After the offense ran dry on Saturday, the dams burst Wednesday, as five different players scored in the Penticton Vees 5-2 win over the Coquitlam Express at the SOEC.
The Vees (30-6-2-1) had eight players hit the scoresheet, led by Riley Alferd who paced the attack with three assists. Patrick Newell, Steen Cooper, Tyson Jost, Jack Ramsey and Mike Lee each had a goal and an assist in the win.
Michael Merulla and Brenden Gulka both scored on the power-play for the Express (15-19-1-4).
Brendan Barry was fantastic for the Vees in the first period, turning aside all 14 shots he faced and finished with 24 saves, as he improved to 10-1-0-0 on the season. Barry made two fantastic saves off of Corey Mackin and Brett Supinski in the first period, as the two top scorers in the BCHL were held with a goal.
Chris Tai suffered the loss in net for the Express, stopping 24 of 29 Vees shots.
Tyson Jost opened the scoring with an eye-popping wrist-shot from the slot at 7:22 of the first period. Jost came down the middle of the Express zone and outnumbered but rifled a wrist-shot inside the far-post and past Tai for his 12th goal of the season.
Steep Cooper doubled the Vees lead late in the first on their first power-play. Cooper finished a nice feed from Lewis Zerter-Gossage at 18:23 for his seventh.
The offense carrier over to the second, as Patrick Newell quickly made it 3-0 just 36 seconds in the frame. Mike Lee threw a sweet back-door feed to Newell on the right-wing who snapped the puck inside the far-post.
Michael Merulla cut into the deficit six-minutes later when he got the Express on the board. Merulla sniped up high on Barry on the short-side on the power-play at 6:30.
Ramsey restored the Vees three-goal lead midway through the third period, as he capitalized on a sweet dish from Riley Alferd from behind the net; Ramsey scoring his first since December 3rd at 12:05.
After Brenden Gulka scored on another Express power-play goal, Mike Lee put the Vees up by three for the third time late in the game. Lee scored his first BCHL goal on the Vees fourth power-play, putting a one-timer through Tai’s legs at 16:55.
Final Score: 5-2 Vees
Shots: 29-26 Vees
Power-Play: Vees 2-4 Express 2-3
Three Stars: 1) Riley Alferd 2) Jack Ramsey 3) Brendan Barry
Attendance: 2,004
The Vees and Express concluded the home and away series Friday in Coquitlam at the Poirier Sports and Leisure Centre; face-off is 7pm. The Vees are back home Sunday afternoon, January 11th, when they host the Prince George Spruce Kings at the SOEC; face-off is 3pm. Tickets are available at the Valley First Box Office (at the SOEC), or online at www.valleyfirsttix.com
