FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Wednesday, March 14th
PENTICTON, BC– The Penticton Vees Hockey Club is pleased to announce that nine Vees have been named BCHL All-Stars for the 2011-2012 regular season.
The Vees were well represented on both All-Star Teams; Wade Murphy, Joey Benik, Mike Reilly and Mike Garteig were named Interior Conference First Team All-Stars. Mario Lucia, Travis St. Denis, Connor Reilly and Troy Stecher were named to the Interior Conference Second Team.
Both Mario Lucia and Mike Reilly, along with Steven Fogarty were named to the BCHL All-Rookie Team. Penticton was named to eleven of the eighteen spots they were eligible for, as they were the most represented team in the BCHL; three other teams each had three players nominated.
It was a banner year for the Vees, as seven players finished in the Top Ten in BCHL scoring, including three in the top five. Joey Benik (96) and Mario Lucia (93) finished second and third respectively in league scoring; Lucia finished first in rookie scoring and tied with Bryce Gervais for the BCHL goal scoring title (42). Steven Fogarty (81) finished third in BCHL rookie scoring but led the league in game winning goals with 10.
Mike Reilly finished first in defensemen scoring in the BCHL with 83 points which is second best in franchise history; only Bruce Affleck (100) had more points with the Penticton Broncos in 1971-72. Troy Stecher, 17, was ninth amongst defenseman in the BCHL with 42 points.
Mike Garteig was the top goaltender in every major statistical category amongst starting goaltenders in the BCHL. The 20 year-old led the league in wins (41) goals-against (1.93) save-percentage (.927) and shutouts (5).
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