Vees take dog bite
After splitting the first two games of their coastal road trip, the Penticton Vees defeated the Nanaimo Clippers 2-1, lost in double overtime 3-2 to the Victoria Grizzlies and were pounded by the Alberni Valley Bulldogs in their final game 7-2 with Garrett Milan and Mark MacMillan out with injuries. Joey Benik and Myles McCauley scored in the loss for the Vees who are now 33-15-2-2 with 70 points. They are two points behind rival Vernon for first place in the Interior Conference. Troy Stecher, who is out with a head injury, never joined the team on the trip. The Vees also dropped three spots from 16 to 19 in the Canadian Junior Hockey League’s top 20 ranking. The Vipers maintained their spot at 13.
Penticton at Games
At the International Children’s Games in Kelowna, Penticton’s bantam tier 1 team coached by Kelly Spence went 1-2-0 in three round robin games. They opened with a 6-1 loss to Kelowna, who went on to earn bronze. Penticton then defeated Darmstadt, Germany 23-0 and lost to Windsor 5-4. Abigail McCluskey, who skates out of a club in Kelowna, placed eighth out of 13 skaters in the 500 metre speed skating event finishing in 58.68 seconds. In the 1,500 m event, she placed sixth out of 13 finishing in 3:05.68. Taking gold and silver in both events were skaters from Seoul, Korea. Ekaterina Sergeeva, representing the Glengarry Figure Skating Club placed 16th overall with a score of 52.69. In the free program Sergeeva was was 16th scoring 32.86 and 19th in the short program scoring 19.83.
Skiers deliver on hill
Apex Ski Club had 48 athletes compete in the Nancy Green E 1 and 2 race at Crystal Mountain Resort in Westbank. Getting the ASC bronze in the team division were Keagan Ingram, Tim de La Mothe, Simon Desfosses, Maria Iannone, and Hannah Herman. The Apex Maple Leafs were on the top of the podium with a team of Heming Sola, Noa Rodgers, Peter de La Mothe, Jake Erickson, Grace Hallworth and Chloe Alex in the Black category.
At the E2 level (9-11 year olds) the Apex team had a great showing. The fastest time of the day, beating the next competitor by over five seconds, was Jesse Howden. Other strong Apex finishers included: Sam Hallworth-first, Sabrina Tennert-fourth, Claire Kincade-fifth, Molly Wells-sixth and Mini Gentes-seventh. Melissa LaPrairie won silver and Grace Grant collected bronze in the 2001 category. In the boys 2001 group, Chase Davies finished second. This weekend the Apex Ski Club is hosting the Gunbarrel Downhill and GS competition. Over 100 high level athletes will reach speeds well over 100kilometres per hour tackling the hill from top to bottom. For full briefs, check www.pentictonwesternnews.com.
It’s on Peters Brothers
Peters Brothers Paving is purchasing tickets to Penticton Vees games in February for children and youth accompanied by an adult. The South Okanagan Events Centre recommends arriving early for games to avoid long lines. Because results were very “gratifying” in October, when the company purchased tickets the first time, Joe Cuzzocrea of Peters Brothers Construction said they are pleased to offer it again. Free tickets for children and youth can only be received at the Box Office during game entry. For more details, please contact the South Okanagan Events Centre Box Office during business hours.
Penticton’s Slopitch League is having its annual general meeting on Feb. 15 at 7 p.m. in the Ramada Inn. League play is scheduled to hit the diamond on Apr.3.
