Salmon Arm BC: The Penticton Vees (6-4-1) had just 10 forwards and five defenceman available for their Friday night game against the Salmon Arm Silverbacks (6-4-1), and despite outshooting them 41-27, dropped a 3-2 shootout decision.
Just 17 seconds into the game the Vees jumped out to a 1-0 lead thanks to a goal from Ryan Sandelin. Jack Lagerstrom took a wrist shot from the blue line that was blockers away by Ethan Langenegger, but Sandelin was waiting for the rebound and backhanded home his seventh of the year.
The Silverbacks answered quickly however, after Kenny Johnson was assessed a minor penalty for a blow to the head, the Vees were down to four defenceman for 10 minutes. Matthew Verboon found a rebound in the slot on the man advantage to tie the game 3:20 into the opening period.
With the game tied at one after one, the Vees turned on the pressure thanks to a number of power plays in the middle frame. While they weren’t able to score on either of their three penalties in the period, including a four-minute power play, the Vees did take a 2-1 lead into the second intermission.
Lagerstrom found a loose puck in the right circle of the Silverbacks zone and wound up for a heavy slapshot, beating Langenegger over the glove for his first career BCHL goal. After Penticton outshot Salmon Arm 18-5 in the second, the Silverbacks came out with more jump in the third and tied the game early in the period.
After dumping the puck in, the Silverbacks had just two players below the hashmarks on the forecheck but were able to steal the puck behind the net and centre for Nick Unruh who beat Jack LaFontaine 4:36 into the period.
The score remained tied as the Vees went to overtime for the first time in the 2018-19 season. Eric Linell had the Vees best opportunity to win the game after taking a cross-crease pass from David Silye, but Langenegger made the best of his 39 saves to keep the game alive,
After 65 minutes of play the game remained tied, sending it to a shootout for the first regular season Vees shootout in franchise history. After the first four shooters all scored, Sandelin was stopped by Langenegger as he tried to go five hole.
Akito Hirose was the last man over the boards for the Silverbacks and beat LaFontaine with a shot over the glove to seal the win for the Silverbacks. The Vees now get set to host the Cowichan Valley Capitals (2-8-2) Saturday night at the South Okanagan Events Centre for a 6:00 start.
