Game Recap: Vees earn first win against Brooks, point streak at 14
Photo: Matt Piotrowski Photography
The Penticton Vees stretched their point streak to 14 games with their 2-1 road win over the Brooks Bandits, Saturday night at Centennial Regional Arena.
Saturday was a showdown of the two top teams in the BCHL and it was the Vees picking up their first win of the season against the Bandits. Penticton stretched their lead to six points on Brooks for top spot in the league.
“Give a lot of credit to our players, they stuck to the game plan and executed it almost to a tee. We played really well in a lot of different areas. We won the special teams battle too and in a game like tonight, that was a the difference. Really impressed how are group competed,” said Assistant Coach Matthew Vanden Berg.
After a scoreless 40 minutes, Nolan Stevenson and Luke Posthumus scored in the third period, as the Vees won their third straight game.
Ethan Buenaventura was excellent in goal for Penticton. The 20-year-old stopped 23 shots and was named the first star. Buenaventura was a big reason why the Vees held the Bandits off the scoresheet for 54 minutes.
The 14-game point streak (12-0-2-0) dates back to November 23rd. The Vees last lost in regulation on November 22nd, against Salmon Arm.
Nolan Stevenson picks up the check, Luke Posthumus leaves the tip for his 19th of the season to make it 2-0! pic.twitter.com/77ihElqvaw
— Penticton Vees (@PentictonVees) January 25, 2025
In the third, Stevenson broke the 0-0 deadlock with his power play goal at 1:56. Stevenson hammered a one-timer from the top of the zone, that beat Bandits’ goaltender Zach Zahara over his blocker. Stevenson’s seventh came just 13 seconds into the power play.
Posthumus put Penticton up 2-0 four and half minutes into the final frame. Once again Stevenson was in on the scoring, as he fired a shot from the blue line that Posthumus tipped as he was cutting across the front of the net. Posthumus’ team-leading 19th goal.
Brooks’ Parker Lalonde cut the Vees’ lead in half with just under four minutes left in the game. Lalonde found room between Buenaventura’s pad and the post from a sharp angle at 16:18. That was the only shot that got by Buenaventura on Friday.
Special teams were a big factor in the win, as the Vees went 1-5 on the power play and 4-4 on the penalty kill.
The Vees best chance to break the ice before the third period belonged to defenceman Callum Stone. In the second, Stone was sprung on a breakaway as he stepped out of the penalty box, but the defenceman was stopped by Zahara.
GAME NOTES
Saturday marked the return of defenceman Matthew Biotti. The 20-year-old defenceman had missed all but three games this season due to injury. Friday was also the debut of defenceman Oscar Pantzare and forward Connor Lee, after they were added to the roster last week. The Vees are now a BCHL-best 14-5-0-0 on the road and Saturday marked their fifth-straight road win.
GAME STATS
Shots: Vees- 26 Bandits-24
Scoring: Nolan Stevenson (7th), Luke Posthumus (19th)
Goaltending: Will Ingemann (W), 61:04, 26/40
Vees Power Play: 1/5
Vees Penalty Kill: 4/4
Three Stars:
1) Ethan Buenaventura (23 SVS)
2) Zach Zahara (24 SVS)
3) Nolan Stevenson (1G, 1A)
Up Next: Saturday, January 25th, at Blackfalds Bulldogs, 6:00 pm MST