Photo File: Cherie Morgan Photography
The Penticton Vees picked up their first win in the BCHL preseason with a 5-3 victory over the Vernon Vipers at Kal Tire Place Friday night.
Captain Frank Djurasevic led the way with a goal and three points. Billy Norcross, Jackson Nieuwendyk, Ben Brunette and Dovar Tinling also scored in the win. Callum Arnott chipped in with a pair of assists. Hank Levy made his Vees debut between the pipes and stopped 22 of 25 shots.
Isaac Tremblay, Reagan Milburn, and Luke Lavery scored for the Vipers. Roan Clarke suffered the loss in the Vipers’ net, as he stopped 35 of 39 shots.
A week ago, the two teams combined for just two goals in regulation, but fast-forward to tonight and the Vees and Vipers combined for four goals in the opening 20 minutes, as the two teams were tied 2-2 after the first.
Norcross and Nieuwendyk scored for Penticton in the first period. Norcross opened the scoring just 56-seconds into the game. Then, with the Vees trailing 2-1, Nieuwendyk found the back of the net to tie the game 2-2 with just seven seconds left in the opening frame.
Despite outshooting the Vipers 21-4 in the second period, the Vees found themselves down 3-2 after 40-minutes. Lavery put the Vipers ahead late with a power play goal with under a minute left in the middle stanza. That late goal didn’t faze the Vees, as they mounted a third period comeback, highlighted by three unanswered goals.
Brunette made an impression in his first preseason game, as the Vees’ defenceman tied the game 3-3 just 2:57 into the third. The 20-year-old walked down from the point and fired a dart over the goalie’s blocker. Tinling put Penticton back ahead just past the eight-minute mark. Bradly Nadeau’s cross-ice pass ended up going off Tinling’s skate and in to make it 4-3 Vees at 8:20. Djurasevic, who was named the game’s first star, put the finishing touches on the win for Penticton with his empty net goal with 62-seconds left in the game.
GAME STATS
Final Score: 5-3 Vees
Vees Scoring: Norcross, Nieuwendyk, Brunette, Tinling, Djurasevic
Vees Assists: Djurasevic (2), Arnott (2), Suniev, Richter, Moravec, Nadeau
Shots: 40-25 Vees
Vees PP: 0/4
Vees PK: 3/4
Three Stars:
- Frank Djurasevic
- Reagan Milburn
- Aydar Suniev
Penticton returns home for their final pre-season contest tomorrow, Saturday, September 17th, against the Chilliwack Chiefs. Tickets are $10 for adults and seniors. Local youth under 19 are free courtesy of Peter Bros. Paving. Tickets are available at the Valley First box office, or online at www.valleyfirsttix.com
