Powell River, BC: The Penticton Vees (31-12-1-2) take their seven-game winning streak to Port Alberni to face off against the Alberni Valley Bulldogs (16-27-3-0) Saturday at 7:00. Penticton last saw Alberni for their home opener September 29, a 2-0 Vees win.
Friday, a three-goal second period led the Vees to a 4-3 win over the Powell River Kings. Cole Shepard scored in the first to give the Vees a 1-0 lead through 20 minutes.
Ryan Sandelin returned to the Vees lineup after missing seven games and made an immediate impact, scoring a power-play goal 11 minutes into the second period.
The Kings answered back quickly to cut the lead to 2-1, but Brendan Harrogate and David Silye then scored just two minutes apart to give Penticton a 4-1 lead through 40 minutes.
As expected, the Kings pushed back and cut the Vees lead down to just one with nine minutes to go, but Jack LaFontaine finished with 36 saves to win his league-leading 24th game of the season.
The Bulldogs weren’t in action yesterday as they played Wednesday night against the Cowichan Valley Capitals. Bulldogs goalie John Hawthorne was at his best, turning aside all 43 shots sent his way as the Bulldogs won 4-0 on the road.
It was the third shutout of the season for Hawthorne, who recently received a scholarship to Northern Michigan University, where he will be teammates with James Miller and Andre Ghantous.
It’s been nearly four months since the Vees played the Bulldogs as Penticton hosted Alberni for their home opener September 29.
Ghantous scored the game winner in the second period while LaFontaine made 23 saves to record his first shutout of the season. Following the game the Vees will get set to play the Nanaimo Clippers Sunday afternoon at 2:00.
Team Statistics
Leading Scorers
Penticton Vees
James Miller – 18G 36G 46GP
Eric Linell – 25G 27A 48GP
David Silye – 14G 31A 42GP
Alberni Valley Bulldogs
Ryan Miotto – 16G 29A 44GP
Keaton Mastrodonato – 16G 22A 46GP
Jackson Doucet – 11G 26A 46GP
Special Teams
Penticton Vees
Power Play – 19.3 per cent (10th in BCHL)
Penalty Kill – 82.2 per cent (5th in BCHL)
Alberni Valley Bulldogs
Power Play – 19.1 per cent (11th in BCHL)
Penalty Kill – 79.8 per cent (10th in BCHL)
Season Series
September 29, 2018 – Vees 2 vs Bulldogs 0 Boxscore
January 26, 2019 – Vees @ Bulldogs
