Image Credit: Cherie Morgan Photography

PENTICTON - There’s a new man at the top of the BCHL scoring table and he’s a Brit. Scott Conway took over in the league scoring race with a three-point effort, as the Penticton Vees halted the surging West Kelowna Warriors 5-2 Friday, Feb. 12, at the South Okanagan Events Centre.

Conway, born in England, scored one of the Vees’ three first period goals and added two more points to leapfrog Nanaimo’s Sheldon Rempal, in the race for the Brett Hull Trophy, as the BCHL’s top scorer. Tyson Jost scored the team’s other two first period goals, and Nic Jones and Chris Gerrie added singles in the last two periods.

Brodeur had an efficient 18-save performance for his 26th win and fourth in as many starts against West Kelowna.

Bryan Basilico and Jonathan Desbiens scored for the Tribe who suffered their first loss since January 22nd, but their sixth in seven games this year against Penticton.

Jost broke the ice just 33-seconds into the first, as he scored on the game’s first shot. The Vees’ Captain plucked the puck off the boards behind the Warriors’ net, before curling out front for the wraparound on the glove-side; his 35th and fifth in his last seven periods. He wasn’t done there, as he doubled the Vees’ lead midway through the frame, when he was allowed to walk into the slot and wire a wrist-shot over Matt Greenfield’s shoulder at 11:01.

Conway capped off the impressive opening 20-minutes shortly thereafter on a Warriors turnover. West Kelowna coughed up the puck just inside their blue-line, and Conway pounced, moving in and firing a dart into the top corner at 12:32.

Basilico stopped the bleeding early in the second at the end of a Warriors power-play. Just as the penalized Vee was stepping out, Basilico wired a shot from the left-circle past Anthony Brodeur’s blocker at 2:41.

Penticton had an answer though, as Jones restored the Vees’ two-goal on a power-play. Conway fired the puck to Jones in at the top of the crease but the puck careened off of Jones’ leg and through Greenfield at 11:15.

West Kelowna made some more noise later in the middle frame, as leading scorer Jonathan Desbiens made it a two-goal game once again. Desbiens snuck behind the Vees’ defenders, took the pass, and broke in alone on Brodeur, beating the Vees puck-stopper over the glove at 13:58.

Penticton got that goal back too, in the third, on a nice play from Chris Gerrie down-low. Off a face-off, Gerrie picked up the puck and walked to the net from the goal-line, patiently waited, and tucked the puck around the sprawled goalie inside the far-post at 7:37.

Final Score: 5-2 Vees

Shots: 34-20 Vees

Power-Plays: Vees 1-6 West Kelowna 0-3

Three Stars: 1) Tyson Jost 2) Scott Conway 3) Demico Hannoun

Attendance: 2,597

Not only did Conway take over the BCHL scoring lead, he also extended his point streak to 17-games in the win. Jost (9) and Jones (7) also extended their respective point streaks in the win. The Vees improved their record to 25-5 against the Interior Division in the victory.

The Vees (45-6-1-0) look to push their win streak to seven games tomorrow, when they host the Trail Smoke Eaters at the SOEC; face-off is 6 pm. It’s the Vees’ annual Anti-Bullying Night as the team will wear special edition pink jerseys in support of anti-bullying awareness. Limited tickets are available at the Valley First box office, or online at www.valleyfirstix.com.

News from © iNFOnews, 2016