Cassidy Bowes of the Penticton Vees tries to get his stick on this scoring chance in front of Chilliwack Chiefs netminder Mathieu Caron Saturday at the South Okanagan Events Centre. The Vees toppled the Chiefs 5-2.Mark Brett/Western News

Cassidy Bowes of the Penticton Vees tries to get his stick on this scoring chance in front of Chilliwack Chiefs netminder Mathieu Caron Saturday at the South Okanagan Events Centre. The Vees toppled the Chiefs 5-2.Mark Brett/Western News

Penticton Vees have ‘statement’ game against the Chiefs

Penticton Vees will face the Coquitlam Express on Oct. 24 on home ice

Big statement is an understatement.

The Penticton Vees skated to a 5-2 win Saturday over the top team in the BCHL, the Chilliwack Chiefs, who are also ranked No. 15 in the Canadian Junior Hockey League. And they did it with just 10 forwards and five defensemen dressed for the game.

Related: Vees notch up another win

“We talked about this is our home turf here and we are playing the No. 1 team in the entire league and we wanted to make a statement. I think we did,” said Vees coach Fred Harbinson.

They’ll hope to continue that momentum in a rematch against the West Kelowna Warriors on Saturday, Oct. 27, a team they dropped a 3-2 decision to last Friday. The Vees dominated the shot clock in the loss by a 52-29 margin.

Related: Vees outshoot West Kelowna Warriors but don’t earn the win

Vees forward Eric Linell had a strong showing the past four games with three goals and three assists, including both goals for the Vees against the Warriors. He had a pair of assists against the Chiefs as well.

“He is hard not to love because he plays so hard with and without the puck and good things happen to him. He creates so much on both sides of it with his speed,” said Harbinson.

First the Vees (8-5-0-1) will face the Coquitlam Express (11-5-1-0) on Wednesday, Oct. 24 at the South Okanagan Events Centre.

What’s in a name?

There is still time to vote to help the Penticton Vees name their new mascot.

The Vees unveiled their mascot at the first home game of the season and turned the job of naming him over to the fans. The names have been narrowed down to Scout, HarVee, Victor or Blue and voting takes place online at .

Related: Vees unveil latest addition to their lineup

The name will be revealed at the Oct. 27 home game versus the West Kelowna Warriors.

To report a typo, email: editor@pentictonwesternnews.com.

Kristi Patton | Editor

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