Penticton Vees forward Matt Goziewski took advantage of a Trail Smoke Eater turnover in their own zone, and wired a shot past goalie Linden Marshall to give the Vees a 2-1 victory on Friday at the Cominco Arena in Trail.
The victory was another close contest in an increasingly testy rivalry between the two teams, evidenced by a Ryan Warner (Trail) and Ryley Risling (Penticton) fight to start the second period.
Duncan Campbell opened the scoring for Penticton chipping a puck over Marshall at 4:27 of the first period, and taking a 1-0 lead into the middle frame despite being outshot 11-8 by the Smoke Eaters.
The Vees came out strong in the second but Marshall held the Smokies in the game, stopping 19 shots to keep the match within reach for Blaine Caton who tapped in an Andre Ghantous rebound to tie it at 8:45 of the third.
Trail had their chances to tie it late, but the six-foot-two Vees goalie Nolan Hilderbrand was huge during a Smokies power play in the final minutes to preserve the lead and victory for Pen.
Trai’s next game goes on Sunday when they host the Wenatchee Wild at 3 p.m. at the Cominco Arena.
