Having a 6-1 lead evaporate in the span of five minutes is something the Penticton Vees prefer to happen now than in the playoffs.
With a comfortable five goal lead in the third period, the Westside Warriors clawed back in on goals by Shawn Hochhausen at 4:57, Marcus Basara at 5:13, Connor Dempsey at 11:51 then pulled within one at 17:55 on Max French’s goal. That’s as close as the visitors got as Joey Benik netted his hattrick goal with 37 seconds left into an empty net to seal a 7-5 Vees win, their 32nd straight.
“Nothing you can really do,” said Vees goalie Michael Garteig, who set a career high with 37 wins on the season. “We learned from it and watched video. We still got the win and that’s all matters. We had a little extra gear at the end to get the job done, which is also a thing that no one really realizes.”
Benik said they wanted the third period to go differently.
“Like coach said, our minds were somewhere else,” said Benik. “Five minutes into the third period and we just fell apart there. It was scary. We haven’t been in that situation all year. It was all on us, it was our fault that we kind of stopped working, stopped thinking and let them back into the game.”
Vees coach-GM Fred Harbinson said his players “went to sleep for about five minutes.”
“It wasn’t the whole period, but we took moments off,” he said. “Got away from our work ethic and they didn’t quit and it was a good little lesson to our guys that no matter who you are playing and what the score is you can’t stop the level of work ethic that you bring.”
Garteig said Saturday was “just a wake up call to let us know we’re not the best and we’re our own enemy.”
“We all work extremely hard,” he said. “If it was getting to our heads, we wouldn’t be working hard.”
On Friday, the Vees aim to extend their winning streak against the Vernon Vipers at the South Okanagan Events Centre. The team did work Monday on a few things, including drills to show the players why they don’t want them taking extended shifts.
Garteig said they just have to keep things simple. With the Vipers possessing offensive threats in Michael Zalewski (31 goals), Darren Nowick (26 goals), and Adam Tambellini (22 goals), they just need to get to the Vipers D-core and goaltender.
The Vipers, 7-3-0 in their last 10 games, appear to be coming on despite a 3-1 loss to Chilliwack. Benik said this matchup will be a good test for them.
“They are fighting for a playoff spot,” he said. “It’s a huge game. It’s a team we might be seeing in playoffs.”
Vees notes: Forward Steven Fogarty has scored four game-winning goals in the Vees last seven wins.
