The Vees held off the third period surge from the Smoke Eaters to take a 2-1 series lead despite multiple posts and chances in the third period.
A scoreless first period was filled with multiple chances for either side with Dawson and Cunningham having some of the best looks for the Smoke Eaters, but they couldn’t solve Lane early on. The Vees also had their opportunities to open the scoring with Tisdale matching every opportunity, some acrobatically to keep the first period scoreless.
In the second the Vees jumped early and scored just six seconds into the period as Luc Wilson jumped off the opening draw and willed a bouncing puck around Kabore Dunn to give himself a clear break on Tisdale where he’d score the opening goal. Seven minutes later Casey McDonald would also be able to control a bouncing puck as he fought off Evan Bushy and broke the other way shorthanded, where head got backhand forehand and tuck the puck around Tisdale for a 2-0 Penticton lead.
In the third the Smoke Eaters pushed and got rewarded, after Ethan Warrener hit the crossbar and Corey Cunningham hit the post. The Smoke Eaters would get and extended shift in the Vees zone as Wolford would take the puck to the nut out of the corner where the loose puck would be found by Teddy Lagerback, who picks up his second playoff goal in as many games to get the Smoke Eaters on the board just 7 minutes into the third.
The Smoke Eaters would push though over the next 12 and a half minutes but couldn’t solve Lane, as the Vees stayed back and kept the game simple. The Vees now take a 2-1 series lead heading into game four on Tuesday night. The Smoke Eaters will try to ty the series up after a hard fought game three.
