Will Ingemann is chasing history. The Penticton Vees’ goaltender picked up his third consecutive shutout on Saturday, as the Vees blanked the West Kelowna Warriors 4-0 at the South Okanagan Events Centre.
Ingemann now has five shutouts on the season and is just two back of tying the BCHL single-season shutout record of seven.
Saturday’s win was the Vees sixth in a row and moved them seven points ahead of the Warriors for top spot in the Interior; the Vees still have a game in hand too.
It was another large crowd on hand at the SOEC Saturday, as 3,437 fans were on hand to watch he top two teams in the Interior Conference go head-to-head. That, after a season-high 4,308 showed up for the team’s Pink the Rink night Friday. Just over 7,700 packed the SOEC this weekend.
“As good as we were last night, we were even better tonight. We were covering the middle of the ice so well and kept them [West Kelowna] to the outside. They didn’t have anything inside on us. We only gave up 21 shots and shutout the top scoring team in the league,” commented Vees’ Director of Hockey Operations, Matt Miller.
Callum Arnott, Thomas Pichette, Ryan MacPherson, and Cade Littler scored for Penticton. Conyr Hellyer chipped in with a pair of assists. Arnott and Hellyer extended their point streaks to six games.
Will Ingemann posted his third consecutive shutout, as he stopped all 21 shots he faced. Ingemann leads the BCHL with five shutouts.
The Vees had a big night on the specialty teams. The power play went 2-for-2, and they were 3-for-3 on the penalty kill.
Arnott had the Vees ahead 1-0 after the opening 20 minutes with his team-leading 23rd goal of the season. The Vees co-captain scored on the power play with just under six minutes left in the first.
Penticton scored twice in the middle frame, to take a 3-0 lead into the third period. Pichette made it 2-0 after he tipped Daniel Buchbinder’s point shot past West Kelowna goaltender Rorke Applebee. Pichette’s 13th and second in as many games came at 13:02.
MacPherson scored the Vees’ second power play goal of the game late in the second to out Penticton up 3-0. The Philadelphia Flyers’ draft pick banged in a rebound at the top of the crease with just three seconds remaining in the power play. MacPherson’s 13th goal of the season and first since January 6th.
The Vees put the game out of reach early in the third. Littler scored just 70 seconds into the final frame to put Penticton up 4-0. The Calgary Flames prospect scored his ninth on a great setup by Hellyer. The play started with Max Heise forcing a turnover on the wall, then Hellyer drove to the net and slid the puck over to Littler for the tap in.
GAME NOTES
The line of Heise, Hellyer, and Littler combined for five points in the win. The Vees have now held the opposition to two or less goals in nine of their last 10 games. Arnott now has six goals in his last six games. He is tied for third in goal scoring in the BCHL.
GAME STATS
West Kelowna 0 at Penticton 4
Shots: 23-21, Vees
Vees Scoring: Arnott, Pichette, R. MacPherson, Littler
Vees Goaltending: Will Ingemann (W) 60:00 21/21
Power-Plays
Vees: 2/2
Warriors 0/3
Three Stars:
1) Cade Littler
2) Will Ingemann
3) Conyr Hellyer
Attendance: 3,437
NEXT GAME: The Vees (30-7-2-2) visit the Salmon Arm Silverbacks (25-14-0-2) on Monday for a Family Day matinee; puck drop is 2:00 pm.
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CONTACT:
Fraser Rodgers
Vice President of Business Operations
Director of Broadcasting & Communications
Penticton Vees Hockey Club
250.493.8337
