Vees down Vipers in OT

Penticton Vees blueliner James Miller had a goal and two assists to pace his club to a 3-2 overtime triumph Wednesday night against the Vernon Vipers.

Miller set up Eric Linell’s winning shot from the point with the man advantage just 32 seconds into the extra frame.

Ryan Sandelin also scored for the Vees, while Ben Sanderson and Sebastian Streu replied for the Vipers.

Jack LaFontaine turned aside 31-of-33 shots to earn the win for the Vees, while Aidan Porter stopped 25-of-28 in a losing effort.

The win moved the Vees (11-6-1-2) into a tie with the Salmon Arm Silverbacks for third place in the Interior Division.

The Vipers (8-6-5-2) are three points back in fourth place.

The teams opened the scoring just 40 seconds apart in the second period. Vernon finally pulled ahead early in the third period, before the Vees drew even with just over five minutes to play.

The turning point occurred when Vernon’s Mitch Andres took a fiveminute major for boarding that sent Vees forward Brendan Harrogate to the dressing room. The power play carried into overtime.

The Vees now enter their busiest stretch of the regular season with five games in the next nine days.

The grind begins Friday when Salmon Arm (12-7-1-0) visits the South Okanagan Events Centre, followed by Trail (8-10-3-1) on Saturday.

Then Penticton will play a homeand-home set with West Kelowna next Tuesday and Wednesday.

Vernon returns to action Friday in Merritt, then visits Salmon Arm on Saturday.

ICE CHIPS: The Vees now hold a 2-1 edge in the season series against the Vipers, having previously split a home-and-home set last month when the Vees won the opener 3-0 before losing the rematch 2-1 in Vernon. The clubs meet again Dec. 19 at the SOEC. . . . The Vees announced Wednesday that 20-year-old forward Andres Ghantous has committed to the NCAA Northern Michigan Wildcats for next season.