Vees, Vipers and Warriors all winners

Owen Sillinger scored 42 seconds into overtime as the Penticton Vees shaded the Salmon Arm Silverbacks 3-2 for their sixth straight win on Friday at the South Okanagan Events Centre.

Sillinger reached back from behind the goal-line to slide home a pass from Taylor Ward for his teamleading 11th goal — extending his point streak to seven games in the process.

Nicky Leivermann and Massimo Rizzo also scored for the Vees (16-5-1-2), with Grant Cruikshank assisting on both.

Tanner Campbell and Rhett Kingston, with a late goal, brought Salmon Arm (11-13-3-0) back from a 2-0 deficit to earn a valuable point.

Nolan Hildebrand made 29 saves for the Vees, while Kyle Dumba stopped 34 shots for the Silverbacks.

Leivermann got the Vees off and running at 5:09, juking a defender at the left point and ripping a hard wrist shot over Dumba’s blocker. Cruikshank and Dakota Boutin assisted.

Salmon Arm carried the play in the second and had a big chance to tie it but Hildebrand denied Grayson Constable with a nifty right leg save on a penalty shot at 11:54.

Rizzo put the Vees up 2-0 on a power play at 15:41, knocking a rebound of Cruikshank’s shot into the open side after Cassidy Bowes made a pass from behind the net.

But the Silverbacks got back into it with 12 seconds left in the period as a diving Campbell swiped a bouncing back past Hildebrand right off a faceoff in Vees’ territory.

Salmon Arm came close to tying it with six minutes left as Josh Latta blasted a low shot off the post.

Kingston eventually did tie it on a high shot from in tight with 2:36 to go after the Vees failed to clear the puck near their own blue line.

But Sillinger would have the last say in overtime for the Vees, now unbeaten in seven games.

Sillinger, Hildebrand and Rizzo were the three stars in front of 2,585 fans.

The Vees welcome the Chilliwack Chiefs to the SOEC tonight at 6 p.m. in a rematch of last year’s BCHL final — won by Penticton in seven games.

Vipers 4 Smoke Eaters 0: Anthony Yamnitsky made 28 saves as Vernon blanked Trail for the second time this season at the Cominco Arena and took over first place in the Interior Division, a point ahead of the Smokies.

Sam Anzai, Michael Young, Brett Stapley and Josh Prokop scored for Vernon (18-6-0-4), who are now also in first place overall in the BCHL.

Tanner Marshall made 36 stops for the injurydepleted Smoke Eaters (19-7-1-0), who dressed just 16 skaters for the game.

Warriors 7 Centennials 2: Goals by RJ Murphy, Parm Dhaliwal, Spencer Hora, Calvin Tilsley, Jared Marino, Michael Lombardi and Jordan Todd gave West Kelowna the win over visiting Merritt.

It was 2-1 before Hora, Tilsley, Marino and Todd scored in a 6:11 span early in the third period for the Warriors (16-10-1-0).

Henry Cleghorn and Christian Sabin scored for Merritt (9-13-2-1), which got outshot 43-36.

In another key game, the Wenatchee Wild edged visiting Chilliwack 3-2.

Vernon visits West Kelowna tonight at 7 p.m. at Royal LePage Place.