Record
Vees: 47-3-0-2 96pts (1st) *Clinched Ron Boileau Memorial Trophy /Away: 22-3-0-1
*18 consecutive road wins (BCHL record 19)
Last Game: 4-2 win vs. Trail February 23rd
Cents: 30-17-2-5 67pts (2nd) / Home: 17-5-0-4
Last Game: 7-2 win vs. Trail February 24th
Season Series
Oct 5th 6-1 Vees Oct 29th 5-4 OT Vees
Nov 5th 3-2 OT Cents Nov 19th 4-1 Vees
Dec 13th 4-1 Vees Jan 25th 9-0 Vees
Feb 25th @ Cents Mar 1st @ Cents
The Set Up
The Penticton Vees are playing their second game in this week after a night off Friday and this is the first half of two games in less than twenty-four hours; Vees return home tomorrow afternoon to host Prince George.
Penticton found themselves in another tight affair on home ice Thursday, deadlocked with the Smoke Eaters late in the third period. Connor Reilly broke the 1-1 with his goal just before the eleven minute mark.
The Merritt Centennials are coming off a 7-2 win on home ice Friday night over the Smoke Eaters, the same team Penticton beat 4-2 one night earlier. Don’t be surprised at the seven spot the Cents put up as they are scoring in bunches right now.
In their last four games the Cents’ have scored twenty-six goals, yes twenty-six in just twelve periods of hockey. It started when the snapped a six game losing skid against Vernon, blitzing the Vipers 7-1 on February 14th. Since then, the Cents’ have rattled off three more wins and have scored eight, four and seven goals in the last three games.
This is the first meeting in exactly one month between the two teams; Penticton pasted Merritt 9-0 back on January 25th in a volatile contest at Nicola Valley Arena.
Team Scope
Penticton has faced some adversity in the last few games, especially on home ice in the last two games. First, the Vees battled from two two-goal deficits to beat Vernon 6-4 last Friday and it took a late third period goal to beat Trail 4-2 on Thursday. In their last two home games the Vees had given up the first goal and didn’t lead at any point in both games until the third period; maybe the road is the perfect remedy to get back on track.
It’s a hard to be critical seeing though the Vees still haven’t lost in thirty-five games and lead the Interior Conference by twenty-nine points. However, there are some things that standout and one is consistency, or lack of through all three periods. In their last two home games the Vees have had trouble maintaining that level we’ve grown accustomed to seeing over the course of the season. There were some struggles early against the Vipers before a strong third period and bad second period against Trail before another strong finish. This road game comes at the perfect time, as it might be the perfect remedy as the Vees have played some of their best, most consistent hockey of late away from the SOEC.
Three Keys
- Power Boost: The Vees will need to get their power-play back on track, as it’s been a difference in the season series against Merritt. In their last five games, the Penticton power-play has only scored once on seventeen opportunities and has been shutout in two straight games. In their last meeting with the Cents’ the Vees scored five power-play goals, four in the third period in the lopsided win. Merritt likes to play an aggressive, physical brand of hockey, which can lead to penalty trouble.
- Better late than Never? The Vees have been scored on first in two of the last three games, yet have found a way to win. Both those games forced the Vees into late third period rallies, one coming from behind and the other breaking a late tie. The saying goes “you can only go to the well so many times,” and Penticton will need to buck that trend tonight. The Vees have had early success against the Cents’, scoring seventeen and twenty-three seconds in the first two periods back on January 25th.
- Cool as a Cucumber: Penticton isn’t a team that is fragile or easily rattled. Touching on the previous key, give credit for this team not panicking when they were down by two goals twice to Vernon and tied late with the pesky Smoke Eaters. The same goes for their discipline against the Centennials. In the last encounter with Merritt, the Vees stayed disciplined and didn’t mix it up with Merritt which lead to a string of power-plays and in turn goals. Penticton has been so good at frustrating their opposition to no end while keeping even-keeled; do you’re talking on the scoreboard not with your fists.
This N’ That
- Wade Murphy extended his BCHL leading point streak to eleven games with a goal against Trail; only one game he has been pointless since joining the Vees.
- Murphy also owns the longest goal scoring streak in the BCHL, which stands at four games.
- Versus Merritt, Mike Gartieg is 5-0-0-1 with a 1.67 GAA, a .951 save percentage and one shutout.
- Bryce Gervais loves playing Merritt, in seven games against the Cents, Gervais has nine goals and fifteen points between the Silverbacks and Vees.
- Penticton has outscored Merritt 30-10 in six games thus far.
- Merritt’s win last night gave them thirty on the season, their first thirty win season since 2005-2006.
Season Series Scoring
Vees
4 Nick Buchanan 0-1-1
5 Mike Reilly 1-3-4
6 Zach Urban —
8 Ryan Reilly 4-2-6
9 Joey Benik 3-9-12
10 Grant Nicholson 1-1-2
11 Chad Bannor —
12 Wade Murphy 2-1-3
19 Cody DePourcq 1-3-4
20 Connor Reilly 4-3-7
21 Logan Johnston —
22 Mario Lucia 1-6-7
24 Curtis Loik —
26 Travis St. Denis 2-2-4
27 DJ Jones 1-0-1
28 Kyle Beaulieu —
71 Bryce Gervais 9-6-15
77 Troy Stecher 0-5-5
91 Steven Fogarty 4-6-10
