The Penticton Vees were back to looking like their early season selves as they won back-to-back B.C. Hockey League games against the Merritt Centennials this weekend.
Friday night saw the Vees travel to Merritt for their last trip to the Nicola Valley this season and roll out of town with a 4-1 win.
Conner Hutchison opened the scoring with a powerplay goal 15:52 into the game, off a pass from Evan McIntyre.
After the Centennials tied the game early in the second, Penticton scored three unanswered goals from Tyler Ho, Colton Kalezic and Danny Weight.
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The Vees ended the game with a commanding 52 shots on net, while Penticton goalie Yaniv Perets blocked 25 of 26 that came his way.
Perets was back in goal for Saturday’s Pink the Rink anti-bullying night game at the South Okanagan Events Centre, where he blocked another 20 shots for his fourth shutout of the season in a 5-0 Vees win.
The Centennials tried to switch things up in goal, but Tanner Marshall faced nearly as many shots as Ryan Winter the night before, letting in five of 45 shots by the Vees.
The Vees roared out of the gate, with Kalezic opening up a lead just 1:22 into the game. The goal brought him into the double digits with his 10th goal for the season.
During the first intermission, the Vees held the cheering competition for all of the schools in attendance, looking for the loudest and proudest to give some money to. Out of the 13 schools, the $1,050 eventually went to Trout Creek Elementary.
The Vees didn’t lift their foot off the gas for the rest of the game, skating with speed and keeping control of the puck as they widened their lead. David Silye and Lukas Sillinger picked up their 11th goals of the season, while Jack Barnes earned his second and Jackson Neidermeyer scored his sixth.
With the pair of wins, the Vees head south of the border to take on the Wenatchee Wild. The puck drops at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, with the Vees back on Friday Dec. 6 for their Teddy Bear Toss game against the West Kelowna Warriors.
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