PHOTO: Cherie Morgan/Cherie Morgan Photography
The Penticton Vees (43-12-1-1) conclude their regular season as they host the Wenatchee Wild (30-23-3-1) on their annual Awards Night on Saturday night at the South Okanagan Events Centre.
REGULAR SEASON SCHEDULE vs. WENATCHEE
Friday, October 5th @ South Okanagan Events Centre (5-3 Vees) (BOXSCORE)
Friday, November 8th @ Town Toyota Center (4-1 Vees) (BOXSCORE)
Saturday, November 9th @ Town Toyota Center (5-3 Vees) (BOXSCORE)
Saturday, November 16th @ South Okanagan Events Centre (2-1 Vees/OT) (BOXSCORE)
Wednesday, December 4th @ Town Toyota Center (4-3 Wild) (BOXSCORE)
Friday, February 21st @ South Okanagan Events Centre (4-1 Vees) (BOXSCORE)
Saturday, February 22nd @ South Okanagan Events Centre (6:00 PM)
The Vees and Wild finish off their season series on Saturday night after Penticton earned a 4-1 victory over Wenatchee at the South Okanagan Events Centre. Colton Kalezic, Danny Weight, Tyler Ho and Darwin Lakoduk each tallied singles in the victory while Carl Stankowski turned aside 25 of the 26 shots he faced in his 13th win of the season.
Vees Leading Scorers:
Jay O’Brien (24-40-64)
David Silye (20-42-62)
Danny Weight (25-32-57)
Lukas Sillinger (20-37-57)
Jackson Niedermayer (22-22-44)
Another assist in last night’s victory over the Wild pushed Jay O’Brien to a season-high nine-game point streak. The Boston University commit has tallied 7 goals and 7 assists for 14 points during that span and currently sits as the BC Hockey League’s 4th leading scorer with 24 goals and 40 assists for 64 points on the campaign. The Hingham, Massachusetts native has relished in playing the Wild this season, registering 4 goals and 8 assists for 12 points in just 6 games of the season series thus far.
20-year-old forward Colton Kalezic had a strong night on Friday, earning a goal and an assist in the Vees three-goal triumph over the Wild. The Toronto, Ontario native has done a fair bit of damage against Wenatchee this season, posting 4 goals and 5 assists for 9 points during the season set throughout the campaign. Kalezic earned his 3rd shorthanded goal of the season in opening the scoring on Friday night, leading the Vees and sitting 3rd overall in shorties in the BCHL.
The Vees picked up their 43rd win of the season on Friday night and will finish the 2019/20 season with the most victories in a campaign since 2015/16, a season in which Penticton registered 50 wins. The Vees will also look to improve upon their strong record on home ice this season, posting a 21-5-1-1 margin at the SOEC and have won 12 of their 13 games in Penticton since the calendar flipped to 2020.
The Wenatchee Wild will look to finish off the regular season with a victory after falling by a 4-1 score to the Vees on Friday night at the South Okanagan Events Centre. Affiliate forward Owen Bohn scored the lone Wenatchee tally on Friday night while Daniel Chenard turned aside 29 of the 33 shots thrown his way in his 16th defeat of the season.
Wild Leading Scorers:
Nick Cafarelli (17-23-40)
Brett Chorske (18-21-39)
Brian Adams (19-18-37)
Matt Dorsey (11-26-37)
Tyler Young (9-28-37)
Third year Wild forward Matt Dorsey has excelled in his final season of Junior hockey, ranking 4th on the team with 11 goals and 37 points this season. The Wenatchee, Washington product has registered points in three of his last four games, scoring two goals and six assists for eight points in that span and is one point off of his total from a season ago with 37 points. Dorsey has played the Vees well this season, scoring three goals and two assists for five points over the span of six games in the season set thus far.
The Wild have gone 7-1 in the month of February, helped in large part with their special teams, in particular the penalty kill, which has killed off each of its last five penalties. Wenatchee looks to improve upon their 80.8% penalty kill, which is ranked 10th in the league while the Wild’s power play has gone 20.7% on the season, ranked 4th in the league.
Wenatchee comes into the final game of the regular season in a tight heap for 3rd in the Interior Division, leading the Vernon Vipers and Salmon Arm Silverbacks by one point. A win would secure the Wild 3rd place and see them take on the Victoria Grizzlies in the postseason while a loss could put Wenatchee in 4th or 5th in the division.
The Vees and Wild finish off the regular season and their season series tonight with a 6:00 PM puck drop at the SOEC. Penticton will be handing out their team awards immediately following the game with tickets available for purchase at the Valley First Box Office as well as online at ValleyFirstTix.com.
Tickets are now on sale as the Vees will face-off against the West Kelowna Warriors in the opening round of the Shaw BCHL Playoffs. The best-of-seven Interior Division Quarter Final gets underway on Thursday, February 27th with Game #1 at the South Okanagan Events Centre with a 7:00 PM puck drop. Tickets are available for purchase at the Valley First Box Office as well as online at ValleyFirstTix.com.
