A two-goal, five point effort by Penticton Vees forward Brendan O’Donnell helped the Vees get past the visiting Victoria Grizzlies 6-3 on Tuesday night.
The Grizzlies jumped out to a two-goal lead thanks to power play markers by David Morley and Joel Lowry. O’Donnell’s first goal of the game put the Vees within one before the opening period ended.
After killing off four minutes of penalties resulting from Logan Johnston’s fisticuffs, Joey Laleggia tied the game at 10:09 on a 5-on-3 advantage with a delayed penalty on the way. On that advantage, Vees defenceman Troy Stecher popped his second goal of the season on a slap shot set up by Laleggia and Joey Holka to give the Vees a 3-2 lead. The Vees put a cushion on their lead on O’Donnell’s second of the game. The Grizzlies scored shorthanded three minutes later, but shortly after that 4-3 goal, Holka made it 5-3 on the power play then Mark MacMillan sealed it with his first of the season.
A crowd of 1,209 at the South Okanagan Events Centre was on hand to watch the Vees take a two-point lead on the Trail Smoke Eaters for top spot in the Interior Conference.
Next action for the Vees is on Friday against the Salmon Arm SilverBacks, which is the final, game where kids and students can get free admission.
Children 12 and under must be accompanied by a ticket holding adult, while students are asked to bring ID. Fans are encouraged to redeem their free tickets for the October home games on non-game days to avoid delays at the box office.