GAME RECAP: Vees Come Close To Equalizer, Fall In Prince George
PRINCE GEORGE, B.C. – The Penticton Vees almost made their way back from a three-goal, 2nd period deficit but could not find an equalizing goal and eventually fell to the Prince George Spruce Kings by a 6-2 score on Wednesday night at the Rolling Mix Concrete Arena.
The Vees and Spruce Kings were fit to be tied after the opening period but it wasn’t for a lack of chances as both sides had good looks to try and opening the scoring. The first came from the visitors as Thomas Pichette freed a puck from the right corner and was able to center to the middle of the ice where Brett Moravec took the pass on his backhand and swung around to his forehand before having his shot stopped by Spruce Kings netminder Aaron Trotter.
Penticton had a good opening period on the road and were rewarded with three power plays and came close to finding the back of the net with a give-and-go play between the Nadeau’s. Josh Nadeau played a pass to the right wing for his brother Bradly who got inside the Prince George zone and gave it right back to Josh going to the net who had his deflection stopped by Trotter to keep the game 0-0.
Making his first start since November 13th, Vees netminder Colin Purcell stood tall on all 8 shots he faced in the opening period of play, including a terrific stop on John Herrington in the slot while shorthanded as he used his glove side shoulder to get a piece of his wrist shot to keep the game knotted up heading into the 2nd period of play.
The Spruce Kings were first to hit the scoresheet in the 2nd period and crack the game open and it came courtesy of Simon Labelle, who scored at the 6:28 mark to draw first blood. Labelle got a loose puck in the right face-off circle and placed a shot over the glove side shoulder of Purcell at the 6:28 mark of the 2nd period to give Prince George a 1-0 lead.
The Spruce Kings took advantage through the midway point of the period, scoring two goals in an 18-second span to jump ahead of the game by a 3-0 margin, beginning with Nick Rheaume scoring to give the Spruce Kings a 2-0 advantage. Labelle took the puck down the right wing and made a pass to the middle of the ice as Rheaume chipped it past the blocker side of Purcell at the 10:24 mark of the period.
Following that at the 10:42 mark of the 2nd frame, 18 seconds later, Nathan Fox gave the Spruce Kings a three-goal lead off of a turnover inside of the Vees defensive zone. Fox took the puck away from a Vees defender and shoveled it off of the right leg of Purcell from the right goal line to give Prince George a 3-0 edge. Carter Serhyenko came on in relief of Purcell, who surrendered three goals on 13 shots in the game.
The Vees clawed their way back into the game as the period wore on and got within a pair of goals with 59 seconds to go in the frame as Josh Niedermayer gave the Vees life. The defender got the puck in the slot after a Josh Nadeau shot was blocked and forced it through traffic and past the blocker side of Trotter for his 3rd goal of the season and sent the Vees into the dressing room trailing by a pair of goals.
Penticton came out with life again in the 3rd period and got the game to within a goal at the 3:27 mark of the final frame off a strong forechecking play. Beanie Richter created a turnover in the left wing corner and allowed Adam Eisele to free the puck and center a pass for Josh Nadeau, who beat Trotter over the glove side for his 22nd goal of the season and got the Vees to within a marker.
Despite the push back from Penticton, the Spruce Kings were able to push their lead back to a pair of goals just ahead of the 10-minute mark with Rheaume tallying his second of the night. A blue line shot from Josh Wright was knocked down at the front of the net with Rheaume able to circle and slide the puck past the blocker side of Serhyenko to make it a 4-2 game.
Kolton Cousins pushed Prince George ahead by three goals again with a wraparound tally at the 13:58 mark of the final period and gave the Spruce Kings a 5-2 lead. Cousins collected the puck at the blocker side and came behind the net to wrap it around on the glove side of Serhyenko for a three-goal lead.
A shorthanded goal from Rowan Miller concluded the scoring in the 3rd period after a turnover at the blue line at the 16:25 mark as Prince George made it 6-2 on a 2-on-0 from Rheaume to Miller.
Colin Purcell started the game for the Vees, making 10 saves on 13 shots in his 3rd loss of the season while Carter Serhyenko turned aside 12 of the 15 shots thrown his way. Aaron Trotter made 23 saves on 25 shots for his 11th win of the season.
FINAL SCORE: 6-2 Spruce Kings
SHOTS ON GOAL: 28-25 Spruce Kings
VEES PP: 0/4
VEES PK: 2/2
3 STARS:
1) Nick Rheaume (2-1-3)
2) Simon Labelle (1-1-2)
3) Josh Nadeau (1-1-2)
Fortis Energy Player of the Game: Nathan Fox (1-0-1)
Attendance: 617
The Vees (21-6-0-2) will return home for a Friday night showdown at the South Okanagan Events Centre against the Merritt Centennials (2-25-1-0) as the Vees honour their season tickets members with a Season Ticket Members Appreciation Night. Puck drop is slated for 7:00 PM from the SOEC with tickets available for purchase at the Valley First Box Office at the SOEC as well as online at valleyfirsttix.com. The game will also be broadcasted live on Bounce Radio 800 as well as streamed on BCHLTV.ca beginning with the pre-game show at 6:40 PM.