Thirty-nine games undefeated is the new mark in the BCHL after the Penticton Vees defeated the Salmon Arm SilverBacks 4-3.
Travis St. Denis potted the winning goal after he buried a rebound on Joey Benik's shot.
The Vees erased a SilverBacks two-goal lead when defenceman Mike Reilly beat SilverBacks goalie Adam Clark with a wrist shot top shelf. Former SilverBack Bryce Gervais tied the score at two with a blast from just inside the blueline. James Friedel gave the SilverBacks a 3-2 lead. However, that lead lasted just five minutes as Steven Fogarty evened the score at three.
Former Vee Myles McCauley opened the scoring early in the first period when he cut to the net and put the puck around Vees goalie Chad Katunar. The Vees goalie made some key saves when needed and finished with 14 saves on the night. A crowd of 2,306 at the South Okanagan Events Centre watched the Vees earn their 39th straight win. Tomorrow, the Vees will try to equal a national record of 40 consecutive wins against the Chilliwack Chiefs. Puck drop is 5 p.m. at the SOEC.
The news about Vees forward Connor Reilly got worse. The Vees will be without one of their top scorers for the remainder of the season due to a non-hockey related knee injury. The news was tweeted by Vees play-by-play broadcaster Fraser Rodgers. Check the Penticton Western News for more on Reilly.