Warriors hosting rival Vees tonight

The West Kelowna Warriors host the Penticton Vees tonight to begin a mid-week home-and-home set, with the return game on Wednesday at the South Okanagan Events Centre in Penticton. Both puck-drops are set for 7 p.m., with tonight’s tilt taking place at Royal LePage Place.

The Warriors (14-8-0-1) won the first two meetings between the rivals, prevailing 3-2 on Oct. 19 and 5-3 on Oct. 27 over the Vees (13-6-1-2).

The two teams are tied for second place in the Interior Division standings, both with 29 points, though Penticton has a game in hand on West Kelowna.

The Merritt Centennials (15-8-0-1) lead the pack with 31 points but have played one more game than West Kelowna and two more than Penticton.

The Warriors and Vees also have another home-and-home next month, on Dec. 21 in Penticton and Dec. 22 in West Kelowna prior to the holiday break.

The Warriors had their eight-game winning streak snapped on Sunday in Merritt — falling 8-3 to the Centennials in that first-place showdown, which followed an impressive 6-2 victory over the Surrey Eagles at RLP on Saturday night in front of a season-high home crowd of 1,221 fans.

The Vees have been on the upswing since the return of captain Massimo Rizzo, winning four of their past five games with the only loss being in overtime.