Vees get swept in Wenatchee, causing frustration
The Penticton Vees aren’t too wild about their results against Wenatchee this season. Penticton product Nathan Iannone scored the winner at 4:55 of the third period as the Wenatchee Wild beat the Vees 3-1 on Saturday to sweep a two-game weekend series at Town Toyota Center in Wenatchee.
The Vees had an apparent tying goal by Ryan Sandelin waved off with five minutes left to play that didn’t sit well with Vees president, GM and head coach Fred Harbinson.
Harbinson said goalie Austin Park made the original save on a glove-side blast by Jared Nash and the puck landed behind the goaltender.
“It was clearly a loose puck and Sandelin banged it in,” said Harbinson. “The referee was right there behind the net and blew the play dead. It was a mistake — and a costly one for us, unfortunately.”
The Wild also clinched the win on a controversial empty-netter by Lucas Sowder with 54 seconds left that led to some extra-curricular activity.
“They iced the puck with a hard, waist-high shot and somehow they wave off the icing at the last second,” said Harbinson. “Our guys just kind of froze thinking it was sure icing, and they get the easy empty-netter.”
AJ Vanderbeck had the other goal for the Wild (25-9-2-1), who moved five points ahead of the Vees (22-92-2) for second place in the Interior Division. Wenatchee moved within four points of first-place Vernon, who lost 4-3 to last-place Salmon Arm at Kal Tire Place.
Owen Sillinger, who scored all three goals for the Vees on Friday, got the lone marker on Saturday — his 19th of the season.
Sillinger, however, received a charging major and fighting major after an altercation with Vanderbeck following the Wild’s emptynetter. Sillinger has since been assessed a two-game suspension for his actions.
Harbinson said the Wild celebrated after the empty-netter “like they had just won the Fred Page Cup or something.”
He added “there was definitely some frustration there. We had played really well, outchanced them in both games. I liked our response at the end of the game.”
The Wild — who beat the Vees 6-3 on Friday — have now won all four meetings with Penticton this season. Three of the wins were in regulation time in Wenatchee, and the other was a doubleovertime victory in Penticton.
Park made 27 saves for the Wild, and Adam Scheel stopped 28 shots for the Vees.
After a scoreless first period, Vanderbeck put the Wild ahead at 3:50 of the second. Sillinger tied it with an unassisted marker at 13:08.
The marquee matchup saw 3,351 fans flock to the Town Toyota Centre on Saturday after 2,567 turned up for Friday’s tilt.
“It was a great game with a really high pace,” said Harbinson. “It was a lot like a playoff game and I thought we played outstanding. We didn’t make many mistakes but the few we did ended up in our net.
“If we continue to play like that, we’re going to win a lot more than we lose.”
The Vees, losers of five straight games to end 2017, look to get back on track on a fourgame homestand that starts Friday at 7 p.m. at the SOEC against the Prince George Spruce Kings.
Wenatchee makes the return trip to Penticton on Saturday at 6 p.m.
The West Kelowna Warriors (18-17-1-1) also closed out 2017 on a losing note, falling 6-3 to the Smoke Eaters (22-13-2-0) in Trail.