PHOTO: Jack Murray
The Penticton Vees (41-12-1-1) look to start a new win streak as they conclude their weekend against the Alberni Valley Bulldogs (25-25-1-2) on Church Night at the South Okanagan Events Centre on Saturday night.
REGULAR SEASON SCHEDULE vs. ALBERNI VALLEY
Saturday, October 12th @ Weyerhaeuser Arena (4-0 Bulldogs) (BOXSCORE)
Saturday, February 15th @ South Okanagan Events Centre (6:00 PM)
The Vees come into Saturday night’s game after having their 10-game winning streak snapped on Friday night in a 3-2 defeat to the Coquitlam Express at the South Okanagan Events Centre. Lukas Sillinger scored in the opening frame while Jay O’Brien added a power play goal in the 2nd period in the defeat. Yaniv Perets turned aside 27 of the 30 shots he faced in his 8th loss of the season between the pipes for Penticton.
Penticton will look to split the season series against Alberni Valley after just over four months in between meetings between the two sides after the Bulldogs snapped an 11-game Vees winning streak to open the season in a 4-0 defeat in mid-October at the Weyerhaeuser Arena. Former Vees netminder Derek Krall started the game, making 6 saves on 8 shots before Yaniv Perets closed out the contest, turning aside 18 of the 19 shots he faced in net.
Vees Leading Scorers:
Jay O’Brien (24-38-62)
David Silye (20-40-60)
Lukas Sillinger (20-36-56)
Danny Weight (24-31-55)
Jackson Niedermayer (20-22-42)
Scoring his 20th goal of the season on Friday night, Lukas Sillinger extended his point streak to three games and has collected a point in six of his last seven games. The Bemidji State University commit has scored goals in two of his last three games and has collected 4 goals and 4 assists for 8 points over his last 7 games. The Regina, Saskatchewan product’s 20th tally of the season gave the Vees their fifth 20-goal scorer on the campaign, leading the BC Hockey League in that regard.
The point streak continued on Friday night for forward Jay O’Brien, who collected a point in his seventh consecutive contest. The first round selection of the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft has scored 5 goals while adding 5 assists for 10 points in that span while the Boston University commit has also registered points in 13 of his last 14 games played. The Hingham, Massachusetts native ranks 3rd in the BCHL with 62 points on the season and tied the Vees goal scoring lead with his 24th tally against Coquitlam, tying Danny Weight for the team lead.
A power play goal in the 2nd period from O’Brien in Friday night’s game has now seen the Vees score power play goals in each of their last four games. Penticton has gone 4-for-11 on the man advantage in that span, operating at a 36.4% rate over that time while increasing their league ranking to 4th, sitting at 20.6% on the season.
The Alberni Valley Bulldogs are searching to get back in the win column after being shutout for the second time this season in a 5-0 defeat to the Trail Smoke Eaters on Friday night at the Trail Memorial Centre. Affiliate goaltender Carlos Siso made 35 saves on 40 shots in his 1st loss of the season while getting into his 3rd game as a Bulldog.
Bulldogs Leading Scorers:
Ryan Doolin (18-31-49)
Mitch Deelstra (24-20-44)
Tim Gould (7-26-33)
Dawson Tritt (17-13-30)
Jackson Doucet (13-16-29)
With two goals in his last three games, Bulldogs forward Tommy Bannister has provided a good dose of secondary scoring over the last few contests. The Clayton, New York native has tallied 10 goals and 22 points in his first season with the Bulldogs with two of those tallies being game winning markers, including the overtime winning goal in a 3-2 victory against the Powell River Kings on February 8th.
The Bulldogs have had their fair share of success when playing the Interior Division this season, collecting points in 9 of their 13 contests against the division. Alberni Valley earned a point in each of their first nine games against the Interior Division, posting a 7-0-1-1 record including a pair of shutouts in that span.
The Vees and Bulldogs play the second and final game of their season series tonight at the South Okanagan Events Centre. Puck drop is slated for 6:00 PM with tickets available at the Valley First Box Office as well as online at ValleyFirstTix.com.
