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Preview: Vees begin Island trip in Nanaimo

Nanaimo, BC: The Penticton Vees (18-5-1-2) have won eight games in a row and now take that streak into the Frank Crane Arena in Nanaimo for a Friday night matchup against the Clippers (15-9-3-2).

Wednesday night the Vees hosted the West Kelowna Warriors at the South Okanagan Events Centre where Adam Scheel put on his best performance of the season; finishing with 33 saves for his second consecutive shutout.

Ryan Sandelin scored the eventual game-winning goal in the second period on the power play before Massimo Rizzo and Dakota Boutin added tallies in the third to give the Vees their eighth straight win.

The win capped off a stellar month for the Vees rookie goaltender as he improved his record in November to 6-1-1 with a .949 save percentage.

The Clippers were also in action Wednesday night as they welcomed their division-rival Cowichan Valley Capitals. After trailing 1-0 through 20 minutes, Nanaimo rattled off three goals in both the second and third periods to win 6-1.

The Clippers went 4-for-7 on the power play with Jake Harris leading the attack, racking up two goals and an assist in the win. The third period also featured plenty of animosity as 56 penalty minutes and six game misconducts were handed out.

Nanaimo finds themselves in second place in the Island Division at the beginning of December, just one point behind Powell River. The Kings do have three games in hand, however. Penticton meanwhile sits in third place in the Interior Division, one point behind Trail and three behind Vernon, though they have two games in hand on the Smoke Eaters and four on the Vipers.

Friday is the first meeting of the season between the Vees and Clippers, but the first of two meetings in a 15-day span as Nanaimo will be in Penticton December 16, the final game before the Christmas break.

Last season Penticton was shutout at home by Nanaimo 3-0 October 15 before rebounding with a 2-1 win on the road February 3.

Team Statistics

Leading Scorers

Penticton Vees

Owen Sillinger – 11 G 17 A 26 GP

Nicky Leivermann – 7 G 16 A 25 GP

Jonny Tychonick – 5 G 18 A 24 GP

Nanaimo Clippers

Jake Harris – 14 G 14 A 25 GP

Jamie Collins – 11 G 14 A 29 GP

Tristian Crozier – 10 G 14 A 25 GP

Special Teams

Penticton Vees

Power play – 23.5% (1st in BCHL)

Penalty kill – 89.2% (1st in BCHL)

Nanaimo Clippers

Power play – 22.9% (2nd in BCHL)

Penalty kill – 80.6% (12th in BCHL)

Season series

December 1, 2017 – Vees @ Clippers

December 16, 2017 – Vees vs Clippers