Game Recap: Ingemann, Vees shut out Silverbacks to force Game Seven
[Photo: Chris Fowler]
Assistant Coach Matthew Vanden Berg
Simon Meier
SALMON ARM, B.C. – The Penticton Vees are still alive. The Vees staved off elimination on Saturday night, shutting out the Salmon Arm Silverbacks 3-0 in Game Six at the Shaw Centre.
Penticton’s win sets up a winner-take-all Game Seven in Interior Conference Final, on Tuesday May 14th, at the South Okanagan Events Centre.
“They rallied together. Tonight’s win shows how much this group cares about each other. It wasn’t easy, it required a lot of sacrifice, but it shows how far we have come since the start of the season. Our players have battled so hard throughout the playoffs and now we get to do it again Tuesday,” said Assistant Coach Matthew Vanden Berg.
Simon Meier opened the scoring in the second period, as his fifth of the playoffs stood up as the game-winner. Meier’s goal was his first in seven games and his first point of the series. After the game, Meier touched on how the game brought the best out of his team.
Simon Meier absolutely RIPS home his first of the series to open the scoring in Salmon Arm!
@Fraser_Vees #BCHLPlayoffs | @PentictonVees pic.twitter.com/HA4yO8UkJS
— BCHL (@BCHockeyLeague) May 12, 2024
“It felt good. A lot of weight off my shoulders after that went in. Tonight showed that we are a family. We all stepped up our game. There was no doubt that we could force a game seven,” said Meier.
Meier scored two minutes into the middle frame on a setup by Cade Littler. Zack Stringer started the rush by making a great play to avoid a hit at the blue line, before he dished the puck off to Littler. Littler then threw a backhand feed across to Meier who hammered the one-timer past Eli Pulver’s glove.
Conyr Hellyer gave the Vees some breathing room late in the third, as he scored with just over four minutes to go to make it 2-0. Hellyer redirected Brock Reinhart’s point past Pulver on the stick side at 15:54. His first goal of the series doubled the Vees lead.
Callum Arnott scored into an empty net with less than two minutes left to seal the win guarantee Tuesday’s Game Seven back at the SOEC.
Will Ingemann was excellent in the Vees net. The recently turned 19-year-old stopped all 28 shots for his third shutout of the playoffs. Ingemann was named the first star. His best save came in the third period with the Vees protecting a 1-0 lead. Ingemann lunged across to his left to get his pad on Silverbacks’ captain Nathan Mackie’s rebound attempt.
The Vees have now won two of three games at the Shaw Centre in this series. Penticton improved their road record in the BCHL Playoffs to 5-2. Penticton improved their record to 6-1 when they score first in the postseason.
GAME STATS
Shots: 36-28 Vees
Vees Scoring: S. Meier (5), C. Hellyer (3), C. Arnott (7)
Vees Goaltending: Will Ingemann 60:00 28/28 (W)
Power-Plays:
Vees: 0/3
Silverbacks: 0/1
Three Stars:
1) Will Ingemann
2) Callum Arnott
3) Eli Pulver (SA)
Next Game: Game 7, Tuesday, May 14th, at 7:00 pm, SOEC. Tickets available online at www.valleyfirsttix.com. SOEC box office opens at 10:00 am on Monday, May 13th.