Vees rally to beat Bulldogs
The Penticton Vees rallied for a big win to boost them up a few rungs in the tightly congested Interior Division standings.
Jared Nash scored two third-period goals as the Vees dispatched the Alberni Valley Bulldogs 4-2 in BCHL action in front of 3,021 fans on Friday at the South Okanagan Events Centre. Cassidy Bowes and Owen Sillinger also scored for the Vees (10-2-1-1), who moved from fifth place into a tie for second place while still holding games in hand over all their divisional rivals.
The Vees have another pivotal divisional game tonight as they take on the Trail Smoke Eaters in a 7 p.m. puck-drop at Cominco Arena. Alberni Valley got goals from Paul Selleck and Cole Poliziani as the Bulldogs fell to 6-7-1-2 on the season.
Nolan Hildebrand made 31 saves to improve to 5-0-0 on the season for the Vees, while John Hawthorne had 32 stops for the Bulldogs.
After a disjointed first period that yielded few decent scoring chances, the Vees finally broke through with six minutes left in the second.
Bowes came out from behind the net, spun around and hoisted the puck over the glove of a surprised Hawthorne.
Alberni, who had the better of the chances and racked up 17 shots in the period, tied the game with 2:38 to go as Selleck perfectly deflected Brandon Bergado’s low point shot just inside the right post.
Poliziani put the Bulldogs up 2-1 just 2:52 into the third, but the Vees responded with two quick goals. Nash banked one in off Hawthorne from below the goal line at 3:23, then Sillinger’s shot from the right circle leaked through the Alberni goalie’s arm on the blocker side at 4:34.
The game was delayed for 10 minutes at 6:36 when Bowes was checked hard and a pane of glass near the Alberni bench shattered, showering Bulldogs backup goalie Colten Lancaster and some fans in the first row of seats with glass fragments. Fortunately, nobody appeared to be hurt.
Nash gave the Vees some breathing room with his second of the night at 9:24 — one-timing a terrific cross-ice pass by Nick Leivermann.
Hawthorne got to the bench for an extra attacker with 1:25 to go, but Hildebrand and his mates held the fort.
Nash, Bowes and Hildebrand were the three stars.
NOTES: Vees D Joe Leahy returned to the lineup after missing six games with a head injury, while D Kenny Johnson served the second of a three-game suspension. Vees F Chris Klack took the pre-game skate but ended up missing his fifth straight game with a punctured lung.
Vipers 4 Wild 1: Brett Stapley scored twice as Vernon beat visiting Wenatchee and took over sole possession of first place in the Interior Division.
Jagger Williamson and Jimmy Lambert also scored for Vernon (11-4-0-2), who led 2-0 and 3-0 at the period breaks.
A.J. Vanderbeck spoiled Anthony Yamnitsky’s shutout bid with 4:49 to go.
The Wild (10-6-0-1) outshot the Vipers 33-30. Yamnitsky, Stapley and Lambert were the three stars in front of 1,940 fans.
The Vipers host the West Kelowna Warriors (11-5-0) in another key game tonight at 6 p.m. at Kal Tire Place.