Vees thump Warriors

Photo: Wayne Moore

The West Kelowna Warriors six-game home ice winning streak came crashing down like a house of cards Friday night.

The Penticton Vees came into Royal LePage Place and put up 11 on Warriors goaltenders in an 11-3 thumping before nearly 1,100 mostly disappointed fans.

The Vees snapped a 1-1 tie with two late first period goals, then ran away with four more unanswered markers in the second to build up a commanding 7-1 lead.

They put four more behind Cole Demers, who came in to start the third period in place of Cody Porter who, according to head coach Rylan Ferster, suffered a lower body injury during the game.

The Warriors were the better team in the opening period everywhere but on the scoresheet.

The Vees opened the scoring four minutes in on a perfectly executed two-on-one. The Warriors got that back four minutes later when Willie Reim pounced on a rebound in the crease and flipped a backhand up and over Penticton netminder Adam Scheel.

The Warriors appeared to break the tie two minutes later, but the referee lost sight of the puck and blew the whistle just as the Warriors banged it home.

But, two goals late in the period which Porter would like to have back got the rout started. Owen Sillinger beat Porter five-hole when he took the puck wide to the left circle and threw a shot that snuck through Porter's pads.

The backbreaker came in the final minute, when a wrist shot from Nicky Leivermann from the left point again squeezed through the pads and trickled slowly, and painfully over the goal line.

A goal in the opening moments of the second dashed any hope of a Warriors comeback.

RJ Murphy, who somehow missed a wide open net on a power play early in the second, and Wyatt Head with his first career BCHL goal scored the other Warriors goals in the third.

Lievermann and Dakota Boutin each scored three times for the Vees. Owen Sillinger had a pair, while Massimo Rizzo chipped in with five assists.

"I don't know how many times you're going to lose 11-3 and say you like it," said Ferster. "I really can't fault our guys. I thought our effort was there for 60 minutes. Those games are tough to play in...it can go off the rails real quick."

Ferster said he didn't think the team let the game go, and played hard for the full 60 minutes..

"Put that loss on me. I'll take that one. I won't say anything bad about our kids, that loss was on me."

The Warriors created several chances in the offensive zone utilizing a speed game through the neutral zone, but were unable to finish. They peppered Scheel with 17 shots in the opening period, and 39 overall, but managed just the three goals.

Porter looked shaky through the 40 minutes he played, giving up seven goals on just 28 shots.

Ferster said the plan was to stick with Porter throughout, saving Demers for a Saturday tilt in Prince George.

That fell through when Porter came up with the injury.

The Vees move into a third place tie with the Warriors with the win, however, Penticton do hold four games in hand. The fifth place Wenatchee Wild, two points behind both, also hold four games in hand on the Warriors.

Following Saturday's game in Prince George, the Warriors will return home to host Merritt Friday and Vernon Saturday.