Penticton, BC: The Penticton Vees (40-12-2-3) clinched their seventh straight Interior Division title and the Ron Boileau Memorial Trophy as the top team in the regular season with a 5-1 win over the Wenatchee Wild last night, but now turn their attention to the Salmon Arm Silverbacks (24-29-3-1) to wrap up the regular season.
Luke Reid opened the scoring last night with just his second goal of the year 5:40 into the first period. The Wild answered back on a controversial play as Adam Scheel made a save off the rush before bodies converged to the net.
After making the initial save, Scheel had three players on top of him in the crease before Murphy Stratton swept the puck into the net to tie the game with 2:08 remaining in the first.
The Vees didn’t let the goal deter them as they would score three unanswered in second from Jackson Keane, Dakota Boutin and Cassidy Bowes to take a 4-1 lead into the third period.
Boutin added his second of the game in the third and Scheel made 12 saves over the final 20 minutes to clinch first place for the Vees, giving them home ice advantage throughout the Fred Page Cup playoffs.
The win also officially set up a first round matchup against the Coquitlam Express, while the Vernon Vipers will take on the Silverbacks.
Salmon Arm is playing their fifth game in as many days Sunday afternoon, after having a cancelled game rescheduled for Thursday. The first three games of the stretch had been tough for Salmon Arm, losing to Penticton, Merritt and Trail by a combined score of 22-7.
The Silverbacks jumped back in the win column Saturday night however, finding their offensive touch against the West Kelowna Warriors with an 8-3 win.
Salmon Arm got goals from six different players, including two from an affiliate skater as they’re battling suspensions to finish off the regular season. Reid Cooper started in goal and finished with 26 saves.
Following Sunday afternoons game the Vees will be handing out their team awards at ice level.
Team Statistics
Leading Scorers
Penticton Vees
Owen Sillinger – 32 G 34 A 55 GP
Jonny Tychonick – 9 G 37 A 47 GP
Taylor Ward – 21 G 22 A 45 GP
Salmon Arm Silverbacks
Rhett Kingston – 24 G 26 A 53 GP
Tanner Campbell – 14 G 24 A 46 GP
Nick Unruh – 12 G 19 A 53 GP
Special Teams
Penticton Vees
Power play – 21.9% (3rd in BCHL)
Penalty kill – 86.7% (1st in BCHL)
Salmon Arm Silverbacks
Power play – 18.2% (10th in BCHL)
Penalty kill – 76.4% (16th in BCHL)
Season Series
September 15, 2017 – Vees 6 @ Silverbacks 2 Boxscore
November 24, 2017 – Vees 3 vs Silverbacks 2 OT Boxscore
December 6, 2017 – Vees 5 vs Silverbacks 1 Boxscore
February 3, 2018 – Vees 5 @ Silverbacks 1 Boxscore
February 21, 2018 – Vees 8 @ Silverbacks 1 Boxscore
February 25, 2018 – Vees vs Silverbacks
