Curtis Loik’s unassisted goal at 8:47 of the second period proved to be the winner as the Vees dumped the Quesnel Millionaires from the BCHL playoffs on Tuesday.
The Vees completed the sweep after they came from behind on Monday to win 4-3. Without top snipers Brendan O’Donnell and Mark MacMillan, who was kept out with an upper body injury for precautionary reasons, were led offensively by Garrett Milan with two goals and three points, while Joey Benik, Kyle Mountain and Carter Rigby scored the other goals.
Facing elimination in the third period, the Millionaires would get their first goal on a power play midway though the frame as Anderson White scored from the right point at 7:57. Less than three minutes later, at 10:38, Michael Spring scored and the crowd of 575 fans at the Twin Arenas came to life as the Millionaires got within three goals of the favoured Vees. With an empty net behind the Mills with just shy of five minutes remaining, the Millionaires scored a third straight tally when Rigby Bergart beat Rumpel to make the score 5-3
Vees goalie Joel Rumpel made 19 saves, while Adam Harris stopped 29 of 34 shots and was pulled in favour of Kris Kingdon, who stopped all 10 shots he faced.
The Vees will now host Games 1 and 2 of the Interior Conference quarter-finals against the Salmon Arm Silverbacks on March 8 and 9 at the South Okanagan Events Centre. Puck drop will be at 7 p.m. for each home game.
Tickets can be purchased at the SOEC box office during regular business hours or head to ValleyFirstTix.com to buy online.