The Penticton Vees struck first against the Salmon Arm SilverBacks in the Shaw Centre Saturday.
Cody DePourcq put an early damper on Hockey Day In Salmon Arm when he finished off a play set up by Riley Alferd and Jack Ramsey 1:29 into the opening frame. The Vees were looking to bounce back after losing 2-1 to the SilverBacks on Friday night at the South Okanagan Events Centre.
Returning to Penticton with a win didn’t happen as the SilverBacks scored four unanswered goals for a 4-1 win, their fifth consecutive against the Vees.
In the second frame, the home team outshot the Vees 15-11 and put three goals by Hunter Miska in six minutes. Thomas Plese tallied the first of the three at 13:53, which proved to be the winner. Brett Fagerheim scored at 16:06, then Landon Smith tallied his 40th goal in 48 game.
Neither team took advantage of their power play opportunities going 0-for-6. In the first period the Vees were given back-to-back power plays.
Miska was pulled after 40 minutes of action in which me made 21 saves on 25 shots. Olivier Mantha turned aside six shots in the third, while Angus Redmond stopped 10 and 38 in total to earn his 11th win of the season.
With the loss, the Vees are now 29-13-2-4 and have a two-point lead on the West Kelowna Warriors for first in the Interior Division. Salmon Arm improved to 25-17-1-5, for 56 points, three behind the Vernon Vipers for third.
For more Vees coverage, check Wednesday’s issue of the Penticton Western News.
