Penticton, BC: The Penticton Vees (9-6-2) are coming off a tough loss to the West Kelowna Warriors last weekend, but they’ve had plenty of success against the Merritt Centennials (12-8-0), their opponent Friday night.
Saturday the Vees held a 2-0 lead after the opening period thanks to goals from Brendan Harrogate and Cole Shepard, but the Warriors battled back to tie the game after two before adding three more in the third, including an empty netter, to take the game 5-3.
The loss put Penticton tied for fourth in the Interior Division, but with two games in hand on the Wenatchee Wild. The Centennials meanwhile have been entrenched in top spot in the division for weeks.
Following a 6-2 Vees win in Merritt last Friday, the Centennials hosted the Island Divison leading Victoria Grizzlies, bouncing back with a 4-2 win.
Bradley Cocca and Mathieu Gosselin both scored twice while Vincent Duplessis made 37 saves in net. Cocca sits tied for third in BCHL scoring, behind Ty Westgard of Surrey and Alex Newhook on Victoria.
Penticton hold a 3-0 record against Merritt so far this year, and each game they’ve carried a big lead into the first intermission. September 28 it was 4-0 Vees after one, and the other two meetings have been 3-0 after 20 minutes.
James Miller scored twice and and added an assist during the last meeting, bumping his totals against the Centennials this season to four goals and four assists in three meetings. Harrogate and Ryan Sandelin each have six points in the head-to-head matchup.
Merritt’s lack of discipline has paid dividends for Penticton during the season series as the Vees have scored seven power play goals on 20 opportunities in three games.
Following the game the Vees will load and jump on the bus to begin the long trek to Prince George for a Saturday night game against the Spruce Kings.
The Vees will be without forward Cole Shepard for the next few weeks as he suits up for Team Canada Red at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge in New Brunswick.
Team Statistics
Leading Scorers
Penticton Vees
David Silye – 7G 17A 17GP
Eric Linell – 10G 11A 19GP
James Miller – 7G 10A 17GP
Merritt Centennials
Bradley Cocca – 11G 16A 20GP
Nick Granowicz – 12G 12A 20GP
Mathieu Gosselin – 12G 10A 20GP
Special Teams
Penticton Vees
Power Play – 16.3 per cent (12th in BCHL)
Penalty kill – 82.9 per cent (8th in BCHL)
Merritt Centennials
Power Play – 16.0 per cent (14th in BCHL)
Penalty Kill – 76.1 per cent (16th in BCHL)
Season Series
September 28, 2018 – Vees 6 @ Centennials 3 Boxscore
October 10, 2018 – Vees 6 vs Centennials 2 Boxscore
October 26, 2018 – Vees 6 @ Centennials 1 Boxscore
November 2, 2018 – Vees vs Centennials
January 20, 2019 – Vees @ Centennials
February 15, 2019 – Vees vs Centennials
