The Pacific Rim peewee Tier 3 Vees didn’t win their home tournament. They didn’t even finish in the top three.
A rematch with the Seattle NW Admirals resulted in a 7-5 loss for sixth, yet Vees coach Jamie Anderson wasn’t disappointed in his group.
“The boys worked hard,” said Anderson, adding that they surrendered an unfortunate goal and lost a player to injury. “It was emotional when we got down. I told them to keep their chin up and work hard. I think they did that. We just came up short.”
It was the second time in the 10-team tournament the Vees lost to Seattle 7-5, the team they opened the tournament against.
Penticton’s Pacific Rim peewee Tier 3 Vees finished sixth in their 10-team tournament last weekend.
In that final game, Anderson received offence from Jacob Schulting, who scored twice with Noah Ouellette, Owen Haight and Rickson Kruger rounding out the scoring.
Anderson said his team played well overall. After the opening loss, Penticton defeated Abbotsford 7-5 and Revelstoke 6-3 before meeting Seattle again.
“Saturday we played strong teams,” said Anderson. “The boys played well.”
In the win over Abbotsford, Jager Peever picked up the win in goal as he received offensive support from Haight, Chris Sculting, Ethan Giroux, Finn Halladay and Kruger with a pair. Against Revelstoke, Peever played goal again and watched Haight score twice, Kruger, Jordan Moore, Ouellette and Schulting each added one goal. In that final game, Kruger potted a hat trick, while Ouellette and Schulting also scored.
In other Penticton Minor Hockey Association Action, the peewee Tier 2 Sherwood Trophies Vees lost 6-3 to the Fort St. John Flyers in the semifinal of a Kamloops tournament over the weekend.
Owel Labadie, Levi Carter and Ethan O’Rourke scored, while Labadie was named player of the game.
The Vees opened the tournament with a 4-3 win against the West Kelowna Warriors. Stephen Searcy, O’Rourke, Xavier Roepcke and Carter found the back of the net. Ryan Polvere earned player of the game honours.
The Vees’ second match had them pitted against Prince George, doubling them up 8-4. Brennan Nelson, Kai Espenhain and Carter pocketed a pair of goals. O’Rourke and Tyler Henderson rounded out the scoring with O’Rourke named player of the game.
The Vees then battled the Trail Smoke Eaters to a 2-2 deadlock. Sam Togyi and Henderson scored with Esphenhain named player of the game.
The Vees closed out round robin action against Chilliwack with a 4-1 win, which gave them first in their pool. Scoring for the Vees in that final game was Nelson with two, O’Rourke and Ben LeFranc. Goalie Andrew Howells earned player of the game.
The Penticton White Knights earned 3-2 victory against Summerland in novice division action Dec. 7.
Ryan McMillan led the White Knights with a pair of goals, while Brett Pickford scored the other.
The team received outstanding goaltending from Jesse Sanche.