The Penticton Vees spoiled the West Kelowna Warriors final regular season home game with a 5-1 win Tuesday.
The Vees’ special teams hand its finger prints all over this game, scoring three power-play goals and a short-handed marker, as they swept the seven-game season series over their South Okanagan rivals. Grant Cruikshank and Ty Amonte each had a goal and an assist and Jamie Armstrong, Chris Klack and Nicholas Jones all scored power-play goals; Gabe Bast chipped in with two assists on the power-play.
Mat Robson, fresh off an honourable mention for the BCHL Player of the Week award, stopped 32 of 33 shots for his league-best 34th win.
Quin Foreman scored in the first period for the Warriors, who missed an opportunity to grab sole possession of third place in the Interior over the Trail Smoke Eaters; both teams are still tied with 56 points.
Penticton righted the ship in the second and got back on even terms with an early power-play goal. Just 14-seconds into the man-advantage, Armstrong strong armed a rebound just over the goal line from inside the crease at 2:04 for his third. That goal seemed to trigger the Vees, as they went on to score three more goals in a four-goal second period.
READ MORE: BCHL: Vees shutout Warriors in fiesty affair
The power-play tied but it was the penalty-kill that gave them the lead, as Cruikshank scored his team-leading 31st, six and half minutes in. Short-handed, Cruikshank skated down the right-wing, cut the middle and snuck a shot underneath Gabriel Morency’s arm at 6:31. That goal was the Vees’ eighth short-handed goal this season and remarkably their sixth against West Kelowna.
Klack put the finishing touches on the win with another power-play goal midway through the third. Klack made a great move to cut into the slot from the left-wing and waited long enough for the goalie to bite, before burying his 13th on the far-side at 11:53.
Three Stars: 1) Grant Cruikshank 2) Ty Amonte 3) Gabe Bast
Vees Notes: Tuesday was the Vees fourth win in West Kelowna this year and their 10th in their last 11 trips to Royal LePage Place. It was also the Vees’ 40th win, which makes it three straight seasons of 40 or more wins for the franchise, and six in the last 10 seasons. Jones scored his 10th goal against West Kelowna on Tuesday and finishes the season series with 10 goals and four assists in just seven games.