Penticton, BC: The Penticton Vees (17-5-1-2) held the Chilliwack Chiefs (13-13-2-2) to just 13 shots Saturday night as they recorded their first shutout the season, 2-0 over the RBC Cup hosts. Adam Scheel was in net for his first career shutout.
The eventual game-winning goal came off the stick of Jared Nash as he was able to slide a loose puck in the crease past Daniel Chenard for his seventh of the year 9:20 into the first. Shortly after the goal, Ryan Sandelin threw a crushed Matt Slick in the neutral zone with a huge open ice hit.
Both teams were 0-for-2 on the man advantage after the first with the shots 12-4 Penticton.
It took until late in the second period for the Vees to find the back of the net again, this time on the power play. Nicky Leivermann’s shot from the right circle missed the goal, but bounced off the end wall and right to the stick of Dakota Boutin who potted his 10th of the year with 4:50 left.
Despite just two players in the lineup for Chilliwack who played in last seasons Fred Page Cup final, the Chiefs were aggressive all night long with plenty of scuffles after whistles.
Things boiled over in the third as Kenny Johnson and Jake Gresh dropped the gloves after Gresh went after Johnson behind the play. Johnson threw heavy rights before Gresh dropped to his knees and both players were sent to their respective locker rooms. Gresh was given the extra penalty on the play.
Scheel had faced just seven shots through two periods of play, but had to come up with some timely saves as the Chiefs cranked up the pressure late in the third.
A shift of extended pressure in the Vees zone resulted in a power play for the Chiefs, but Scheel stood his ground as the Chiefs nearly doubled their shot total in the third.
After a number of chances at the empty net the Vees would settle for the 2-0 final, extending their winning streak to seven games.
Penticton now gets set for another three-game week as they welcome the West Kelowna Warriors to the South Okanagan Events Centre Wednesday night before heading to Vancouver Island for two games next weekend.
Wednesday will be the fourth meeting of the season between the highway 97 rivals with the Vees pounding the Warriors 11-3 two weeks ago.
