The Penticton Vees are playing in the Western Canada Cup Final.
The Vees finished the round-robin portion of the tournament with three wins and one loss following a 3-1 victory against the Melfort Mustangs Wednesday evening in the Casman Centre in Fort McMurray.
Patrick Newell netted the winner at 3:43 of the second period and was named player of the game for the Vees. The Vees bounced back after losing to the Portage Terriers 3-2 Tuesday afternoon when they surrendered the first two goals of the game. Like their first two games, the Vees hit the scoresheet first. Connor Chartier and Steen Cooper set up Dakota Conroy, who beat Mustangs goalie Richard Palmer 4:41 into the game.
After two periods of play, the Vees outshot the Mustangs 29-15. The Mustangs didn't hit the scoresheet until 13:53 of the third when Tristan Frei scored his second goal of the tournament beating Hunter Miska, who finished with 22 saves. Chartier secured the victory with an empty net goal with 10 seconds remaining. The Vees fired 40 shots on the Mustangs net.
Special teams wasn't a factor as the Vees didn't get a power-play and killed off the Mustangs' lone opportunity.
Thursdays action will feature the Terriers and Spruce Grove Saints, who have been eliminated from weekend action, in the 1:30 p.m. game. At 6:30 p.m. will be the host Oil Barons and Mustangs. The results from those games will determine who the Vees play in the WCC Final on May 2 at 6:30 p.m. PST.