Tyson Jost was at it again for the Penticton Vees.
After a three-goal effort to open the Western Canada Cup (WCC) against Spruce Grove on Saturday, the 17-year-old rookie sensation pocketed two goals, including the winner, in a 6-0 victory over the host Fort McMurray Oil Barons Sunday evening. The Vees improve to 2-0 in the tournament.
Patrick Newell set up Jost for the goal that beat Oil Barons goalie Brett Lewchuk 1:51 into the opening frame. Lewchuk was kept busy by the Vees as he faced 18 shots in the first period. Dante Fabbro and Jost, for the second time, would beat him twice in a span of 32 seconds at the five-minute mark.
In the second period, the Vees fired 13 shots a Lewchuk, who was able to stop all but one fired by Mitch Newsome, with assists going to Patrick Sexton and Lewis Zerter-Gossage.
In the final frame, Connor Chartier scored the first of his two goals on the night, on the power-play, which went one-for-four for the Vees. The goal, set up by Mike Lee and Fabbro, came at 15:22. Just over three minutes later, Chartier picked up his second goal on an easy tap-in started by Dakota Conroy, who spun and dished the puck off to Steen Cooper, who found Chartier at the side of the net alone.
“Anyone could have put that one in,” said Chartier. “I would have gotten an earful for sure.”
Lewchuk finished with 40 saves in a losing effort, while Hunter Miska earned his first shutout of the tournament, picking up 23 saves.
“In the second period he bailed us out a couple of big times,” said Chartier of Miska, who made some big stops on the eight shots he faced. “In the second period there were a few that stood out for sure.”
Chartier said the Oil Barons are a very good team.
“They came out just as hard as any other team,” he said. “They put in a good effort. The score wasn’t really where the game was going. I thought they could have had a couple there, but Miska bailed us out.”
Also picking up points for the Vees were Matthew Serratore, Demico Hannoun and Miles Gendron, all with an assist. Lee finished with two assists.
After two games, Jost leads the WCC in scoring with five goals and six points. Vees defenceman Gabe Bast is second with a goal and five points, while Chartier and Cooper each have four. The Vees are next in action on Tuesday, April 28 at 1:30 p.m. PST when they face the Portage Terriers, who are 1-1.
Vees notes: Rookie defenceman Dante Fabbro is a finalist for the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL) rookie of the year award. The CJHL The 2015 rookie of the year award will be presented to the most outstanding rookie based on regular season individual performance. A rookie is defined as a player with fewer than 20 games in any junior A or major junior league in previous seasons, and must be 18 or younger as of Dec. 31 of the current season. The press release said Fabbro had an amazing year with the Vees and in 44 games played, recorded four goals, 29 assists, and 33 points during the regular season. The 16-year-old was selected to play for Team Canada Red at the World U17 Hockey Challenge in November and was selected to Team Canada West for the 2014 World Junior A Challenge in December. For the full list of finalists, check www.cjhl.com.
