Vees beat league’s best, Wenatchee
Robson stops all 33 in Penticton’s 2-0 victory
After clinching a sixth straight Interior Division pennant 24 hours earlier, the Penticton Vees thrived in a playoff-like atmosphere against the top team in the BCHL.
Duncan Campbell and Nicholas Jones scored and Mat Robson was magnificent with 33 saves as the Vees blanked the Wenatchee Wild 2-0 in front of a season-high gathering of 4,142 fans Saturday at the South Okanagan Events Centre.
“It was a great statement game for us shutting out the top team and the highest-scoring team in the league,” said Vees GM/head coach Fred Harbinson. “It was really a great week for us all around . . . I think some people were starting to second-guess us. We got some bodies back and we just dug in our heels a bit.”
The Vees (37-12-2-1) managed just 12 shots on Anthony Yamnitsy but broke the ice near the expiration of a power play at 3:12 of the second period as Jones neatly set up Campbell for a tap-in from in close. Jonny Tychonick also assisted.
Jones eased the tension in the cauldron that was the SOEC as he warded off a check from behind and scored on a breakaway with 12:05 to play in the game. Chris Klack picked up the lone assist.
Robson did the rest, posting his fourth shutout of the season and becoming the first to blank the Wild, who have scored 255 goals this season.
“Robbie came up huge for us, especially on the power play and that 5-on-3 they had near the end of the first period,” said Harbinson. “Our penalty killing was outstanding.”
Harbinson said it was an entertaining game from start to finish with two good teams going toe-to-toe. He also praised a large contingent of travelling Wild fans who made plenty of noise in supporting their own team.
“We’ve got the best fans in junior hockey,” said Harbinson. “We average over 3,000 a game and they’re a huge part of what we do here. They were with us all the way.”
The Vees seemed to get stronger as the game wore on after getting outshot 27-8 through the first 40 minutes.
Harbinson said he was concerned when toppairing defenceman James Miller decided to drop the gloves and fight Wild’s Jimmy O’Brien with 12:29 to go and the Vees hanging on to a 1-0 lead.
“We had him matched up against their big line with (Brendan) Harris and (Charlie) Combs, but we ending up scoring right after the fight,” said Harbinson. “I can’t blame Miller for his compete level there. We had other guys really step up to see the game out. It was a great win for us.”
Robson, Jones and Campbell were the three stars.
The Vees are home to West Kelowna on Friday, Salmon Arm on Saturday and Victoria next Sunday afternoon before finishing the regular season with three straight on the road.
Vipers 3 Warriors 1: Ryan Brushett’s goal with 41 seconds left in the second period snapped a 1-1 tie and Vernon beat West Kelowna and Kal Tire Place.
Brett Stapley in the first period and Austin Adamson in the third also scored for Vernon (28-17-5-4), who clinched second place in the Interior and a bye in the first round of playoffs.
Chase Dubois scored in the second period for the Warriors (25-25-2), who remained two points behind third-place Trail.