Vees look to eliminate Cents
Penticton hosts Merritt tonight needing 1 win to advance to next round
The last thing the Penticton Vees want to do is make another bus trip to Merritt on Friday. The Vees have a chance to finish off the Merritt Centennials in Game 5 of the Interior Division semifinal series tonight at 7 p.m. at the South Okanagan Events Centre.
Penticton leads the best-of-seven series 3-1 after a dramatic 2-1 overtime victory Tuesday at the Nicola Valley Arena.
“We’d definitely rather not have to go to Merritt,” said Fred Harbinson, who earned his 100th playoff win in 10 seasons as GM and head coach of the Vees.
“We want to close this out in front of our hometown fans. Hopefully everybody comes decked out in blue (tonight) to help get us past a very good Merritt team.”
Harbinson stressed the Vees aren’t taking anything for granted. He alluded to the fact Vernon had a chance for a four-game sweep but fell 5-2 to a banged-up Trail team on Tuesday.
“It’s not easy to win in this league,” said Harbinson. “And it’s really hard to get that fourth win in a playoff series. We’re just trying to get to four. If for some reason we come up short (tonight), we’ll go back to their building where we’ve won (four times) already this season. The guys are feeling pretty good right now.”
Harbinson said the overtime goal by captain Nicholas Jones was a “massive moment” in the series, noting one shot the other way and the series would be tied 2-2 heading for Game 5.
“It was no surprise to anyone who knows Nic,” said Harbinson. “He comes through in key situations like great leaders do. And (Chris) Klack made a terrific play on the goal, too.”
The coach also noted the Vees killed off three penalties in the third period, including a potentially disastrous too-many-men infraction with less than five minutes left.
Neither team has scored on the power play in the first four games, though Harbinson remains confident of a Vees breakthrough with the man advantage.
“You look back, we moved the puck really well in Game 1 and we didn’t really get a power play in Game 2,” said Harbinson. “In Merritt, the puck was bouncing around like a lacrosse ball all night in Game 3. It wasn’t quite as bad in Game 4, but overall the ice quality there is a concern. There are no true bounces. It’s just a lot different game.”
Harbinson said the Vees played much better in Game 4, but were pegged back by a shorthanded breakaway goal that tied the contest late in the second period.
“We had so many chances to make it 2-0 and when we didn’t, they took advantage,” said Harbinson. “We got through the penalty issues in the third period and really controlled the overtime.”
Harbinson isn’t planning any lineup changes for tonight’s game. Forward Taylor Sanheim is close to a return, but to put him back in the Vees would have to take one of their other six 20-year-olds out of the lineup.
“Taylor lost a lot of weight due to his injury so we can give him time to get back to 100 per cent,” said Harbinson. “After we lost Game 3, I didn’t think it was the right time to make changes, especially playing in that building.
“We’re trying to make a long playoff run. We’ve got some extra bodies available and at some point there might be a few situational changes, and in a long playoff grind you often end up getting an injury or two. A lot of things can happen.”
If a Game 7 is needed, it will not be played until Monday at 7 p.m. at the SOEC.
The other Interior semifinal can also end tonight as Trail visits Vernon. If necessary, Game 6 goes Friday in Trail and Game 7 would be Sunday in Vernon.