Image Credit: Contributed/Penticton Vees
November 14, 2015 - 9:32 AM
WEST KELOWNA - Who said 13 was an unlucky number? The Penticton Vees won their 21st consecutive game on Friday night, Nov. 13, edging the Warriors 3-1 at Royal LePage Place in West Kelowna.
Anthony Brodeur was terrific in net for the Vees, kicking out 45 of 46 shots in his 13th win which coincidentally enough came on Friday, November 13th. Brodeur made a handful of highlight reel worthy saves taking home first star honours and kept his perfect record intact.
Owen Sillinger, Tyson Jost and Easton Brodzinski scored for the Vees, who won their fourth game this year against West Kelowna and their second at Royal LePage Place.
Despite a bit of a slow start, the Vees opened the scoring in the first on a nice play by Ben Brar. The rookie forward was playing up the line-up, as the Vees had to shuffle their lines, as Scott Conway missed the game due to a school visit down south. Brar made the most of his new opportunity, skating in on an odd-man rush and firing a shot on net, which created a secondary chance. Sillinger crashed the net and forced that rebound past Keelan Williams for his seventh, eight and a half minutes in.
The Warriors drew level eight-minutes later, as Jonathan Desbiens finished off a solo rush down the right-wing by picking the corner on the near-side at 16:17; Desbiens finding the smallest of openings over Brodeur’s glove for the equalizer.
The game looked like it was going to be knotted up at one going into the break but Captain Tyson Jost had other ideas. Jost and Nicholas Jones quickly moved up ice and after a quick exchanged, Jost reached out and tipped a centering pass just past Williams’ glove at 17:51; the Captain scoring his team-leading 19th.
The Vees added to their lead in the second and it was “Mr. Power-Play,” Easton Brodzinski putting the visitors up by two. On their second man-advantage of the night, Brodzinski forced the puck past Williams at the post off the rush. Brodzinski shoveled in his BCHL-leading 11th power-play goal at 14:05; his 18th overall.
That’s all the offense the Vees needed on Friday, as Brodeur and the penalty-kill held the fort. Brodeur was arguably at his best in the third, stopping all 18 shots that came his way, including a flurry late. Brodeur’s best may have been him reaching up and stopping Nick Rutigliano with his glove, whilst sitting on his backside after a scramble.
Final Score: 3-1 Vees
Shots: 46-22 West Kelowna
Power-Plays: Vees 1-4 West Kelowna 0-5
Three Stars (broadcast): 1) Anthony Brodeur 2) Jonathan Desbiens 3) Ben Brar
The Vees improved their record to 21-1-0-0 in the win and they’re now 4-0 against the Warriors this season. Both Dante Fabbro and Jost extended their respective point streaks in the win. Fabbro had two assists Friday and has points in 14 straight; Jost has points in his last 11. Brodeur is now 13-0 with a 1.72 goals-against average and a sparkling .939 save percentage.
Penticton returns home Saturday, November 15th, when they host the Cowichan Valley Capitals (12-6-1-2) at the SOEC; face-off is 6pm. The Caps started their Interior road trip with a 6-1 win in Trail Friday. The Vees beat Cowichan Valley 5-3 in Duncan back on October 24th, and are looking for their 22nd straight win. Tickets are available at the Valley First box office, or online at www.valleyfirsttix.com.
News from © iNFOnews, 2015