VERNON VIPERS (7-4-0-1) at PENTICTON VEES (11-1-0-0)
Game Time: 6 p.m.
Venue: SOEC
Listen: EZ Rock AM 800
Watch: Fasthockey.com
Vees Record in October: 8-0-0-0
Vees Home Record: 5-0-0-0
Vees Record vs. Interior Division: 7-1-0-0
Vees Streak: 8 wins
Vees Leading Scorer: Tyson Jost (7-8-15)
Vipers Record in October: 5-2-0-0
Vipers Road Record: 3-1-0-0
Vipers Record vs. Interior Division: 4-3-0-0
Vipers Streak: 2 wins
Vipers Leading Scorer: Thomas Aldworth (8-3-11)
Home Cooking: The Penticton Vees put their perfect home record (5-0-0-0) on the line tonight when they host the Vernon Vipers. At the SOEC the Vees are 4-0-0-0 this year, outscoring the opposition 15-7 over those four games. The Vees last regular season loss at home was February 15th of last season, when the Victoria Grizzlies squeaked out a 3-1 win at the SOEC.
LZG, OMG: Lewis Zerter-Gossage loves the month of October. The rangy rookie forward has points in seven of his last eight games, putting up 10 points over that stretch. The Harvard commit scored in the Vees 3-2 win on Thursday in Prince George and his only pointless game this month was October 18th, versus Victoria.
Oh Captain, My Captain: Some good news on the injury front for the Vees, as Co-Captain Cody DePourcq returns to the line-up. DePourcq has been out since October 8th, when he left that game after sustaining an upper-body injury. Good timing as well, as DePourcq loves playing the Vipers. He led the Vees in scoring against Vernon last year, accumulating three goals and six points in seven games.
Stingy Vees: The Vees are the best defensive club in the BCHL heading into Saturday’s slate of games. The Vees have given up just 24 goals this season, which is eight better then the next best team. They have only coughed up seven goals in their last five games and have held the opposition to three or less goals in eight straight games.
Short-handed? Please: The Vernon Vipers don’t mind playing a man short. The Vipers lead the league in short-handed goals with six and have scored three “shorties” in their last two games. Thomas Aldworth leads the team in short-handed goals with two. The Vipers game-winning goal Friday in their 4-2 win over Merritt came while they were on the penalty-kill, as Trevor Fidler scored early in the third period.
Here come the Snakes: The Vipers are the hottest team in the Interior Division outside of the Vees. The Snakes have won five of their last six games and their only blemish during this run was against the Vees on October 17th. The Vipers are 5-2-0-0 in the month of October and are 3-1-0-0 on the road this season.
Unruly Vernon: The Vipers were slapped with multiple suspensions earlier this week after an end of game skirmish with the West Kelowna Warriors last Saturday. Goaltender Danny Todosychuk still has five games left on his six-game suspension. Ryley Booth still has to sit out one more game and Brandon Egli and Riley Brandt’s suspensions are still under appeal. Head Coach Mark Ferner served his one-game ban Friday night.
