The Penticton Murray GM bantam tier 2 Vees evened the playoff championship series with the West Kelowna Warriors with a 5-3 win, Feb. 23. Carson Erhardt potted the winner with 2:11 remaining in the third period.
Josh Maser led the Vees with two goals, while Raphael Bassot and Liam McLaren also scored. Simon Snyman and Cairo Rogers each dished two assists, while Matts Bratton made 13 saves for the win.
In Game 1, which the Vees lost 4-2 on Feb. 22 at Memorial Arena, Maser scored both Vees goals. Alyck Coombes allowed three goals on six shots, while Bratton stopped seven of eight in relief. Game 3 is Sunday at Memorial Arena at 3:45 p.m.
Vees coach Rob McLaughlin said West Kelowna is a solid team that’s competing hard against them.
“I can feel, when we play our brand of hockey, we are the better team, hands down,” said McLaughlin.
The Vees coach said it’s a learning process for some of his players to play a full game, but he feels positive heading into the decisive game. Should they beat West Kelowna, they will become Okanagan champs and advance to provincials in Mission.
“In Game 2, we dominated them at half outshooting 17-3,” said McLaughlin, though he added his players came out slow in the first five minutes following the ice cleaning.
As for Maser’s performance, McLaughlin said he stepped up. Most of his second-year players have as they understand what it takes to succeed.
Penticton’s Sherwood Trophy peewee tier 2 Vees are also even in with West Kelowna in the playoff championship after two games. The Vees took the first game 4-1 in Memorial Arena as Nolan Walton, Matthew Rempe, Reid Bateman and Brenden Patton provided the offence. Kaleb McEachern earned the win in net. In Game 2 the Vees lost 5-2 at Royal LePage Place. Carson Shortreed and Benjamin Hoefler scored for the Vees, while McEachern and Caleb Rousseau both played goal. The final and deciding game is March. 2 at 6 p.m. at Memorial Arena.
In atom house action, Penticton 3 cruised past Penticton 1, 10-1, then won the second game 7-3.
The Penticton peewee Raptors brought home the first-place banner after two strong games against West Kelowna 2 in house action. Penticton won 9-4 on Saturday, then 9-0 on Sunday. Raptors goalie Tate Larson continued his incredible play. The Raptors advanced to the District Playdowns in Clearwater March 7-9.
Penticton Voltage downed the Penticton Mighty Minions 7-3 for the Atom South Central division banner in front of an enthusiastic crowd last weekend. Marlo Spence backstopped the Voltage to the division championship with two straight wins.
The Voltage showed great scoring depth as Kai Espenhein netted three, while David Robertson, Connor Stephens, Kaiden Skode and Matthew Keyes hit the scoresheet. The Voltage move on to the District finals in Lumby in two weeks.