Penticton’s peewee Tier 3 Pacific Rim Vees had a lull for 20 minutes that cost them in a 9-1 loss to the South Okanagan on Sunday at Memorial Arena.
“Our kids played with a lot of effort, a lot of passion,” said Vees coach Jamie Anderson, who pulled his goalie and put him back in to help him regain confidence. “The kids came out strong in the last half. I’m proud of the kids for how they played. Even despite the score, one goal in 30 minutes, I was pretty happy.”
Anderson and his coaching staff gave the players a pep talk during the ice cleaning break midway through the second period.
“We want you to come out how you played that first 10 minutes,” was the message Anderson delivered.
Anderson added if they would have played like that for 60 minutes, he’s confident the game would not have ended in a blowout. The lone scorer for the Vees was Jacob Schulting.
On Saturday afternoon, the Vees hosted Merritt and lost 6-4. Anderson said his team played fantastic, but penaly trouble hurt them. A two-man advantage allowed Merritt to tie it up then take a 5-4 lead. Merritt scored an empty net goal to secure the win.
Scoring for the Vees were Owen Haight with two goals, Schulting and Finn Halladay.
In other minor hockey action, the peewee 3A Sherwood Trophies Vees won three of four games in Salmon Arm. The Vees opened with a 4-3 win over Quesnel. Kai Espenhain, Levi Carter, Ethan O’Rourke and Brennan Nelson found the back of the net. In their second game against the Burnaby Winter Club, the Vees lost 6-3 in a hard-fought battle. Espenhain scored twice, while Nelson scored the other goal. Their third game was against Peninsula picking up a 5-3 win on goals by Ben LeFranc, Levi Carter and Owen Labadie with a hat trick. In their final game, the Vees defeated St. Albert 4-2. LeFranc, Espenhain with two and Nelson scored.
Earning player of the game honors were: Nelson, LeFranc, Dylan Milton, Andrew Howell, Linden Sproule, Nic Eacott, Labadie, Espenhain and Tyler Henderson.
