Jedd Soleway’s 16th and 17th goals of the season helped secure a 2-1 Penticton Vees win against the Salmon Arm SilverBacks Friday night.
Vees goalie Chad Katunar made 27 saves in front of the South Okanagan Events Centre crowd and the Vees penalty-kill went 4-for-4. Soleway opened the scoring midway through the first when he knocked down a Troy Stecher point-shot and fired a backhand over the glove of Silverbacks starter Angus Redmond at 10:34.
Soleway made noise again in the early moments of the middle frame as he cashed in on a Silverbacks turnover. Soleway took a pass from Louie Nanne just outside the SilverBacks line, skated in on the left-wing and put a hard wrist-shot past the outstretched blocker of Redmond at 1:34. Nanne picked off a Silverbacks pass in the neutral zone creating the scoring chance.
Things were going well for the Vees, holding a 2-0 lead midway through the game, then things took a turn in the latter half of the second. Penalty trouble struck just past the 12 minute mark, as Sam Mellor, Troy Stecher and Wade Murphy all spent time in the box. The Vees did manage to kill overlapping five-on-three power-plays, but the Silverbacks didn’t let the opportunity go to waste. During the final5-on-4, former Vee Mitch Ferguson beat Katunar with a point-shot over the glove at 15:32, just 15 seconds before the power-play was set to expire.
Both teams held one another in check for the most part in the third period. The Silverbacks did apply some late pressure with the goalie pulled. In the dying moments of the third, Alex Gillies missed a redirect in tight and Brayden Sherbinin’s point-shot stopped by the pad of Katunar as time expired.
In stringing back-to-back wins together, the Vees have won nine of their last 10. The win also snaps a two-game slide against the Silverbacks, as the Vees finish the season series with five wins in seven games. The win also keeps the Vees six points ahead of the Merritt Centennials for top spot in the Interior Division, and they’re just one point back of Victoria for first overall in the BCHL.
