Where: Royal LePage Place
When: 7pm
Who: Vees @ Warriors
The West Kelowna Warriors (19-12-1-2) host the Penticton Vees (24-8-1-3) at Royal LePage Place in West Kelowna tonight, as they two finish-off their weekend home-and-home set. The Warriors gave themselves an early Christmas present last night, scoring three times in the second, en route to a 3-1 win over the Vees; their first against Penticton this season.
Going into last night, the Vees had won all three meetings this season, nine of the last 10 going back to last year and 23 of the last 26. However, the Tribe used a strong second period push to finally get the better of their Valley nemesis. Carl Hesler scored twice in the second and Adam Osczevski added another, as the Warriors scored three times on 13 shots in the frame.
Brad McClure opened the scoring in the first when he buried his 29th of the season on a two-man advantage 10 minutes in. McClure one-timed a centering pass from Brett Beauvais, which McClure rocketed into the top corner over Desautels’ shoulder.
The concern for the Vees was how the Warriors scored their three second period goals. The Vees were guilty of not clearing the crease, as all three came off rebounds in the blue paint. Hunter Miska stopped 19 of 22 shots before he was replaced by Olivier Mantha to start the third; he turned aside all six shots he faced.
Mantha will get the start tonight and has one win to his credit against West Kelowna this season. He’s 5-1 against the Interior Division, with a 2.42 goals-against average and .909 save-percentage; he’s looking for his fifth straight win. Outside of the goaltending change, it’s the same line-up for the Vees upfront and on the blue-line.
The Vees know how to bounce back, as they’re 8-1-0-1 coming off a loss this season and have outscored their opponents 43-24 in those 10 games. Their last loss was back on November 29th, a 5-4 defeat at the hands of the Langley Rivermen; also at home. The following night the Vees blitz the Chilliwack Chiefs 9-4, which was a springboard of sorts for their eight-game winning streak.
Royal LePage Place isn’t necessarily hostile territory for the Vees in the last three years. The Vees have won both games in West Kelowna this season and have won 11 in a row at RLP going back three seasons. The Tribe’s last win in the regular season on home-ice against Penticton, was back on November 26th, 2010.
Points are crucial this time of year but compounding matters is the fact the Vees missed an opportunity to gain ground on second in the Interior Friday. The Vees were making up a game in hand on the Vernon Vipers last night, and a win would have widened the gap to seven points at the top of the Division. Their lead still sits at five and the Vipers are at home to the Powell River Kings tonight.
The Warriors have won four of their last five and are playing their final home game of 2013; they’re next game is December 30th in Trail. With his two goals last night, Carl Hesler snapped a seven-game goalless drought and now has three goals and five points in four games against Penticton. Andy Desautels is your likely starter for the Tribe and has only surrendered five goals in his last five games.
