It took ten rounds in the shootout, but the Penticton Vees notched up their sixth straight victory Sunday night, with a 2-1 win over the Merrit Centennials.
Cassidy Bowes tied the game with 41 seconds to play to go in regular time. After a scoreless overtime, the Vees (30-12-1-2) ended up in another shootout — this ended up being their third shootout win in a row — with Jack Barnes scoring the winner in the tenth round.
The first six shooters were all stopped before Merritt captain Nick Wicks was able to beat LaFontaine through the five-hole.
Lukas Sillinger was given the assignment to tie the game and he did just that; after nearly losing control of the puck just inside the blue line, Sillinger kicked the puck back to himself before firing a shot into the corner over Roden’s glove to extend the game.
The next 10 shooters were stopped, including Miller, David Silye, Brendan Harrogate, Eric Linell and Cole Shepard for the Vees, before the game finally ended. After LaFontaine stopped Payton Matsui, Jack Barnes hopped over the boards as the 10th shooter for the Vees.
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Barnes skated down the middle before firing a wrist shot under the glove of Roden to end it, giving the Vees their sixth straight victory. The loss was Merritt’s (26-13-3-2) sixth consecutive game that had gone to overtime.
A scoreless first period had the Centennials leading 16-9 in shots and both teams hitting the post once. The Vees came back in the second, registering the first eight shots on net, but the Centennials got on the board first.
A partial two-on-one rush saw Nick Wicks slide the puck to the left for Bradley Cocca, and the Centennials leading scorer beat Jack LaFontaine through the five-hole 5:13 into the period.
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The Vees had two power-play opportunities, one which carried over into the third, but couldn’t even the score through 40 minutes.
Late in the third, the Vees were handed their fourth power play of the game, but couldn’t connect again. Entering the final minute of play, LaFontaine was on the bench when the Vees finally tied the game.
After the Centennials began skating out of their zone, James Miller made a desperate pinch and poked the puck loose towards the high slot. Cassidy Bowes found it before spinning and firing it towards the goal, beating Austin Roden over the glove with just 41 seconds to play.
The Vees were once again handed a golden opportunity to win with a power play in overtime, but couldn’t solve Roden before having to kill a penalty of their own to bring the game to a shootout.
With the win, Penticton extends their lead atop the Interior Division to six points over Merritt, and seven over the Wenatchee Wild. The Vees now get set for a three-game road trip to the Island Division and will have reinforcements in the lineup.
Ryan Sandelin will return from an injury sustained before the Christmas break while Jonathan Smart will make his Vees debut on the blue line. Andre Ghantous also hopes to be ready for the road trip.
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