PHOTO: Cherie Morgan/Cherie Morgan Photography
PENTICTON, B.C. – The Penticton Vees used a strong night on the penalty kill and 26 saves from Yaniv Perets to help them to a 5-2 victory over the Alberta Junior Hockey League’s Brooks Bandits on Friday night at the South Okanagan Events Centre.
A special teams filled 1st period saw a total of 10 minor penalties, including a double minor, as the two squads played to a furious pace. It would come in four-on-four play at the 6:02 mark and was the home team that jumped ahead.
Cade Webber started an end-to-end rush from his own zone and cut down the right side and sent a pass across the middle as Tristan Amonte banged home the feed on the blocker side of Bandits goaltender Pierce Charleson for his third goal of the preseason and gave the Vees a 1-0 advantage.
Vees netminder Yaniv Perets had a strong opening frame but the Bandits found a way to beat him to even the score at 16:57 of the opening period. Corson Ceulemans threw the puck to the net from the right wing as it deflected off the stick of a defender in front of the net and through the legs of Perets to knot the score at 1-1.
After beginning the period with another power play, the Bandits used the man advantage to give Brooks their first lead of the hockey game at the 2:12 mark of the 2nd period. Bradley Krieger started a 2-on-1 rush down the right wing as he sent a pass across to the blocker side as Trey Thomas finished the play off, beating Perets to give the Bandits their first lead of the game at 2-1.
Just 1:01 later, the Vees evened the game once again and also fired back on the power play to tie the game 2-2. Conner Hutchison made a great play at the left point to hold the puck in as the play developed with Jay O’Brien sending a pass to the left circle where David Silye beat Charleson through the legs for his 4th goal of the preseason and helped tied the game at the 3:13 mark of the middle stanza.
Penticton kept their foot on the gas and it was Lukas Sillinger that restored the lead for the Vees at the 7:16 mark. Silye picked up a loose puck in the neutral zone after a Bandits turnover and swung a pass for a streaking Sillinger, who cut through the defense and on goal, sliding a puck through the legs of Charleson on a deke to his backhand. His 2nd goal of exhibition play gave the Vees a 3-2 advantage with another penalty filled period coming to a close.
Vincent Nardone gave the Vees their largest lead of the night on another odd man rush starting with a play in the defensive zone. Ethan Martini lifted a puck off the right-wing glass where O’Brien greeted it at the blue line to spring a 2-on-1. He fed Nardone with a pass on the back door as Nardone picked up his 2nd goal of the preseason and a 4-2 Vees advantage at the 3:04 mark of the 3rd frame.
With just over a minute and a half remaining, the Bandits pulled Charleson from the net and went to a 6-on-5 attack where the Vees iced the game as Jackson Niedermayer took an O’Brien pass and hit the empty net for his 1st preseason goal with 21 seconds remaining to conclude a 5-2 win for Penticton.
Yaniv Perets was terrific in between the pipes for the Vees, turning aside 26 of the 28 shots he faced in his 2nd win of the exhibition campaign while Pierce Charleson stopped 15 of the 19 shots thrown his way in his 1st preseason loss.
The Vees conclude their preseason schedule as they host the Brooks Bandits for the second of their weekend doubleheader on Saturday night. Puck drop is slated for 6:00 PM at the South Okanagan Events Centre with tickets being sold for just $5. If you can’t make it to the rink, the game will be broadcasted on HockeyTV.com with the Voice of the Vees, Trevor Miller.
Season tickets are on sale now and the regular season just two weeks away with Penticton travelling to Trail to take on the Smoke Eaters on Friday, September 6th. The Vees home opener is slated for Friday, September 27th against the West Kelowna Warriors. Contact Director of Ticketing & Merchandise Laura Carleton for more information on season tickets and watching the Vees live this season.
