Shorthanded Vees power past Capitals
The Penticton Vees set some lofty goals for a week that featured three games in four nights with a shorthanded lineup.
The Vees (7-4-0-1) very nearly got all six points, settling instead for five after closing out the challenging stretch with a 4-1 victory over the Cowichan Valley Capitals in BCHL action Saturday at the South Okanagan Events Centre.
Vees GM/head coach Fred Harbinson said the staff asked the players to set specific goals coming into the week in facets such as goals scored, goals against, number of penalties taken – and of course, points.
“We hit every one of our other targets and we were a shootout game in Salmon Arm (on Friday) away from winning all three games,” said the coach. “It’s easy to say, ‘We want six points,’ but the way this league is so tight this year and with all the guys we’re missing, to a man, they felt they could do it. We’re really proud of their effort.”
David Silye and James Miller each had a goal and an assist and Andre Ghantous and speedy Eric Linell with his first goal as a Vee connected for Penticton in the triumph over Cowichan Valley in front of 2,849 fans.
Paul Selleck had given the reeling Capitals a first-period lead, but the visitors imploded with their discipline in the final two periods and Penticton took full advantage.
Derek Krall made 18 saves to win in his first start at the SOEC, while Blake Wood stopped 34 shots for Cowichan. The Capitals had just seven shots on goal in the last two periods as they fell to a league-worse 2-9-1-1.
A key point came in the second period with the Vees leading 2-1. Dimitri Mikrogiannakis was given a five-minute checking-from-behind major for hitting Brendan Harrogate into the boards, and a minute after that the Capitals were called for too many men.
Just 19 seconds later, at 11:57, Miller scored on the 5-on-3 power play to make it 3-1.
Late in the third period, the Capitals unravelled. Off a face-off in the Cowichan zone, three Vees players were jumped as all the Caps players dropped their gloves to try to initiate fights. No Vees retaliated and the end result was a seven-minute power play for Penticton.
Shortly after that began, the Capitals were called for a blow to the head minor giving the Vees another full two-minute 5-on-3 power play.
With under a minute to go in the game, Preston Broadziak slashed Vees defenceman Peter Muzyka as he skated by the Capitals bench, resulting in another ejection. Cowichan had just five players remaining on the bench at the end of the game.
Capitals head coach Vandekamp was also ejected.
Harbinson said he and Vandekamp chatted after the game.
“It was guys blowing off steam … things got a bit out of hand and it’s not something anyone wanted, including Mike,” said Harbinson. “It’s a team that has been right there in a lot of games, they haven’t got the results they wanted, and it obviously led to some frustration.”
On the flipside, Harbinson said the Vees knew there was no room for error with their discipline this week. The Vees twice played three players short of the maximum of 18, and on Saturday played just two short with the return of defenceman Mason Snell from a two-game suspension. Mike
“The guys were awesome with their awereness and discipline,” the coach said,
The Vees head to West Kelowna Friday to play the Warriors for the first time this season before returning home to host the Chilliwack Chiefs on Saturday at 6 p.m.
ICE CHIPS: Miller, Silye and Krall were the three stars … Silye leads the Vees in scoring with 20 points, while Miller leads all BCHL defencemen with 14 points … Vees captain/centre Massimo Rizzo (lower-back) will practice with the team for the first time today with the goal of making his season debut Oct. 24 versus Coquitlam at the SOEC … F Luke Loheit (mononucleosis) returns to the team on Wednesday and will return to practice around Oct. 22. “He’s well ahead of schedule, but we’ve got to be careful. We don’t want to risk Luke having any type of relapse,” said Harbinson … F Lukas Sillinger (broken finger) had surgery on Friday and is out 4-6 weeks … F Drew Elser (broken jaw, concussion) is progressing but remains out indefinitely … With David Michaud departing at the end of October, the Vees are starting the process of hiring a new director of corporate partnerships. The widely-respected Michaud also served as alternate governor for the Vees.