at 6:40 PM.
