Vees suffer first loss of year

Photo: Penticton Vees

No undefeated teams remain in the B.C. Hockey League after Wednesday night, as the Penticton Vees suffered their first loss of the season in their tenth game.

The Vees fell 2-1 to the Langley Rivermen at the South Okanagan Events Centre.

Penticton led 37-19 in shots on the night, and fired more pucks on goal in the third period than Langley did all game.

The Rivermen led 1-0 after the first period, despite being outshot 8-2. The Vees also hit a pair of posts and missed on an open cage in that opening frame.

Langley would double the lead early in the third period, which appeared to light a fuse under the Vees the rest of the way.

Dakota Boutin scored his fourth goal on the year to break the goose egg, about four minutes after Langley had taken a two-goal lead, although that was as close as Penticton would come on the scoreboard.

Despite being brutally outshot, the Rivermen played a stingy enough road game to not allow the Vees enough time and space to capitalize on their chances, some of which were glorious.

Powerplay chances were minimal on the night with just three being given to each team. The Rivermen went 0-3 on the man-advantage, while the Vees went 1-3.

One winning note on the night for the Vees was an announced attendance of 2,870 at the South Okanagan Events Centre, on the team's first Wednesday-night game of the season.

The first Wednesday-night game of the 2016-17 campaign, on Oct. 12, 2016, saw 2,682 fans fill the seats at the SOEC.

Penticton now has eight wins, one loss and one tie through 10 games.

While Wednesday night was the first loss of the Vees' season, every other BCHL club had at least one loss by Sept. 23rd. 

The Vees will quickly regroup and look ahead to a pair of games this weekend.

The Merritt Centennials visit the SOEC on Friday night, before Penticton travels south to face the Wenatchee Wild on Saturday night.