BROADCAST INFORMATION
Location: South Okanagan Events Centre
Radio: Bounce 800 AM
Webcast: Flo Hockey
Penticton Vees
President, General Manager & Head Coach: Fred Harbinson
2024-25 Record: GP 31 24-6-1-0, 48 pts (1st, Interior Conference)
Last Game: 5-1 win vs. Sherwood Park (Jan. 3)
Home: 11-1-1-0
Away: 13-5-0-0
GF: 122
GA: 79
Power Play: (25/101) 24.8% 5th BCHL
Penalty Kill: (18/83) 78.3% 8TH BCHL
Scoring Leader: Ryden Evers (14-21-35)
Season Series:
October 25th, Penticton 1 at Trail 4
November 11th, Trail 3 at Penticton 7
November 16th, Penticton 4 at Trail 1
January 4th, Trail at Penticton, 6:00 pm
February 8th, Penticton at Trail, 7:00 pm
February 14th, Trail at Penticton , 7:00 pm
The Penticton Vees look for their second straight win and 10th in their last 11 games, as they host the Trail Smoke Eaters in the second of two home games this weekend. Penticton is coming off a 5-1 win over the Sherwood Park Crusaders on Friday night.
Luke Posthumus scored twice in last night’s win and Anselmo Rego, Michael Fisher, and Caton Ryan also scored. Special teams were a huge factor for Penticton. Rego’s goal, which broke a 0-0 tie, came shorthanded in the second and Ryan scored a power play marker in the third. The Vees went 5-5 on the penalty kill against the league’s top power play.
Last night’s win did come at a price, as forward Max Heise was injured midway through the second period after he went hard into the post after driving the net. He and Sherwood Park’s Jude Bray collided before Heise went down hard. Good news is there is serious injury, but the 18-year-old is day-to-day with a lower body injury. Penticton will have just nine forwards for tonight’s game.
Luke Posthumus has record 12 points in his last nine games (10G, 2A) and has points in eight of his last nine. He now leads the team with 16 goals.
Will Ingemann starts for the Vees tonight. In 20 games, Ingemann is 14-5-0-0, owning a 2.65 goals-against average and .892 save percentage. He has faced the Smoke Eaters twice this season already.
The Vees have been very good at home this season, winning 10 of 12 games at the SOEC. They have lost just once in regulation in those 12 games. That’s an .875 win percentage at the SOEC this season.
Trail Smoke Eaters
General Manager & Head Coach: Tim Fragle
2024-25 Record: GP 32, 21-8-2-1
Last Game: 5-2 win vs. Spruce Grove (Jan. 3)
Home: 12-3-0-0
Away: 9-5-2-1
GF: 137
GA: 95
Power Play: 18/102 (17.6%, 16th in BCHL)
Penalty Kill: 18/106 (83%, 4th in BCHL)
Scoring Leader: Judah Makway (15-14-29)
The Trail Smoke Eaters look to build on their strong first half and continue to climb the BCHL’s Interior Conference standings Saturday when they roll into the SOEC to play the Penticton Vees. The Smokies have amassed an impressive 10-2 record since the last time they played Penticton on November 16th in Trail, a game Penticton won 4-1.
The strong run of play has propelled them to 3rd place in the Interior Conference, trailing Brooks by just one point for second. The only visit Trail has made to the SOEC so far this season was a 7-3 setback in a Remembrance Day matinee.
The offence has been humming for Trail as of late, as they’ve scored 45 times in their past seven games. They’ve won six of those seven and five in a row entering play Saturday night. Leading scorer and local 20-year-old product Judah Makway leads the Smokies in scoring and has paced the offence with points in seven of his last eight games. The uncommitted forward recorded points in every game for Trail during the month of December.
Teagan Kendrick continues to do the bulk of the goaltending for Trail. In his third season with the Smoke Eaters, Kendrick has found a recipe for success with a .920 save percentage through 23 appearances this season. He’s recorded wins in seven straight appearances since November 23rd, allowing only 13 goals in the process for a .944 save percentage during his personal win streak entering Saturday’s action.
