Penticton, BC: The Penticton Vees (27-9-2-3) made the long trip home from Prince George with two points after a 4-1 win over the Spruce Kings, and don’t have a lot of time to regroup as they welcome the Merritt Centennials (17-21-2-1) at 7:00.
The Spruce Kings opened the scoring with a shorthanded goal 2:22 into the second period. Jordan Henderson answered right back, firing a wrist shot from the left circle just under the crossbar right as the power play expired to tie the game.
The Vees would take a lead into the second intermission as Chris Klack knocked home a rebound with just 13 seconds left in the frame.
Cassidy Bowes returned to the Vees lineup after missing eight games with an injury and found the back of the net just over four minutes into the third period. Jonny Tychonick rounded out the scoring for the Vees with a power-play goal with 6:25 remaining in the game. The goal capped off a four point night for the Vees defenceman.
The Centennials have played three games since they were in Penticton nine days ago, shutting out Vernon 5-0, losing 5-3 in Trail and dropping a 4-3 decision at home to the Wenatchee Wild.
Merritt was trailing 3-2 heading into the third period against Wenatchee, but tied things up halfway through the period. The BCHL’s leading scorer Jasper Weatherby then scored with under two minutes remaining to give the Wild the victory.
January 10 the Centennials held a 3-1 lead over the Vees late in the second period before Marcus Mitchell and Taylor Ward scored 68 seconds apart to even the game heading into the third. Owen Sillinger scored the eventual game winner 3:14 into the final frame.
The Vees are 4-0 against Merritt so far this year, though each game has been decided by one or two goals. Following tonight’s game, the Vees get set to welcome the Trail Smoke Eaters for pink in the rink night Saturday at 6:00.
Team Statistics
Leading Scorers
Penticton Vees
Owen Sillinger – 20 G 19 A 39 GP
Jonny Tychonick – 6 G 25 A 31 GP
Dakota Boutin – 16 G 16 A 41 GP
Merritt Centennials
Henry Cleghorn – 18 G 23 A 40 GP
Zach Zorn – 15 G 20 A 40 GP
Nicholas Wicks – 9 G 22 A 40 GP
Special Teams
Penticton Vees
Power play – 20.5% (5th in BCHL)
Penalty kill – 86.7% (1st in BCHL)
Merritt Centennials
Power play – 18.6% (10th in BCHL)
Penalty kill – 81.4% (9th in BCHL)
Season Series
September 8, 2017 – Vees 4 @ Centennials 2 Boxscore
October 13, 2017 – Vees 3 @ Centennials 2 OT Boxscore
October 20, 2017 – Vees 4 vs Centennials 2 Boxscore
January 10, 2018 – Vees 4 vs Centennials 3 Boxscore
January 19, 2018 – Vees vs Centennials
February 2, 2018 – Vees @ Centennials
