The Penticton Murray bantam Tier 3 Vees are headed to hockey provincials after knocking off Kamloops in a best-of-three series.
The Vees put their offensive prowess in the spotlight in Game 1 of the series, defeating Kamloops 7-3 on March 2. Adrian Orioli had a four point night with two goals and two assists. Teammate Jacob Schulting also had two goals and added an assist, Michael Pugachev chipped in a goal and an assist, Gage Leclair and Kieran Road scored the other two goals.
In Game 2, Kamloops got on the board first leading 1-0 as they headed into the second period. The Vees fought back in the middle frame with Pugachev and Orioli scoring goals. However, Kamloops also got one by the Vees knotting the game 2-2. The third period belonged to Kamloops, who netted two goals, with the Vees Leclair scoring one giving Kamloops the 4-3 win.
The Vees doubled up Kamloops 4-2 in Game 3 to clinch the series. Orioli scored two goals in the win and Schulting chipped in two goals and an assist.
The Vees had an outstanding season record of 42-3-1, in which they also won three tournaments and had a streak of 35 wins in a row. The squad also went undefeated in league play to win the banner. They will play for the provincial title on March 18-21 in Nelson.