Penticton’s peewee rec Vees team 3 just missed out on the medal round of their home 12-team tournament.
“The team did well,” said coach Stephan Wiedner. “We wound up winning our last game (6-2 over Winfield) to finish fifth.”
Wiedner, whose team won three of its four games, said the players performed really well. With an emphasis placed on passing, the Vees executed that well.
“We kind of kept it nice and light at the beginning in the dressing room. Lets just go out there and have fun,” Wiedner recalled. “Then the guys played with a great amount of intensity. I was proud of them to show up and try and work really hard.
Jordan Marusiak led the offence with three goals, while Carter ONeil, Jonty Linton and Dawson Thomas also scored.
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The Vees team 1 won two of its four games and placed seventh.
“We went out on a high note,” said coach Colin Powell, whose team earned a 7-6 win over West Kelowna team 3. “It was a nail biter.”
The Vees led 6-5 with less than two minutes remaining and West Kelowna pulled the goalie and they Vees scored an empty netter. West Kelowna was able to counter with 30 seconds left to make it 7-6. Scoring for the Vees were Elijah Konyenberg with three, Owen Madsen with two, Jackson Powell and Kaidyn Bell-Furgala with one each.
“It was fun. They played really well, especially against the Kelowna team,” said Powell, recalling that they had lost 9-0 to them earlier in the season, but lost 5-2 this time and called it “almost a moral victory.”
The Vees team two were winless in four games and placed ninth. They lost their final game 4-3 to Coquitlam. Louis Robert led their attack with two goals, while Travis Britton scored once.
“We played some good games,” said coach Jeff Janzen, who said the season has been a struggle for his team. “We had three close games with one being a blowout.”
Against Coquitlam, Janzen said his team played really well. They trailed 3-0 and managed to tie it, but after giving up the fourth goal, struggled to get the equalizer against a strong goalie.
The next tournament the Penticton Minor Hockey Association is hosting is on Feb. 3 to 5 for the initiation level.