Vees stay perfect against Warriors
Nicholas Jones scores 2 shorthanded goals as Penticton prevails 4-2
Special teams helped the Penticton Vees snap a two-game losing streak and continue their season-long domination of the West Kelowna Warriors.
Captain Nicholas Jones scored a pair of second-period shorthanded goals, Owen Sillinger had one and Jamie Armstrong added a power-play marker and the Vees hung on to beat the Warriors 4-2 in front of 2,777 fans in another Wicked Wednesday tilt at the South Okanagan Events Centre.
Jones is tied for the league lead with four shorthanded markers — with three coming against the Warriors. Jones has scored seven of his 15 goals this season against West Kelowna.
The Vees (30-8-1) made it four straight victories against the defending BCHL and RBC Cup champs, with the first three wins coming in West Kelowna.
Chase Stevenson and Connor Sodergren scored for the Warriors (20-18-1), who had won seven of eight coming into the game.
Mat Robson made 35 saves for the Vees while Cole Demers stopped 36 shots for the Warriors.
After a scoreless first period, the Vees took advantage of a woeful Warriors power play — clicking at just 13.0 per cent (16th out of 17 teams) coming into the game.
Jones gained the zone, made a slick drop-pass to Duncan Campbell and drove to the net to slam home a rebound at 3:54.
On the power play, a one-time slapper from the point by Taylor Ward glanced in off Armstrong at 17:12.
Jones made it 3-0 with his second shorthanded goal on a terrific individual effort at 18:39, weaving past two Warriors and beating Demers with a wrist shot on the short side. Mitch Meek assisted on the goal.
But the Warriors wouldn’t go quietly in the third.
Stevenson found himself all alone to beat Robson with a backhander through the pads at 6:21, then Sodergren also connected on a backhander from in tight after a fortuitous bounce to make it 3-2 with 8:23 to go.
The Vees ran into more penalty trouble late as Taylor Sanheim with 1:40 to go and Jones with 1:12 left went to the box and the Warriors pulled Demers to set up a 6-on-3 for the remainder of the period.
Robson made a pair of terrific saves before Sillinger picked off a pass at the blue-line and raced in alone to drain the clincher into the empty net with 24.6 seconds left.
The Vees remained 12 points ahead of the second-place Vernon Vipers in the Interior Division after Vernon triumphed 5-3 in Prince George.
The Vees play their first road game of 2017 on Friday in Merritt before taking on the Alberni Valley Bulldogs on Saturday at 6 p.m. at the SOEC.
ICE CHIPS: Vees D Kenny Johnson served the final game of his four-game suspension. The Vees summoned D Garrett Ewert from the KIJHL’s Kamloops Storm to fill out the lineup . . . . G Gabriel Morency, acquired before Tuesday’s trade deadline, dressed as the backup for the Warriors . . . . The Vees used their final card to sign D Sam Rossini, who has missed the entire season after tearing a knee ligament in a preseason game against Vernon. Rossini has resumed skating and is hoping to return at some point in the post-season . . . . The Warriors have now surrendered 10 shorthanded goals this season . . . . The Warriors and Vees meet again at the SOEC on Jan. 21.