Vees, Vipers notch 4-point weekend
An eight-point weekend lifted B.C. Hockey League scoring leader Bradly Nadeau over the 100-point threshold and pushed the Penticton Vees’ winning streak to 10 games.
Nadeau, 19, netted five points – two goals and three assists – in his club’s 9-2 win on Friday night over the Langley Rivermen and another three points – two goals and an assist – in a 6-3 win Saturday night against the Merritt Centennials.
Over the course of the weekend, the Vees trailed for just 136 seconds after surrendering an early goal to Merritt.
After hammering the Centennials 13-1 last weekend, the Vees started rookie Derek Sparks, 17, in net for the rematch Saturday. Sparks needed to make just 14 saves to pick up his first BCHL win.
Vees’ starting netminder Luca Di Pasquo still leads the league in wins with a 32-3-0-0 personal record and 1.66 goalsagainst average that’s also tops in the BCHL.
Meanwhile, the Vees, who have already clinched first place overall in the BCHL with five games remaining on their regular season schedule, also have a stranglehold on the scoring race.
Bradly Nadeau is tops at 102 points, followed by brother Josh Nadeau (98) and teammate Aydar Suniev (81). Ean Somozoa of the Wenatchee Wild is a distant fourth with 67 points.
Four of the Vees’ (45-3-0-1) final games are at home, beginning with a visit Friday from the Coastal Conferenceleading Nanaimo Clippers (35-12-3-3) in a rematch of last season’s playoff championship, and continuing Saturday with a tilt against the Centennials (12-33-3-2).
With the playoffs looming, the West Kelowna Warriors dropped a pair of key weekend games, including a 7-4 loss Friday night to the Prince George Spruce Kings, who are now just two points back in the standings.
It was an ugly start for the Warriors, who fell into a 3-0 hole just five minutes into the game and couldn’t recover.
Rylee Hlusiak with two and Jake Bernadet and Brennan Nelson all scored for the Warriors, whose two netminders, Cayden Hamming and Angelo Zol, split the loss.
After another slow start, the West Kelowna Warriors again found themselves down 2-0 early in the second period before their offence came to life.
Nic Porchetta and Christopher Duclair both scored for the Warriors in the middle frame to knot the score at 2-2, but the Express added three more before time was out.
Zol stopped 35 of 40 shots in the losing effort.
The Warriors have four games left in the regular season, the first three of which are at home against tough opponents.
First up are the Cranbrook Bucks (34-13-1-2), who sit second in the Interior Conference with 71 points, on Friday night, followed by the Nanaimo Clippers on Saturday night.
West Kelowna (26-19-5-0) is fourth in the Interior Conference standings with 57 points and just four points separates the third- through seventh-place teams.
Some home cooking seemed to do the Vernon Vipers some good.
The club reeled off a four-point weekend within the friendly confines of Kal Tire Place, starting with a 5-2 win on Friday night against the Salmon Arm Silverbacks.
Reagan Milburn and Lee Parks spotted the Vipers an early 2-0 lead and the clubs exchanged goals from there. Julian Facchinelli, Luke Pakaluk and Walter Erickson also tallied for Vernon, who got a 21-save performance from netminder Ethan David.
Defence reined supreme as the Vernon Vipers scratched out a 2-1 win Saturday night at home to the Prince George Spruce Kings.
After falling behind midway through the first period, Pakulak evened the score at 1-1 early in the second period, before Seiya Tanaka-Campbell buried the eventual game winner with about 14 minutes to play in the final frame.
Roan Clarke picked up the win in the Vipers’ cage with a 22-stop effort.
The Vipers (24-20-2-4) have four games remaining in the regular season.
Their final two home games are this coming weekend when the Trail Smoke Eaters (19-25-3-3) visit for a two-game set.