Where: Prospera Centre
When: 7pm
Who: Vees vs Chiefs
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The Penticton Vees (21-7-1-3) take their act on the road, where they're looking to push their season-high win to streak to six games in Chilliwack, where they face the Chiefs (7-22-1-2). Tonight is the first of a three-game road trip, which also has stops in Cowichan Valley Saturday and Victoria on Sunday afternoon.
The Vees won their fifth in a row on Wednesday, when they erased a two-goal second period deficit, en route to a 3-2 win over the Trail Smoke Eaters. After the Vees spotted the Smokies a two-goal lead, goals by Ben Dalpe, late in the second, and Jack Ramsey, early in the third, brought the Vees back level, setting the stage for Matt Serratore. Serratore was the beneficiary of a turnover in the Smokies zone, as he scored the game-winning goal with under five-minutes left in the game.
The Vees win streak started with a win against the Chiefs 13 days ago, as they scored a season high nine goals in a 9-4 rout back on November 30th. Cody DePourcq and Brad McClure each scored twice in the win and Riley Alferd finished with a game-high three points. 14 Vees picked up at least a point in that win and 10 finished with two or more points.
The Mainland Division has presented its fair share of challenges for the Vees, as they sport a 3-3-1-1 record coming into tonight’s game. Despite the modest record, the Vees have had their way with their last two Mainland Division opponents, as they’ve scored 16 goals in their last two matchups; nine against the Chiefs, seven against the Eagles.
The Vees will be a forward and defenseman short tonight, as Cam Amantea and Josh Blanchard are still out up front and Chris Rygus will be out on the blue-line; Rygus suffering from the flu. To fill a hole up front, the Vees have called up 16 year-old Mitch Newsome from the Valley West Hawks of the BC Major Midget League. Jarod Hilderman draws back into the line-up on the back-end and will be paired with Patrick Sexton. Olivier Mantha gets the nod in-goal, his second start in the last three games.
The Chiefs have struggled of late, as they are looking to snap a seven-game losing streak tonight. Last weekend the Chiefs were swept on their Island Division road trip, losing in Powell River, Nanaimo and Alberni Valley. Chilliwack sits at the bottom of the Mainland Division standings and are tied on points with Trail for 16th in the BCHL. One bright spot has been the play of Austin Plevy; the 20-year-old forward leads the Chiefs in scoring and has 21 points in 10 of his last 13 games.
The Vees will be looking to improve upon their 8-5-1-1 road record, whereas the Chiefs are wanting to bump up their 3-11-0-1 home record.
