Photo credit: Garrett James
Penticton, BC: The Penticton Vees (15-7-1-2) took down the Victoria Grizzlies despite only having three regular defenceman available Saturday night, now they host an opponent looking to build momentum as the Surrey Eagles (7-21-0-1) ended an eight-game losing streak on Sunday.
Saturday was the annual Pink in the Rink anti-bullying night in Penticton, and 4,256 fans watched the Vees gut out a 4-1 win over the Island Division-leading Grizzlies. Victoria held a 1-0 lead after the first, but it could have been much worse a Jack LaFontaine held the fort in the Vees crease with a number of big saves.
Penticton would strike twice in just 48 seconds in the middle frame, first was David Silye poking a puck through the five hole of Kurtis Chapman after Andre Ghantous’ wraparound. Massimo Rizzo then deflected a James Miller wrist shot past Chapman’s glove to give the Vees a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
Brendan Harrogate, back in the lineup after missing four games, jumped on a bouncing puck in the neutral zone and came in on a partial breakaway before beating Chapman on the backhand with just 21 seconds to go in the period.
As expected, the Grizzlies ramped up the pressure in the third period outshooting Penticton 11-4 over the final 20 minutes. The Vees bent but didn’t break before Silye hit the empty net with one second to go to seal the win.
The Eagles ended a miserable eight game slide Sunday afternoon with a 6-2 win against the Coquitlam Express. Over the eight games, the Eagles lost seven of them in regulation and were outscored 46-17.
Sunday was a different story as Cayden Bailey turned aside 37 shots and the Eagles went 4-for-9 on the power play en route to the win.
Part of the Eagles struggles may be attributed to the loss of their leading scorer Ty Westgard. He has missed the last six games, yet still sits seventh in BCHL scoring with 33 points. Last year he tied for second with 70 points.
The Vees and Eagles met at the Bauer BCHL Showcase September 20, a 4-1 Vees win. That game started at 10:00 a.m., but the early start time didn’t affect the Vees as Lukas Sillinger scored just 22 seconds into the game. Kenny Johnson and David Silye with two rounded out the scoring for Penticton. Oddly enough, Eric Linell, then a member of the Eagles, scored the only goal for Surrey.
Following Wednesday’s game the Vees will be on the road for four straight, beginning this weekend with stops in Coquitlam Friday and Surrey Saturday. Next Wednesday the Vees are in Wenatchee on Wednesday before beginning a home and home with Trail on the road Friday.
Team Statistics
Leading Scorers
Penticton Vees
David Silye – 10G 22A 25GP
Eric Linell – 15G 15A 27GP
James Miller – 12G 18A 25GP
Surrey Eagles
Ty Westgard – 8G 24A 23GP
Corey Clifton – 4G 14A 29GP
Jeremy Smith – 8G 7A 23GP
Special Teams
Penticton Vees
Power Play – 19.7 per cent (7th in BCHL)
Penalty Kill – 82.5 per cent (8th in BCHL)
Surrey Eagles
Power Play – 15.3 per cent (17th in BCHL)
Penalty Kill – 76.2 per cent (15th in BCHL)
Season Series
September 20, 2018 – Vees 4 vs Eagles 1 (Showcase) Boxscore
November 21, 2018 – Vees vs Eagles
November 24, 2018 – Vees @ Eagles
