Image Credit: Cherie Morgan Photography
November 08, 2015 - 9:09 AM
PENTICTON - The Penticton Vees were pushed but they pushed back. Demico Hannoun scored 41-seconds into double-overtime, as the Vees came back to beat the Nanaimo Clippers 3-2 Saturday night, Nov. 7, at the South Okanagan Events Centre.
Hannoun’s OT heroics kept the Vees win streak alive, now at 19 games and counting, and kept their perfect record at home intact. Nanaimo was saddled with their third straight loss, with a Sunday matinee ahead in West Kelowna.
Tyson Jost scored both Vees’ goal in regulation, including the game-tying goal with just over two-minutes left in the third period. Anthony Brodeur was stellar, stopping 35 of 37 shots, pushing his record to a perfect 12-0.
Nanaimo Captain Devin Brosseau scored both of their goals in regulation and Sheldon Rempal chipped in with two assists.
It was a penalty-filled affair, as the referees dished out a combined 13 power-plays, eight to Nanaimo; the Vees nearly played the 14-minutes of the first 40 short-handed.
It was scoreless after the first, largely in part to the play of Brodeur and the Vees penalty-kill, as Nanaimo outshot Penticton 13-5; the Vees had to kill-off a four-minute penalty too. It would be the Vees other side of their special teams, the power-play, that broke the ice in the second.
After Nanaimo found themselves down two skaters, Jost made short work of the five-on-three, taking all of 12-seconds to strike. Jost took a cross-ice pass and wired the puck into the gaping net from the right-circle at 4:41 for his 16th. That held up until late in the period.
It was a steady parade to the penalty-box in the second and the Clippers knotted things up at the tail-end of a power-play. Just as the penalized Vees players were stepping onto the ice, Brosseau curled around the net and forced his wrap-around attempt past an outstretched Brodeur at 16:28; their Captain leveling the game at one.
Brosseau was at it again late in the third as he put his team ahead for the first time, after he was the beneficiary of a great setup by Sheldon Rempal. After a prolonged shift in the Vees end, Rempal spun a pass across the crease to Brosseau for the backdoor tap-in at 13:26; his second of the night putting the Clips up by one.
The Vees were down late in the game but their Captain had some magic left in the bag. With just over two-minutes remaining, Jost started out from his own end, darted through the neutral zone, and then blew a wrist-shot by the glove of Evan Johnson for the dramatic equalizer; Jost’s 17th coming at 17:49.
The first extra frame solved nothing and it came down to three-on-three overtime. Inside the first minute, Nicholas Jones caught Nanaimo on a bad change, firing a pass ahead to Hannoun in the neutral zone. Hannoun turned on the jets and raced in on the breakaway, beating the goalie on the blocker side, forty-nine seconds in; Hannoun’s seventh.
Final Score: 3-2 (OT) Vees
Shots: 37-31 Nanaimo
Power-Plays: Vees 1-5 Nanaimo 0-8
Three Stars: 1) Anthony Brodeur 2) Tyson Jost 3) Sheldon Rempal
Scott Conway extended his point streak to 19-games with his assist on Jost’s third period goal. Jost now leads the Vees in goals (17) and points (41) with his pair Saturday; he’s also the BCHL points leader. The Vees are now 9-0-0 at the SOEC and 10-0-0 as the home team. The Vees are now 3-0-0 in OT with one win at the Showcase in Chilliwack.
Penticton (19-1-0-0) goes back on the road Tuesday, when they head back to the Trail to face the Smoke Eaters (8-11-0-0); face-off is 7:30 p.m. from Cominco Arena. Fans can listen to the game on EZ Rock AM 800, or they can watch online at www.fasthockey.com.
News from © iNFOnews, 2015