PHOTO: Cherie Morgan/Cherie Morgan Photography
PENTICTON, B.C. – The Penticton Vees scored twice in the 3rd period to battle from behind and force the game to overtime but it was the West Kelowna Warriors who scored to take a 4-3 win in the extra frame on Friday night at the South Okanagan Events Centre.
A slew of penalties to begin the game tapered down what was a battle of two strong skating teams and saw West Kelowna take an early shot advantage by a 9-1 margin and the Vees fell behind in the game by a 1-0 score as the Warriors converted on a double minor power play at the 10:49 mark of the opening period.
Tyson Jugnauth put a shot on goal from the blue line that found its way through traffic and had his shot stopped by Vees goaltender Kaeden Lane before the rebound was pushed past the glove side of the Vees netminder on the power play to give West Kelowna a 1-0 advantage.
Following the goal, the Vees began their attack and registered the final 10 shots of the period and creating a few good looks on goal with Warriors goaltender Johnny Derrick standing tall with 11 saves in the opening period to keep West Kelowna’s lead at 1-0 heading into the 2nd period.
The Vees began the frame with good jump and got themselves back in the game as Adam Eisele got Penticton into a tie game at 1-1. The Vees were able to get the puck after forcing a turnover in the offensive end as Eisele gathered the puck and snapped a shot past the blocker side of Derrick for his 12th goal of the season and levelled the score at the 1:33 mark of the middle frame.
Two minutes later, the Warriors got themselves back in the lead at the 3:32 mark of the period as Tyler Cristall restored the lead. Jugnauth once again set up the play, finding Cristall in the right face-off circle and snapped a shot off the right leg of a Vees defender and past the blocker side of Lane to give West Kelowna a 2-1 advantage.
Penticton outshot the Warriors by a 12-8 margin the 2nd period and it was Derrick that stood up to the task once again, making 22 saves on 23 shots through 40 minutes of play as the Warriors held a one-goal lead heading into the final 20 minutes of regulation.
The Warriors added to their lead early in the 3rd period at the 2:42 mark of the final frame as West Kelowna converted on a broken play. Charles-Alexis Legault gathered a loose puck at the top of the right face-off circle after a play was blocked toward the front of the net where Legault was able to find Brennan Nelson at the front of the net as he tapped the puck in on Lane’s blocker side to give the Warriors a 3-1 lead.
It was Eisele once again who was able to get the Vees back within a marker with his second of the night and 13th goal of the season. Eisele raced down a loose puck inside of the offensive zone, driving into the Warriors end and getting behind the defense and lifting a backhand shot over the blocker side of Derrick to make it a 3-2 game at the 6:58 mark of the final regulation period.
The Vees found the back of the net with just over five minutes remaining in the 3rd period following a power play chance. Frank Djurasevic sent a shot from the right point toward the net that was deflected by Josh Nadeau for his 39th goal of the season and pushed the Vees back to square at 3-3 to force the game into overtime.
Penticton had two chances early in the overtime period before the Warriors came back with their 3rd shot of overtime and Cristall would notch his second of the game to give West Kelowna the extra point. Cristall took the puck in the left face-off circle and zipped a shot over the blocker side shoulder of Lane to give the visitors a 4-3 victory in overtime.
Kaeden Lane turned aside 25 of the 29 shots thrown his way in his 3rd overtime loss of the season while Johnny Derrick was strong in goal for the Warriors, making 35 saves on 38 shots in his 24th win of the season.
FINAL SCORE: 4-3 Warriors (OT
SHOTS ON GOAL: 38-29 Vees
VEES PP: 0/5
VEES PK: 3/4
3 STARS:
1) Tyler Cristall (2-0-2)
2) Adam Eisele (2-0-2)
3) John Evans (1-1-2)
Fortis Energy Player of the Game: Brett Moravec (0-0-0)
Attendance: 3,013
The Vees (42-8-1-2) conclude their regular season schedule as they get set to host the Merritt Centennials (3-45-2-2) on Sunday afternoon. Puck drop is slated for 4:00 PM with tickets available for purchase at the Valley First Box Office at the SOEC as well as online at valleyfirsttix.com. The game will also be broadcasted live on Bounce Radio 800 as well as streaming on BCHLTV.ca beginning with the pre-game show at 6:40 PM. Fans will be encouraged to stick around after the game as the Vees will hand out their annual team awards following the final buzzer.
