Submitted by Fraser Rodgers
It wasn’t a five-point game but Connor Chartier’s encore performance Tuesday didn’t disappoint. Chartier scored three times, picking up his first hat trick as a Penticton Vee, as they thumped the West Kelowna Warriors 8-4 at Royal LePage Place.
The Vees (34-7-2-1) swept all three games at RLP this season, outscoring the Warriors 19-6 in the wins. Steen Cooper potted the winner on the power play at 16:48 of the second, while Demico Hannoun, Tyson Jost, Mike Lee and Jack Ramsey also scored. Hannoun finished with a game-high four points and six Vees had multi-point nights.
Tanner Campbell, Jonathan Desbiens and Liam Blackburn scored for West Kelowna (22-17-0-5) who lost for the second time in their last three games.
The Vees and Warriors combined for eight goals in a wild second period but there was only one goal in opening twenty-minutes.
Cooper padded the Vees lead on another second period power-play. Hannoun lobbed the puck across to Cooper who smacked it out of mid-air for his 10th of the season. Chartier sniped his second of the game 40 seconds after Cooper’s goal on a Warriors turn over when Cam Amantea found him at the side of the net. Jack Ramsey potted the Vees seventh goal as he tipped a Shayne Gwinner shot, while Chartier's third goal was fired into an empty net.
Both teams utilized their power play with the Vees going three-for-eight and the Warriors two-for-three.
The Vees return to the South Okanagan Events Centre Jan.23 when they host the Merritt Centennials in their lone game of the weekend at 7 p.m.