The Penticton Vees upped their work during power plays after last Friday’s game, scoring three times during the man advantage on Jan. 11 against the Powell River Kings.
On Jan. 5 the Vees were unable to make use of multiple power play opportunities against the Salmon Arm Silverbacks, costing them the game in the end with a score of 3-1. It seems they buckled down in practice since then as they came out 5-3 over the Kings at the South Okanagan Events Centre (SOEC) thanks to epic power play work.
Related: Vees bested 3-1 by Silverbacks
Eric Linell first put Penticton on the board at 1:27 in the first when he deflected James Miller’s slap shot from the blue line. The King’s Ethan Martini was called prior to this for boarding just 14 seconds after the puck dropped, allowing the Vees to make to take full advantage of their first power play.
Five minutes later, the Kings responded with a goal thanks to Ryan Brushett centring a feed from the left circle. The puck went off of Miller’s skarte and bounced past Derek Krall in net.
Another power play gave Vees the advantage to take the lead once again when Miller was able to fire a wrist shot from the blue line through traffic. The puck floated past Mitch Adamyk in net and marked Miller’s 18th of the season.
The King’s fired back with a power play goal of their own at the end of the period when Levi Glasman sent a wrist shot through the five hole of Krall.
In the second, Miller sent another wrist shot Adamyk’s way with the puck taking flight and hitting the goalie’s mask. Luke Loheit was able to bat it into the net mid-air, restoring the Vees’ lead.
Adamyk doubled-down and turned away multiple shots, keeping the Kings in the game. Ethan Schmunk would go on to tie it up at 10:35 when he pushed the puck past an outstretched Krall at the goal line.
Related: Vees notch up win on the road
Loheit took the puck end to end, racing through the neutral zone and around a defender and then sliding the puck through the five hole of Adamyk. This left the game 3-3 with 4:49 remaining in the second.
Leave it to Peter Muzyka to fire up the crowd; the defenceman delivered three powerful body checks to remind the Kings the game wasn’t over yet.
The crowd was left with deja vu when Linell scored again off of Miller’s rebound from the line during a powerplay 48 seconds into the third. This would end the game’s scoring and the Vees would go 3-for-8 on the man advantage against the Kings.
Tonight, Jan. 12, the Vees will take on the BCHL’s hottest team, the Nanaimo Clippers, at the SOEC at 6 p.m. The Clippers have won their last 10 straight games.
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Jordyn Thomson | Reporter
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