Penticton, BC: The Penticton Vees (28-12-1-2) won their fourth straight game Wednesday night, 3-2 in a shootout over the Wenatchee Wild, and now host the stingiest team in the BCHL, the Prince George Spruce Kings (26-11-1-4) who have lost four of their last five games.
Wednesday Lukas Sillinger and Eric Linell scored as the Vees erased a 2-0 second-period deficit to send the game to overtime.
Penticton was given a power play with a minute left in regulation, but couldn’t capitalize to finish regulation or in the final minute of overtime to take the win.
After the first four shooters were stopped, Luke Loheit scored for the Vees to give them a chance to win the game, but Wenatchee captain Lucas Sowder’s shot barely rolled over the goal line to keep the game alive.
The next two shooters were stopped before Vees captain Massimo Rizzo put the moves on Austin Park, faking to his backhand before pulling it back to his forehand and sliding it past the goaltender to set up another chance for the win.
Jack LaFontaine then turned aside Matt Gosiewski with the blocker to seal the win, the Vees first win at Town Toyota Center in nearly three years. With the win, the Vees lead atop the Interior Division was stretched to four points over the idle Merritt Centennials. Merritt hosted Chilliwack Thursday night, giving up the tying goal with under a minute to play and losing in overtime.
The Spruce Kings have had a tough time since the calendar switched over to 2019, they have just one win over the last five games and have scored just 10 goals in those five games.
Their most recent game was Sunday in Chilliwack where they lost 4-3 in a shootout after tying the game with 1:36 to play to secure a single point. Daniel Chenard turned aside all eight Prince George shooters before Matt Holmes finally scored the winner.
With their recent skid the Spruce Kings have dipped to second in the Mainland Division, four points behind the Chiefs, but still seven points ahead of the third-place Coquitlam Express.
Friday’s game will be the only time Prince George comes to Penticton this season, but the two teams have already faced each other twice. September 21 the Spruce Kings scored twice just 16 seconds apart in the third period en route to a 3-2 win at the BCHL Showcase in Chilliwack.
November 3 the Vees were at Rolling Mix Concrete Arena in Prince George, tying the game in the third period but dropping another 3-2 game, this one in overtime as Ben Poisson scored the winner.
Team Statistics
Leading Scorers
Penticton Vees
James Miller – 18G 34A 43GP
Eric Linell – 25G 26A 45GP
David Silye – 13G 31A 39GP
Prince George Spruce Kings
Dustin Manz – 21G 24A 42GP
Ben Brar – 25G 18A 42GP
Patrick Cozzi – 7G 27A 42GP
Special Teams
Penticton Vees
Power Play – 19.7 per cent (8th in BCHL)
Penalty Kill – 80.6 per cent (9th in BCHL)
Prince George Spruce Kings
Power Play – 18.1 per cent (15th in BCHL)
Penalty Kill – 82.0 per cent (7th in BCHL)
Season Series
September 21, 2018 – Vees 2 vs Spruce Kings 3 Showcase Boxscore
November 3, 2018 – Vees 2 @ Spruce Kings 3 OT Boxscore
January 18, 2019 – Vees vs Spruce Kings
