HEADER

GAME PREVIEW: Vees Take On Express In Battle For BCHL’s Top Spot

PHOTO: Damon James/BCHL

The Penticton Vees (21-5-1-0) conclude their two-game Mainland swing with top spot in the BCHL on the line as they battle the Coquitlam Express (21-5-0-0) on Wednesday night at the Poirier Sports and Leisure Centre.

LISTEN

WATCH

REGULAR SEASON SCHEDULE vs. COQUITLAM

Wednesday, November 20th @ Poirier Sports and Leisure Centre (7:15 PM)

Friday, February 14th @ South Okanagan Events Centre (7:00 PM)

The Vees enter Wednesday night’s contest after earning their third consecutive victory in a 4-3 win over the Langley Rivermen on Tuesday night at the George Preston Arena. Darwin Lakoduk, Colton Kalezic, Liam Malmquist and Tristan Amonte each tallied goals in the win while Yaniv Perets turned aside 21 of the 24 shots he faced in his 12th victory of the season.

Penticton earned three of four points against Coquitlam during the teams’ season series a year ago in a pair of tight games. The Express drew first blood with a 3-2 victory in a shootout at the South Okanagan Events Centre in late October before the Vees picked up a 4-3 win at the Poirier Sports and Leisure Centre in late November. The Vees come in having won in each of their last five visits to Coquitlam.

Vees Leading Scorers:

Jay O’Brien (15-26-41)

Danny Weight (13-19-32)

Lukas Sillinger (11-19-30)

David Silye (8-20-28)

Liam Malmquist (8-12-20)

Tuesday night’s win saw the Vees pick up their 16th road victory of the season, besting all other BCHL clubs. Penticton also earned their seventh win in their last eight road games, having outscored the opposition 29-19 over that span and registering four or more goals in each of the seven victories. Overall on the season, the Vees hold a +38-goal differential while playing away from home, outscoring opposing teams by an 85-47 margin.

The point streak for Vees defender Steve Holtz has been extended to seven games after an assist on Liam Malmquist’s power play marker on Tuesday night. The White Lake, Michigan native has earned two goals and five assists for seven points over that span while also tallying a point in 10 of his last 11 contests. The University of Michigan commit ranks in a tie for 7tyh in the league amongst defensive scoring with his 4 goals and 13 assists for 17 points.

The BC Hockey League’s second leading scorer looks to bring that scoring touch into a big matchup in Coquitlam as Jay O’Brien has found his offensive stride over the last month. The Philadelphia Flyers 1st round Draft selection in 2018 has points in three straight games, amassing a goal and five assists for six points in that time while having earned a point in 11 of his last 12 contests. The Boston University commit ranks 3rd in the league in assist with 26 while placing 2nd in the BCHL in game winning markers with his 5 on the season.

The Coquitlam Express come into Wednesday night’s matchup after picking up a 2-1 victory over the Vernon Vipers on Saturday night at the Poirier Sports and Leisure Centre. Josh Wildauer and Noah De La Durantaye each scored a first period power play goal to help the Express to their 21st victory of the season. Clay Stevenson turned aside 29 of the 30 shots he faced in his 16th win of the season between the pipes.

Express Leading Scorers:
Connor Gregga (7-14-21)

Greg Lapointe (13-7-20)

Tyler Schleppe (11-9-20)

Steven Bellini (4-16-20)

Noah De La Durantaye (7-12-19)

The Express have 8 returnees from last year’s squad including captain Drew Cooper. Forwards Danny Pearson, Connor Gregga, Cooper Connell and Josh Wildauer return up front while Kabir Gill joins Cooper on the back end. Clay Stevenson is back between the pipes for the Express who added a bit of BCHL experience in the offseason with forward Tyler Schleppe coming from Prince George and Massimo Rizzo added from the Vees.

A part that has added to the Express’ hot start to the season has been their play on home ice as they enter Wednesday night having not lost a game at the Poirier Sports and Leisure Centre. Coquitlam is 12-0-0-0 when hosting this season and are second to Salmon Arm in home victories with those 12. The Express have used a strong defensive performance to aid in that record, as well, giving up just 18 goals in 12 games on home ice while scoring 51 tallies and holding a +33-goal differential.

Having given up a league-low 40 goals against in 26 games this season, the Express have gotten admirable goaltending in the way of Clay Stevenson and Jack Watson. Stevenson, back for his second season in Coquitlam, leads the BCHL in wins (16), goals against average (1.39) and is second in save percentage at .947. The Dartmouth University commit has won each of his last eight games, posting a 0.99 GAA and a .960 SV% including two shutouts over that span.

The Vees and Express drop the puck on the first of their two-game season series tonight at the Poirier Sports and Leisure Centre at 7:15 PM. The game is available for broadcast on EZ Rock AM 800 as well as HockeyTV.com beginning with the pre-game show at 6:55 PM with the Voice of the Vees, Trevor Miller.