PHOTO: Cherie Morgan/Cherie Morgan Photography
PENTICTON, B.C. – Matteo Costantini provided the game winning marker while Yaniv Perets stopped 31 shots as the Penticton Vees pushed their Okanagan Cup record to 3-0 with a 3-2 victory over the West Kelowna Warriors in a fast-paced matchup at the South Okanagan Events Centre on Friday night.
A fast paced 1st period saw both teams start the game on special teams and not have any even strength play until just over three and a half minutes into action. The Vees started the game on the man advantage with a warm up violation penalty before taking themselves off the power play as both teams began the game 0-for-1 in terms of power play.
Once 5-on-5 play commenced, the Vees drew first blood and jumped out to a 1-0 lead at the 3:47 mark of the opening period. Fin Williams raced down the right-wing and put a shot on goal that goaltender Johnny Derrick with the rebound bouncing to the top of the crease as Ethan Martini batted the puck under the blocker of Derrick for his 1st Okanagan Cup goal to push the Vees ahead by a 1-0 score.
The game opened up offensively in the 2nd period with the Warriors coming on strong and tied the game at the 7:33 mark of the middle stanza with Tyson Jugnauth getting West Kelowna on the scoreboard. The puck was centered from the right-wing corner as Jugnauth stepped into a shot and beat Vees netminder Yaniv Perets on the glove side to even the score at 1-1.
Penticton was quick to get back into the lead as just 1:09 after West Kelowna’s tying marker, Tristan Amonte put the home team back in front with his 3rd Okanagan Cup goal. Tyler Ho stripped his man of the puck down below the goal line and centered a pass for Amonte in the slot, who beat Derrick below the blocker at the 8:42 mark of the 2nd period to give Penticton a 2-1 advantage.
Before the period was out, West Kelowna struck to even the score with just 20 seconds remaining on a shorthanded marker. A turnover at the Vees blue line saw Elan Bar Lev Wise have a shorthanded break, keeping on his forehand and beating Perets over the glove to send the game into a 2-2 tie heading into the 3rd period.
The strong pace and action continued into the 3rd period as both teams opened the frame with a strong flurry of chances before it was Matteo Costantini who broke the ice at the 5:51 mark of the final period to give the Vees their third lead of the game at 3-2.
A bouncing puck was kicked from the stick of Quinn Hutson on the half boards to the middle of the ice where Costantini collected at the edge of the left face-off circle and dragged to the slot before snapping a shot past the blocker side of Derrick for his 1st goal of the Okanagan Cup and gave the home side a 3-2 lead.
Yaniv Perets factored into the game and played a big factor in the 3rd period, turning aside 16 shots in the final period of play and none bigger than a game-saving stop with just over seven and a half minutes remaining to keep the Vees lead intact.
Matthew Steinberg sent the puck to the front of the net from the left-wing boards where it was kicked off the skates of Carter Wilkie before bouncing in front to John Evans. The forward tried to beat Perets to the glove side but the Vees netminder lunged across and stretched his glove hand out to deny the chance with a spectacular stop to keep the Vees ahead by a 3-2 score.
Perets made 31 saves on 33 shots in the game, including the 3rd period flurry, for his 2nd win of the Okanagan Cup and helping his team to a 3-0 record while Johnny Derrick stopped 28 of the 31 shots thrown his direction in his 1st loss of the Okanagan Cup.
FINAL SCORE: 3-2 Vees
SHOTS ON GOAL: 33-31 Warriors
VEES PP: 0/5
VEES PK: 7/7
The Vees (3-0-0-0) and Warriors (2-1-0-0) will do battle in the second game of the weekend home-and-home set as the series shifts to the Central Okanagan for a 7:00 PM puck drop at Royal LePage Place in West Kelowna. The game will be available on pay-per-view at HockeyTV.com.
