PENTICTON - After the Penticton Vees came back to win one night ago, the roles were reversed Saturday, as the West Kelowna Warriors rallied for a 5-3 victory at Royal LePage Place in exhibition action.

Liam Blackburn and Jonathan Desbiens scored seventy-seconds apart late in the third period for the Warriors, to split the weekend home-and-home series with Penticton.

Fitting that Desbiens put the finishing touches on the win for the Warriors, as he also opened the scoring in the first period. Desbiens found open ice at the side of the Vees net and cashed-in on a rebound off a point shot five and half minutes into the contest.

The Vees got back on even terms courtesy of Mitch Newsome. The Surrey, BC, product picked up where he left off on Friday, as he redirected Gabe Bast’s point-shot past the Warriors Scott Patton at 10:25 to level the game at ones.

The Vees then grabbed their first lead late in the first when Jack Ramsey and Lewis Zerter-Gossage teamed up for another goal. Friday it was Zerter-Gossage setting up Ramsey, but the former turned goal-scorer late in the first. Ramsey sent Zerter-Gossage in on the right side and he fired a shot just inside the far-post at 18:23.

The Vees rode the momentum into the second, as Liam Finlay padded the Vees lead early in the middle stanza. Using the defender as a screen, Finlay snapped a wrist-shot off the base of both posts and past Patton at 3:09 to put the Vees up pair.

The Warriors just wouldn’t go away, as just thirty-two seconds later Brett Mennear brought the Tribe within one. Neil Aird found Mennear between the circles and wired the puck over Barry and underneath the cross-bar at 3:41.

Jonathan Desbiens  popped up on the scoresheet  again late in the frame, as he tied things up at three with just twelve-seconds left on the clock. Desbiens got a step on the Vees defenseman and broke wide down the right-wing, before going upstairs on Barry for his second.

The two teams were deadlocked at three until late in the third when the Warriors benefited from a home team bounce. Kyle Marino had his wrist-shot from the blue-line go off a Vees defenseman’s stick and over Barry at 15:50. The goal was credited to Warriors Liam Blackburn.

Desbiens hat-trick goal came just seventy-seconds later, when he poked the puck past the Vees defender at his own blue-line, sending himself in on a clear cut breakaway. Desbiens eluded the poke-check of Barry and buried the insurance marker at 17:00.

FINAL SCORE: 5-3 Warriors

Shots: 37-28 Vees

Power-Play: Vees 0-3 Warriors 0-1

The Vees conclude their pre-season portion of their schedule a week from tomorrow, Sunday, September 14th, when the tangle with the Merritt Centennials at the SOEC; face-off is 5:30pm. Tickets are just $5 for all ages and are available at the Valley First box office at the SOEC.

News from © iNFOnews, 2014