Vees beat Chiefs to extend winning streak to seven
Adam Scheel didn’t have to stand on his head to record his first B.C. Hockey League shutout.
Scheel made 13 saves and Jared Nash and Dakota Boutin provided the offence as the Vees beat the depleted Chilliwack Chiefs 2-0 for their seventh straight win Saturday at the South Okanagan Events Centre.
The Vees (17-5-2-1) managed a modest 24 shots on Chiefs goalie Daniel Chenard, but dominated the first two periods and put on a clinical defensive effort in the final 20 minutes in a rematch of last year’s BCHL final that Penticton won in seven games.
Chilliwack was without its top three scorers — Will Calverley, Tommy Lee and Bryan Albee, who have accounted for 30 goals and 74 points this season. After busing in from Wenatchee earlier in the day, the 2018 RBC Cup hosts didn’t put up much of a battle in front of 2,929 fans at the SOEC.
Nash got the Vees the only goal they’d need at 9:20 of the first period. Ben Allen took the puck hard to the net, Lukas Sillinger got a swipe at it before Nash calmly swept it into an open net.
Boutin gave the Vees some breathing room on a power play at 15:10 of the second. After some intense pressure, Boutin knocked home a rebound of defenceman Nicky Leivermann’s shot off the backboards, with Cassidy Bowes earning the second assist. Leivermann, the reigning BCHL player of the week, leads the Vees with 15 assists.
The Vees almost got a third goal in the first minute of the third period as Joe Leahy rifled a low, hard shot off the post.
Chilliwack’s Jake Gresh then foolishly instigated a fight with Vees’ heavyweight Kenny Johnson at 8:49. Gresh took a sound beating in the bout and also picked up an extra minor penalty for his efforts, taking his own team off the power play.
The Chiefs got Chenard to the bench for an extra skater with 2:20 left. Vees forward Grant Cruikshank twice missed the open net and when he finally did score, the goal was waved off because linemate Massimo Rizzo was offside.
Including a tie with Vernon to start it, the Vees now have an eight-game unbeaten streak. Penticton jumped into third place after visiting Salmon Arm upset the Wenatchee Wild 2-1.
The disappointing Chiefs fell to 13-13-2-2 and remained in fourth place in the Mainland Division.
Nash, Boutin and Scheel were the three stars.
Vipers 4 Warriors 2: Josh Prokop scored twice as Vernon beat West Kelowna at Royal LePage Place to stretch their lead to two points atop the Interior Division and BCHL overall standings.
Brett Stapley and Shane Kelly also scored for the Vipers (19-6-0-4), who led 1-0 and 3-1 at the period breaks.
Calvin Tilsley and Chase Stevenson scored for West Kelowna (16-11-1-0).
Ty Taylor made 37 saves for Vernon, and Nik Amundrud stopped 36 for the Warriors.
Elsewhere, the Trail Smoke Eaters gave up a late lead and lost 3-2 in overtime to the Centennials in Merritt but remain in second in the Interior — three points up on the Vees. Penticton, however, has three games in hand on Trail and four in hand on Vernon.
ICE CHIPS: The Vees wrap up a threegame homestand on Wednesday as they take on West Kelowna in a 7 p.m. puck-drop. The Vees then head to Vancouver Island to take on the Nanaimo Clippers on Friday and Alberni Valley Bulldogs on Saturday . . . . Vees D Jonny Tychonick (illness) missed his second straight game, while F Chris Klack and F Jackson Keane remain out indefinitely with upper-body injuries . . . . Vees co-captain Owen Sillinger had a seven-game point streak stopped.