Image Credit: Garrett James Photography
September 25, 2015 - 8:43 AM
CHILLIWACK - Tyson Jost is at home at the Bauer BCHL Showcase in Chilliwack. The Vees’ Captain picked up his second hat-trick at the event in as many years, as the Vees downed the Alberni Valley Bulldogs 4-1 Thursday night, Sept. 24.
Jost picked up his first BCHL hat-trick last year at the Showcase also against the Bulldogs. The Vees have now rattled off four-straight wins and sit atop of the Interior Division standings, after Salmon Arm lost earlier this afternoon to Langley.
Gabe Bast was the only Vee outside of Jost to find the back of the net and Scott Conway finished with three assists; assisting on all three Jost goals. Anthony Brodeur remains undefeated in his young Vees career, as he turned aside 27 of 28 shots for his third straight win.
Special teams dominated the game and the Vees penalty-kill was excellent, going a perfect six-for-six, including killing-off a four-minute Bulldogs power-play in the second.
The Vees’ Captain broke a scoreless tie late in the first period, as he made the most of the Vees’ first power-play. Jost broke down the middle, held off two defenders and forced a backhand through Bulldogs’ goaltender Chris Tai at 17:38.
He was at it again in the second, as Jost doubled the Vees lead eight-minutes into the middle stanza. The puck came to the Vees’ centerman in front of the net and he spun away from his check and fluttered the puck over the goalie’s glove on the far-side at 7:58.
Nathan Dingmaan cut into the Vees’ lead less than two-minutes after Jost’s second. Dingmaan parked himself in front of the net and tipped the puck through his own legs and underneath Brodeur at 9:20.
The Vees were then put to the test, as two-minutes later Chris Gerrie picked up a four-minute high-sticking penalty. The PK was up the challenge as they held the Bulldogs man-advantage at bay and that paid dividends in the third.
The dagger came early in that third period, as the Vees’ defense got involved in the offense. Taylor Ward found an open Gabe Bast with a cross-zone pass and the defenseman, with lots of room, walked in and forced a shot past the goalie on the near-side; Bast picking up his first at 3:02.
Jost put the finishing touches on the game inside the final minute, as the Captain found a rebound in front of an empty Alberni Valley net, and popped in his hat-trick goal at 19:46.
FINAL SCORE: 4-1 Vees
Shots: 28-23 Alberni Valley
Power-Plays: Vees 1-2 Alberni Valley 0-6
Three Stars: 1) Tyson Jost 2) Gabe Bast 3) Scott Conway
With the win, the Vees as a franchise are 7-0-0 at the Showcase dating back to the 2012-2013 season. Brodeur is now 3-0-0 after tonight and sports a sparkling .956 save-percentage. Tyson Jost now has two hat-tricks in three career games at the Showcase.
The Vees (4-1-0-0) face the Chilliwack Chiefs (1-2-1-0) in the night cap of Day 2 of the Showcase, tomorrow night at 7:30 pm. The Chiefs didn’t play Thursday and are coming off a 4-4 tie in Salmon Arm last Sunday. Fans can listen to tomorrow’s game on EZ Rock AM 800, or they can watch online at www.fasthockey.com.
News from © iNFOnews, 2015