FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Friday, March 15, 2013
PENTICTON, BC-The Vees got off to the start they wanted, scoring twice in the first ten and a half minutes and never looked backed, as they took game one 4-2 over the Salmon Arm Silverbacks in their Interior Conference Semi-Final. The Vees will look to hold serve tomorrow night in game two at the SOEC.
Louie Nanne and John Siemer scored three and a half minutes apart in the first period to put the Vees up by a pair of goals just past the midway mark. Nanne broke the ice with a laser from the left-circle at 6:57. Nanne took a cross-ice pass from Sam Mellor and without breaking stride, wired a slap-shot past Adam Clark’s arm on the far-side; his first against Salmon Arm this season.
Siemer doubled the Vees lead on the power-play, as the Vees benefited from a bounce for once. Sam Mellor’s point-shot missed but the rebound came off the end-wall and back out front to an alert Siemer, who quickly swatted the puck into the open side at 10:23; Siemer’s first goal at the SOEC.
Travis Blanleil pushed the lead to three just past the five-minute mark of the middle frame. Blanleil took the puck at the Silverbacks blue-line after a miscue by a defender and put a shot from the left-circle through Adam Clark at 5:02; his first since February 2nd.
The Vees fourth goal was from another unlikely source, as the blue-line pushed the Vees lead to four late in the sandwich stanza. James de Haas put a point-shot past the blocker of Adam Clark at 14:46. The goal ultimately chasing Clark from the net, as Angus Redmond came out to start the third period.
Salmon Arm made some noise late with two goals within the final ten minutes. Brett Fagerheim cut into the deficit at 12:34, as he snuck a shot through the wickets of Chad Katunar from the left-wing. Then Josh Bowes put a buzzer-beater behind Katunar’s glove in the dying moments of the game after some great work by Brayden Sherbinin rushing the puck up ice; the goal no more than altering the final score-line.
FINAL SCORE:4-2 Vees
Shots: 22-21 Vees
Power-Plays: Vees 1-4 Salmon Arm 0-2
Three Stars: 1) Louie Nanne 2) Jedd Soleway 3) John Siemer
Attendance: 1,472
Game Notes
Dating back to the regular season, the Vees are now 23-2-0-3 when scoring first and 27-0-0-2 when leading after the second. Three of the Vees four goal scorers picked up their first tally against Salmon Arm; Blanleil’s second.
Up Next
Game two of the best-of-seven Interior Conference Semi-Final goes tomorrow, March 16th at the SOEC; puck drop is 7pm. Okanagan Auctions will be on hand helping auction off the Vees Save-on-Foods Third Jerseys. Partial proceeds are going to the BC Children’s Hospital and the twenty-two jerseys will be up for bid in both intermissions. Tickets for game two are available at the Valley First Box Office at the SOEC, or online at www.valleyfirsttix.com
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