Stunned at the SOEC
Langley hands Penticton 1st loss of season despite playing 2nd straight night
The Penticton Vees suffered their first loss of the 2017-18 BCHL season and it surprisingly happened at the fortress that has been the South Okanagan Events Centre.
Ethan Leyh’s goal 6:34 into the third period proved to be the winner as the Langley Rivermen held off the Vees 2-1 Wednesday, ending Penticton’s unbeaten streak at nine games.
Trevor St. Jean scored in the first period for the Rivermen (6-3-6), who moved into first place in the Mainland Division.
Dakota Boutin scored a power play goal for the Vees midway through a third period in which they outshot the visitors 21-6.
The Vees (8-1-0-1) are now 207-36-6-13 in regular season games all-time at the SOEC.
Braedon Fleming made 36 saves for the Rivermen and was helped out by three goalposts. Adam Scheel suffered his first loss in a Vees uniform, making 17 stops.
The Vees registered the first four shots on goal but the Rivermen scored on their first offensive foray. Eric Butte and Connor Marshall combined to force the puck to the crease and St. Jean was able to corral the puck from a scrum and beat Scheel on the glove side at 5:03.
The Vees, who outshot Langley 8-3 in the first period, came close when Jack Barnes rifled a shot from the bottom of the left circle off the crossbar. Penticton’s Massimo Rizzo also rifled a shot off the pipe during a largely uneventful second period.
Langley forged ahead 2-0 at 6:34 of the third. Scheel misplayed the puck behind the Vees net and couldn’t scramble back in time to get set as Leyh slid a bad-angle backhander between his pads.
The Vees got back into it on a power play with 9:17 left. Ryan O’Connell took a nice feed from Rizzo and fired a high shot from the top of the circle that struck Boutin up high and caromed in just under the crossbar.
The Vees kept coming but a pair of icing calls in the late stages kept them from getting Scheel to the bench until there was 25 seconds left.
St. Jean, Boutin and Vees’ Cassidy Bowes were the three stars, with Fleming somehow left out. Attendance on the first “Wicked Wednesday” of the season was 2,870.
The Vees take on the Merritt Centennials Friday at 7 p.m. at the SOEC and head south of the border on Saturday to take on the Wenatchee Wild in a 7:05 p.m. puck-drop.
Warriors 5 Rivermen 2: Chad Dubois scored twice as West Kelowna beat Langley Tuesday at Royal LePage Place to move into a tie for first place with idle Vernon in the Interior Division.
RJ Murphy, Jared Marino and Peter Tomaras also scored for the Warriors (10-4-0), who scored two late goals into the empty net.
Jake Livingstone and Brendan Budy replied for the Rivermen, who were outshot 44-24.