Penticton, BC: The Penticton Vees (20-9-2-1) dropped a frustrating 5-2 game against the Wenatchee Wild (20-10-2-0) on the road Friday night, and now they host the Wild to the South Okanagan Events Centre for one of the more anticipated games on the schedule, the annual Teddy Bear Toss game.
Friday the Vees jumped out to a 2-0 after the first period thanks to goals from Cole Shepard and Jack Barnes. The two goals came just 1:19 apart, ending the night for Wild goalie Austin Park who was lifted in favour of Cal Sandquist.
The game remained 2-0 Penticton through 40 minutes of play, despite both teams having chances on the power play. The Vees would finish 0/5 while Wenatchee went 0/3.
Penticton’s lead lasted until the second half of the final period before the Wild began their comeback. First it was Cristophe Tellier taking a centring pass and beating Derek Krall through the five hole with 9:08 remaining.
Nathan Iannone then deflected a wrist shot from the blue line less than four minutes later to tie the game, before Matt Dorsey went end-to-end and beat Krall just 43 seconds later to give Wenatchee their first lead of the game.
The Wild would score two empty net goals, though the first one looked to be offside by about six feet. The Vees bench argued their case but the goal stood. Wenatchee then added a second one with just seven seconds left on the clock.
Tempers flared following the second goal as Matt Gosiewski appeared to taunt the Vees bench during his fly by, which prompted players, and coaches, needing to be separated by officials on the ice after the final buzzer.
As frustrating as the loss was, the Vees have a chance to quickly put it behind them by welcoming the Wild to the SOEC at 6:00 tonight. It’s the annual Teddy Bear Toss game in Penticton; after the first Vees goal fans are encouraged to throw stuffed animals or articles of warm clothing onto the ice.
The items will be collected by the Salvation Army and distributed to families in need in the South Okanagan.
Team Statistics
Leading Scorers
Penticton Vees
James Miller – 15G 21A 32GP
David Silye – 13G 27A 31GP
Eric Linell – 19G 19A 34GP
Wenatchee Wild
Lucas Sowder – 11G 22A 30GP
Matt Gosiewski – 20G 11A 30GP
Josh Arnold – 12G 17A 26GP
Special Teams
Penticton Vees
Power Play – 21.0 per cent (3rd in BCHL)
Penalty Kill – 83.3 per cent (6th in BCHL)
Wenatchee Wild
Power Play – 20.0 per cent (5th in BCHL)
Penalty Kill – 84.7 per cent (5th in BCHL)
Season Series
November 28, 2018 – Vees 2 @ Wild 4 Boxscore
December 7, 2018 – Vees 2 @ Wild 5 Boxscore
December 8, 2018 – Vees vs Wild
January 16, 2019 – Vees @ Wild
February 1, 2019 – Vees vs Wild
February 20, 2019 – Vees vs Wild
