Garrett Milan came to the rescue for the Vees, who topped the Westside Warriors 5-4 at the South Okanagan Events Centre on Wednesday.
After taking a 2-0 lead into the second period, the Warriors fought back to outscore the Vees 4-2 and hammered the 4-4 goal high past Vees goalie Joel Rumpel at 19:59. Milan’s winner came 4:03 into the third period as he managed to fire a shot past Penticton’s Cole Holowenko giving the crowd of 1,697 something to cheer about. Holowenko stopped nine of 11 shots after relieving starter Kevin Boyle who allowed three goals on 11 shots. Vees goalie Joel Rumpel earned his 26th victory of the season turning aside 24 shots. The Vees power play was 33 per cent effective going three-for-nine. The Vees also received a shorthanded goal from rookie Curtis Loik, who snapped a wrist shot past Boyle blockers side after creating a turnover. Other Vees goals came from Brendan O’Donnell, who opened the scoring on the power play, Kyle Mountain and Joey Benik. The win puts the Vees in second in the Interior Conference, three points behind the Vernon Vipers. Both teams have two games remaining. For more Vees coverage, check the Penticton Western News’ Friday paper.