After a thrilling battle Friday night in Trail, these two sides meet once again in Penticton to finish off the season series.
Regular season verse Penticton:
September 6th @ Trail Memorial Arena 4-1L (BOXSCORE)
September 7th @ Trail Memorial Arena 7-1L (BOXSCORE)
October 23rd @ South Okanagan Event Centre 4-2 L (BOXSCORE)
November 6th @ South Okanagan Event Centre 4-1 W (BOXSCORE)
January 10th @ Trail Memorial Arena 4-3 W (BOXSCORE)
January 11th @ South Okanagan Event Centre (6:00pm)
Season series 2W-3L
The Smoke Eaters will not only look to even up the season series against Penticton, but complete the weekend sweep over the Vees, as they try and extend their current win streak to six games. It ended up being an empty net goal that decided the game on Friday night as Kent Johnson, who picked up goals 30 and 31, was credited with the game winner. While the Smoke Eaters may have been out shot in the game they took their opportunities while creating havoc in the Vees zone. Braden Costello found holes in the Vees defence twice with his goals both coming from the slot while he was unmarked. The Smokies will once again want to work on their start, something Jeff Tambellini has touched on a over the last few games, given that the Smoke Eaters were under fire early on Friday. That being said they came out of the first period scoreless. A better start, in what is expected to be one of the biggest crowds of the year in Penticton, will be key for the Smoke Eaters as the Vees look to bounce back.
Smoke Eaters Leading scorers:
Johnson (31-47-78)
Ozar (19-32-51)
Colella (17-32-49)
Lapointe (15-27-42)
Ghirardosi (18-14-32)
The Vees will look to bounce back on home ice tonight as they try to avoid back to back losses for the first time in 2020. The Vees are yet to lose to the same team on back to back occasions this season. They turned around a 2-0 deficit last night in Trail to get the game to level terms, but couldn’t find the goals they needed in the third. Penticton will look to improve on their 11-4-1-1 home record as well, but they’ll have to deal with a 13-8-1-1 Smoke Eaters road record.
Penticton Vees leading scorers
Silye (17-30-47)
O’Brien (15-32-47)
Sillinger (16-30-46)
Weight (18-26-44)
Niedermayer (16-16-32)
Puck drop is at 6pm from the South Okanagan Events Centre for part two of the weekend double header. Catch the game starting at 5:50pm on HockeyTV or Mixlr with Ben Phillips.
