- The Vees go head to head with the West Kelowna Warriors this weekend to wrap up their pre-Christmas schedule. The Vees are coming off back-to-back double-overtime wins over Salmon Arm Saturday and Vernon Tuesday. West Kelowna is back home after taking two out of three on an Island Division road trip last weekend.
- Tuesday the Vees made their first visit to Kal-Tire Place in Vernon and came away with a dramatic 5-4 win in OT. Chris Gerrie was the hero, as Scott Conway set him up for the game-winner 1:41 into three-on-three. The Vees had an early 1-0 lead in that game but trailed 3-2 after one and were down 4-3 late in the third, before rallying to beat Vernon for the fourth time.
- West Kelowna dropped a 4-2 decision to the Bulldogs in Port Alberni Friday, before rebounding with a come-from-behind win over Nanaimo (7-4) Saturday. They concluded their three-game swing with a 5-3 win in Victoria on Sunday afternoon. Tonight is their first home game since December 4th.
- The Vees have had the Warriors number this season, as they’re 4-0 against the Tribe and have won both of their visits to Royal LePage Place this season, including their last visit, November 13th, when they scored a 3-1 win. The Vees franchise has enjoyed a lot of success in West Kelowna, as they’re 27-6-0-1 at RLP since the Warriors relocated from Langley in 2006.
- Scott Conway carries his BCHL-best 31-game point streak into tonight’s game. The 20-year-old has 34 goals and 68 points during the run which started way back on September 16th. Conway has just missed two games this year due to a school visit and has points in 31 of the 32 games he’s played. Conway has the most points against West Kelowna this season, scoring three goals and collecting five points in four games.
- The Vees will dress three affiliate players again tonight, as defensemen Daniel Stone and Ryan Morrell from the Osoyoos Coyotes will be in the line-up. Upfront, the Vees will have 17-year-old Nathan Iannone playing alongside Desi Burgart and Ben Brar. Iannone made his BCHL debut on Tuesday in Vernon and plays at the Okanagan Hockey Academy.
- Zach Driscoll is back between the pipes and is 12-2 with a 1.93 goals-against average and owns a .935 save percentage. Driscoll is 2-0 against the Warriors this year, sporting 2.50 goals-against average, to go along with a .921 save-percentage.
- Goaltending has been a sore spot for the Warriors this year, as they’ve used four different goalies in the four games against Penticton this year. The Vees have faced Daniel Mannella, Forbes Ploszaj, Stephen Heslop and most recently Keelan Williams. The Tribe recently signed 20-year-old Matt Greenfield from the Tri-City Storm of the USHL and he’ll likely make his BCHL debut tonight.
- Liam Blackburn, Kylar Hope and Jonathan Desbiens have been the three-headed monster for the Warriors this year. Blackburn leads the team in scoring with 42 points, closely followed by Hope with 40 and Desbiens is third with 36. Blackburn had a 19-game point streak this season that spanned nearly two months from September 19th to November 13th. Hope has already doubled his point totally from last year and in 24 fewer games. He also carries a 13-game point streak into tonight’s contest, as he hasn’t been held off the scoresheet since these two last played on November 13th; Hope was their Player of the Month for November.
- Tyson Jost, Dante Fabbro and Canada West booked a spot in the Gold Medal game at the 2015 World Junior ‘A’ Challenge Thursday, after they beat Canada East 8-5. Jost led the way for Canada West, picking up a game-high four points, which tied a tournament record, en route to being named the Player of the Game. They’re off today before facing the Russians tomorrow afternoon in the Gold Medal game. A full recap of last night’s win can be found here.
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