Dennis Zoeller pumped the Kamloops Blazers for four goals, while Carson Erhardt chipped in three as the Penticton Peerless midget Vees earned a convincing 10-1 win at home Sunday. The Vees came out on fire with a 4-0 lead then Kamloops scored before the period ended. The Vees continued to work hard to skate away with an impressive win. Also scoring for the Vees were Sammy Gabriel with two and Michael MacLean. Bobby Milligan picked up the win in net. Despite only having four defenceman, the Vees were strong in their own end with Aiden Hutcheson, Billy Beecroft, Daylan Devlin and Rylan Douglas.
On Saturday, the Vees travelled to Sicamous to play Salmon Arm. The Vees came out strong and jumped out to a 3-0 lead after the first period. Salmon Arm closed the gap to 3-2 in the third, but MacLean scored his second goal to give the Vees a 4-2 win. Manny Bahniwal and Louis Shortreed also scored for the Vees while Alyck Coombes picked up the win in net.
The Vees can finish no worse than second in Okanagan Mainline Amateur Hockey Association midget Tier 2 league.
The Vees play their final two league games this coming weekend in Trail, before starting playoffs the next weekend.
V8’s clinch Memorial tournament
The Penticton bantam Lions Club V8’s motored their way to there second consecutive tournament championship, clinching the Myles Wohlford Memorial Bantam hockey tournament in Vernon last weekend.
The tournament was designated to honour bantam hockey player Miles Wohlford, who was tragically killed last summer. After a touching pre-game memorial ceremony with Miles’s family and most of the teams, the finals got underway with a charged Vernon squad ready to take on their Penticton rivals. An emotionally tough game for the teams as they both gave everything, which Wohlford was known for.
With a bench that looked like an infirmary due to three players injured, the V8’s pressed on through penalty troubles and still managed to hang on for a hard fought 5-1 victory.
The V8’s beat two different Vernon teams and the top Kamloops team to go undefeated in round robin action. In the semi’s, the V8’s fended off Chilliwack with a 5-2 win to advance.
The V8’s team is as follows left to right back row- Kelly Spence, coach. Brad Heintz peaking out) coach. Ken Simpson, far right, coach. Middle, Jacob Barth, Riley Hilton, Cohyn Cutler, Ryan Barth, Mason Heintz, Jake Stocker, Tom Waterman, Carson Leitch, Andrew Carlow, Tyler Danis and Conney Hussey. Middle Front, Drew Sherwood, Thor Morhart and Jordan Nemis. Front, Billy Milligan and Ryder Semeniuk.
Sherwood Trophies Vees finish second
Ethan O’Rourke scored twice as the Penticton peewee Sherwood Trophies Vees lost to Boise 4-2 in the championship match of the Greater Trail Minor Hockey Association tournament on the weekend. It was a rematch of their first game.
The Vees advanced to the championship after defeating Trail 4-3 in the shoot-out. The Vees went up early 3-1 on goals by Levi Carter with two and Ben LeFranc, then Trail fought back to tie. In the shoot-out, LeFranc, Linden Sproule and Sam Togyi scored. Goalie Andrew Howells only allowed one goal. Before the game, the team met Penticton Vees coach Fred Harbinson who spoke to the group Saturday evening when they were set to face the Smoke Eaters in BCHL action.
The Vees ended up first in Pool B after round robin play as they opened with a 4-2 win against Boise.
Vees scorers were Ryan Polvere, Brennan Nelson and Sproule.
In their second game, the Vees crushed the Castlegar Rebels 10-2. Carter and LeFranc each sniped hat tricks, with Nelson, Stephen Searcy, Togyi and Nicolas Eacott also contributing. The Vees’ third game was an 11-1 pounding on the Kimberley Dynamiters. Marty Aantjes, Carter, Searcy and LeFranc each scored twice. The other goal scorers were Sproule, Nelson and O’Rourke.
