Vees still shooting for RBC Cup berth
Robson posts shutout as Penticton eliminates Battlefords with 4-0 win
Do-or-die games are becoming old hat for the Penticton Vees in the 2016-17 postseason.
Taylor Ward and Massimo Rizzo scored power-play goals and Mat Robson was splendid with a 23-save shutout as the host Vees beat the Battlefords North Stars 4-0 in the Western Canada Cup qualifying round game in front of 2,579 fans Saturday afternoon at the South Okanagan Events Centre.
The Vees play the Chilliwack Chiefs — who lost 6-1 to the Brooks Bandits in the WCC championship game Saturday night — in a one-game showdown today at 4 p.m. at the SOEC for the second West region berth to the RBC Cup, May 13-21 in Cobourg, Ont.
The Vees are already 5-0 in do-or-die games in the post-season — three Game 7 wins in the B.C. Hockey League playoffs, plus two more so far in the WCC. They’ll look to make it 6-0 today. “We’ve been in these situations so many times now,” said captain Nicholas Jones, who assisted on the Ward and Rizzo goals to give the Vees a 2-0 lead.
“The first one was really nerve-wracking, but even with all the experience we’ve had, the nerves are still there . . . and that’s probably a good thing,” added Jones.
Jared Nash late in the second and Grant Cruikshank with a shorthanded goal to seal the win midway through the third also scored for the Vees, who directed 38 shots at Stars goalie Joel Grybowski. The Vees led 1-0 and 3-0 at the period breaks.
The Vees had put themselves in a dicey situation with consecutive losses going into Thursday’s round-robin finale against Portage.
“I think our mindset has been a lot better coming in these last few games,” said Jones. “We had our power play clicking, we get a shortie from Cruikshank and Robson made some great saves, especially early in the game.”
Robson said the Vees did a terrific job as five-man units on the ice in limiting a quality team to only 23 shots.
“Those guys went undefeated in the (Saskatchewan league) playoffs, they know how to score and they know how to win,” said Robson. “I thought we shut them down really well.”
One of the saves credited to Robson was actually a marvellous one made by veteran defenceman Gabe Bast with Battlefords on the power play trailing 3-0 with 10 minutes left.
“For sure, there is no shutout without Gabe there,” said Robson, laughing. “Their guys were basically driving me out of the crease and after the rebound came out to their guy in the slot, I said to myself ‘Oh no, that’s a goal.’”
“Then Gabe gets across to make the save and the puck caroms back under me,” continued Robson, who spoke to the referee about the blatant interference after the play. “(The ref) said the goal wouldn’t have counted but, in the moment, you don’t really know that.”
On the same Battlefords power play, Cruikshank blocked a shot at the point, raced in on a 2-on-1 and sizzled a shot past Gryzbowski for his third goal in the last two games.
There wasn’t much drama after that as Battlefords spent much of the final nine minutes sitting out penalties borne mainly of frustration.
When the Vees lost to Chilliwack 4-2 in the round robin on Tuesday, it ended their hopes of playing in the WCC championship game.
But Robson said the Vees knew their season wasn’t over.
“It would have been nice to win this thing in front of our fans, but we had to turn the page quickly,” he said. “It’s all about getting that (RBC Cup) berth and we’ve set ourselves up pretty well. We’re playing some of our best hockey of the week at the right time.”
ICE CHIPS: Vees captain Nicholas Jones was named the top forward and member of the All-Tournament Team at the WCC Awards Gala on Friday night at the SOEC. The Brooks Bandits took the other awards, including Parker Foo as top scorer, Mitch Benson as both MVP and top goalie, Cale Makar as top defenceman. Benson, Makar, Foo and F Josh McKechney of Brooks were named to the All-Tournament Team, as was Portage D Mackenzie Dwyer.