Vees win Showcase showdown to stay perfect on season
Penticton improves to 12-0 at event, 4-0 on season, with 6-3 win over host Chilliwack
The Bauer BCHL Showcase has been nothing but good karma for the Penticton Vees.
The Vees won both games at the sixth annual event at Prospera Place in Chilliwack, including a 6-3 win over the host Chilliwack Chiefs on Saturday night.
Penticton has now won all 12 games it has played at the Showcase and emerged from the weekend as the BCHL’s only team with a perfect record at 4-0-0. The Langley Rivermen are the only other team unbeaten in regulation at 2-0-2.
The Powell River Kings and Prince George Spruce Kings were undefeated in regulation before the Kings fell 5-0 to Victoria and the Spruce Kings dropped a 4-2 decision to Trail on Saturday.
The Vernon Vipers fell from the unbeaten ranks with a 2-1 loss to Powell River on Friday. The Vipers (4-1-1) still lead the Interior Division by one point over the Vees and West Kelowna Warriors (4-1-0).
The Vees — as they did in a 3-2 win over Alberni Valley on Friday — had to overcome an early deficit to beat Chilliwack in a rematch of last year’s BCHL championship series.
Chris Klack, Cassidy Bowes, Nicky Leivermann, Jared Nash, Massimo Rizzo and Owen Sillinger, with his team-high fourth goal of the season, connected for the Vees, who rallied from 1-0 and 2-1 deficits with five straight goals.
Michael Lombardi, Powell Conner and Skyler Brind’Amour replied for the Chiefs, who fell to 1-3-1-1 on the season. The Chiefs — who host the 2018 RBC Cup in May — also lost to Nanaimo 3-2 in double-overtime on Friday.
Nolan Hildebrand rebounded from being pulled after one period against Alberni to make 25 saves for the Vees.
Daniel Chenard stopped 24 shots for Chilliwack.
In the first period, Lombardi put the Chiefs up 1-0, Klack tied it and Conner restored the Chilliwack lead just over a minute later.
But the Vees exploded with four goals in a span of 4:32 late in the second period to seize command of the contest.
It was Bowes at 14:53, Leivermann with his first BCHL goal at 17:45 to put Penticton ahead to stay, and Nash just 34 seconds later making it 4-2.
With 35 seconds to go in the period, Rizzo made it 5-2 on the power play from Leivermann and Jackson Keane.
Sillinger, celebrating his 20th birthday, got another on a power play 10 minutes into the third, before Brind’Amour got a consolation power-play goal with Chenard on the bench to make it a 6-on-4 with 5:22 to go. The Vees play their much-anticipated home opener this Friday against West Kelowna, which also won its two games at the Showcase event.
It’s the only game of the weekend for the Vees, who will face Vernon in a big homeand-home series on the Oct. 6-7 weekend.
ICE CHIPS: Rookie forwards Rizzo and Jack Barnes returned from injuries to play their first games of the regular season on the weekend for the Vees. Veteran F Taylor Ward (upper-body) was injured in practice on Thursday and is expected to miss at least two weeks of action. F Grant Cruikshank (upper-body) could make his season debut against West Kelowna. . . . Vernon, Powell River, Prince George and Nanaimo are tied for the league lead with nine points, with each having played six games. Merritt (0-6-0) and Coquitlam (0-3-1) remain the only winless teams.