Eleven goals were scored Friday night at the South Okanagan Events Centre between the Penticton Vees and Vernon Vipers.
The 11th securing the Vees a big 6-5 double-overtime was even bigger because of how it was created. Vipers defenceman Josh Bryan was called for tripping on Brett Beauvais at 3:31. BCHL rules stipulates that if a penalty is taken during 3-on-3 play, instead of the team being given a power play, they are awarded a penalty shot since the penalized team cannot send a player to the box. Since Beauvais was the player tripped, he was given the chance to win the game.
“Obviously it was pretty fun,” said Beauvais, named the Vees’ player of the month for October. “It was nerve wracking, but the crowd got me going.”
Claiming not to be a huge goal scorer, Beauvais, who now has three goals and 17 points in 16 games, went to his one move: faking a backhand that would go upstairs and beating Vipers goalie Danny Todosychuk five-hole. The goal had the crowd of 2,341 fans screaming as Beauvais then slid to one knee and pumped his fist.
Vees coach-GM Fred Harbinson was happy with how his players “hunkered down in overtime.”
They faced pressure by the Vipers, who had a couple of breakaways and were denied by goalie Olivier Mantha, who finished with 21 saves.
“Both teams played well,” he said.
In firing 45 shots at Todosychuk, Harbinson said his team generated lots of good chances and played hard. As for the importance of the win, Harbinson said “It’s critical.”
Prior to going into overtime, the Vipers slowly picked away at the Vees’ 5-3 lead on goals by Jared Wilson, who tallied seven minutes after the Vees’ Max Coatta scored, and five minutes after Wilson, Riley Guenther tied the game with a shot from the point that beat Mantha.
Coatta opened the scoring for the Vees, then Cody DePourcq made it 2-2 and later gave the Vees a 4-3 lead. The other Vees goal scorer was captain Brad McClure.
After working on their power play during the week, the Vees went 2-for-4, while the Vipers were 0-for-3. The Vees will now travel to Salmon Arm Saturday to face the SilverBacks.
