Junior hockey: Penticton Vees crush Wenatchee Wild, Kelowna Rockets fall to Winnipeg ICE
Saturday night roundup of Okanagan and area junior hockey results.
WINNIPEG 5, KELOWNA 4
The Kelowna Rockets lost 5-4 to the Canadian Hockey League’s No. 1 ranked team, Winnipeg ICE, in Saturday night’s home game.
Kelowna fought back and tied the game with 30 seconds left, but Winnipeg scored the game-winning goal seven seconds later.
« This is a team you can’t sleep on for a second, » Kelowna Rocket assistant coach Quintin Laing said at the postgame press conference.
“A few games we let our guard down and they capitalized, they are one of the best teams in junior hockey for a reason. You have [got to] stay focused, you [got to] have your offers and you can’t give up for five seconds or they’ll bite you. Tonight we let our guard down a bit and it bit us.
The Rockets played with five defensemen, minus veteran Elias Carmichael, and thirteen forwards.
Kelowna will be out until next weekend when it takes on the Winterhawks in Portland on Friday and Saturday.
PENTICTON 4, WENATCHEE 2
The Penticton Vees are on a winning streak, winning their 11e victory on Saturday. The Vees won 4-2 against the Wenatchee Wild at Toyota Town Center.
Vee goaltender Luca Di Pasquo stopped 30 of 32 shots in Penticton’s net.
The power play clicked on Saturday, as the Vees scored twice from four chances. The penalty kill was two for three.
Penticton led in the second period before Wenathcee scored two goals in the third to end a Jackson Nieuwendyk tally for the Vees.
Vees scored on a Wenatchee power play officially at 19:59 to make it 4-2. The puck was ruled just over the goal line before time expired.
Next, Penticton will host the Cranbrook Bucks on Wednesday.
WEST KELOWNA 4, SURREY 2
The West Kelowna Warriors ended the Surrey Eagles’ unbeaten streak with a 4-2 win on Saturday night.
Surrey stuck first, finishing the opening period with a one-goal advantage. West Kelowna pushed back and came back from a usual spot on the blue line as Warriors’ Matt Fusco scored his fifth goal of the season.
The Warriors found their rhythm in the middle of the game and scored twice in quick succession to take their first lead of the game.
The Warriors fought hard, scoring their final goal with a second to go on the clock.
The Warriors will continue their four-game stand by hosting the Penticton Vees on Friday.
PRINCE GEORGES 8, VERNON 0
The Vernon Vipers fell to the Prince George Spruce Kings with an 8-0 loss on Saturday night.
The Vipers had a ton of jumping in the first ten minutes of the period with a number of chances on the Spruce Kings goal.
After a successful penalty kill, Prince George opened the scoring, giving the Spruce Kings a 2-0 lead after the first period.
The Spruce Kings started strong on the faceoffs midway through the period and took a 3-0 lead after a game win. From there, Prince George’s power play came twice before the end of the period.
The Vipers had a nice push in the third but hit three goal posts.
Prince George added a late powerplay goal to make the final 8-0.
The Vipers will be looking to regroup when they host the Cranbrook Bucks next weekend.
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