A crushing 10-1 win against the Salmon Arm SilverBacks kept the Penticton Vees winning streak alive at 31 games.
The Friday night tilt was so lopsided that when Curtis Loik scored the Vees eighth goal, on a shorthanded breakaway, the Vees had more goals than the SilverBacks had shots.
SilverBacks coach Colin O’Hara said that other than the first five minutes and the last 10 minutes of the game when they played well, they “were just passengers.”
O’Hara hoped his group would have been motivated to end the Vees streak, but also acknowledged that how well the Vees were playing was definitely in their heads going in.
“They are deep,” he said of the Vees. “You have to be near perfect to beat them and we weren’t. We wanted to keep it simple.”
The SilverBacks did keep the Vees off the scoreboard during the opening five minutes, but then at 5:59, Cody DePourcq buried a backhand shot set up by Grant Nicholson and Troy Stecher. The latter was named the first star finishing with a goal and three assists. DePourcq, who the announcer mispronounced as DePoochie, was the second star thanks to a two-goal performance.
“Definitely feels nice,” he said, of scoring twice. “Our line got a goal the last game. It’s nice that Loiker got a goal and played well.”
As for the mistake announcing his name, DePourcq, nicknamed Porky by his teammates, said with a smile that it happens all the time.
The Silverbacks, who needed 16 minutes to get their first shot in second period and 8:30 minutes for their first in the third period, broke Chad Katunar’s shutout bid on a play by Jeff Kennedy, who drove to the front of the net. The Vees defenceman couldn’t contain him and Kennedy slipped the puck through Katunar’s five-hole.
The Vees goalie said it felt “fantastic” to get a chance to start.
“That was one of the tightest defensive games we have had,” said Katunar, who faced 14 shots, compared to Kurt Williams facing 41. “It was just unbelievable defensively. The guys gave them nothing.”
The game-winning goal came off the stick of Steven Fogarty, the New York Rangers draft pick, who finished off a play set up by former SilverBack Bryce Gervais. Gervais, was chased by three players before dishing it off to Joey Benik, who made a quick pass to Fogarty.
The SilverBacks had a hard time containing the Vees speed, had pucks stolen on the back check, and weren’t able to stop Vees from cycling the puck. The home team was also able to move the puck with ease.
Prior to puck drop, 2,432 fans witnessed Penticton mayor Dan Ashton make a presentation to the Vees, which was a blown up team photo taken in Chilliwack following the Vees recording setting win on Feb. 7. Along with the photo, is a number indicating their win streak total. Once that comes to an end, the photo will be laminated and displayed in the South Okanagan Events Centre.
Tonight at 5 p.m., the Vees will host the Westside Warriors and go for their 32nd win in a row.