GAME RECAP: Eisele’s Two Tallies Help Vees To 41st Win
PHOTO: Jack Murray
CRANBROOK, B.C. – The Penticton Vees used a two-goal performance from Adam Eisele to collect their 41st win of the season in a 6-1 triumph over the Cranbrook Bucks on Saturday night at Western Financial Place.
A physical and feisty opening period between the Vees and the Bucks saw Cranbrook leave the period with the lone goal but not before some action before that, including the biggest hit of the season from the Vees as Stefano Bottini stepped up in the neutral zone and delivered a shoulder to the chest of Bucks defender Quaid Anderson that sent the defender down to the ice hard thanks to the large shoulder of Bottini.
The Bucks found a way in the dying seconds of the period as Cameron Kungle gave Cranbrook the late lead. Tyson Dyck centered a pass from below the goal line that went through the slot and found its way to the point as Bauer Morrissey set up Kungle with a slap shot from the right point that beat a screened Carter Serhyenko in the Vees net with seven seconds remaining in the period to push the Bucks to a 1-0 lead.
The Vees responded to the late marker with a flurry of goals in the 2nd period, beginning with the tying try at 2:43 of the middle frame as Adam Eisele got the game on even terms.
A give-and-go between Eisele and Aydar Suniev saw the puck go from Suniev in the left face-off circle to Eisele at the front of the goal as he beat Bucks goaltender Nathan Airey on the glove side for his 10th goal of the season, becoming the tenth Vee to post double digit goals on the campaign, and evened the game at 1-1.
The Vees earned their first lead of the game at the 7:37 mark of the 2nd period with Eisele notching his second goal of the period. Mason Poolman took a Bradly Nadeau pass in the left face-off circle and crept his way down the left-wing to send a pass to the front of the net with the puck deflecting off of Eisele’s leg and in for his 11th goal of the year and a 2-1 Vees advantage.
Just 21 seconds later, Jackson Nieuwendyk gave the Vees a two-goal advantage with his 9th marker of the season at the 7:58 mark of the middle frame. Nieuwendyk walked in on a 2-on-1 and rocketed a shot off the chest of Airey with the rebound jetting out front of the net as he followed up on that and pushed it past the blocker side of Airey to make it a 3-1 Vees lead into the second half of the period.
The power play struck to give Penticton a three-goal advantage in the final stages of the middle frame. Josh Nadeau swing a pass to his brother Bradly in the left face-off circle, who hit a one-timer at the bottom of the dot for his 17th goal of the season at the 18:04 mark of the 2nd period as the Vees carried a 4-1 lead into the 3rd frame.
Brett Moravec added another power play marker in the 3rd period and became the Vees third 20-goal scorer on the season with his 20th marker. Ryan Hopkins put a shot on from the blue line that was knocked down in front before Moravec shovelled in the loose puck to give Penticton a 5-1 advantage.
Luc Wilson concluded the scoring in the game with his 27th marker of the season after an indirect bank pass off the left-wing boards by Casey McDonald in the neutral zone. Wilson collected inside the blue line and sliced a shot past the glove side of Airey to give the Vees a 6-1 lead at the 16:17 mark of the 3rd period that held up as the final score.
Carter Serhyenko turned aside 23 of the 24 shots thrown his way in his 9th win of the season while Nathan Airey stopped 31 of the 36 shots thrown his direction in his 12th loss of the season.
FINAL SCORE: 6-1 Vees
SHOTS ON GOAL: 37-24 Vees
VEES PP: 2/6
VEES PK: 4/4
3 STARS:
1) Adam Eisele (2-0-2)
2) Bradly Nadeau (1-1-2)
3) Cameron Kungle (1-0-1)
Fortis Energy Player of the Game: Quaid Anderson (0-0-0)
Attendance: 2,171
The Vees (41-8-0-2) will finish the road portion of their 2021/22 regular season schedule with a trip to the United States and a battle against the Wenatchee Wild (22-24-4-1) on Wednesday night. Puck drop is slated for 6:00 PM from Town Toyota Center with the game being broadcasted live on Bounce Radio 800 as well as streamed online at BCHLTV.ca beginning with the pre-game show at 5:40 PM.
The final weekend of the regular season sees the Vees hosting a pair of home games ahead of the opening of the 1st round of the playoffs, slated to begin on Thursday, March 31st. The Vees host the West Kelowna Warriors on Friday, March 25th with Valley First on hand for their annual Feed The Valley Night before Penticton finishes the regular season with a matchup against the Merritt Centennials with the annual Home Hardware Vees Awards presented following the final buzzer. Puck drop is set for 4:00 PM on Sunday, March 27th with tickets available for purchase at the Valley First Box Office at the SOEC as well as online at valleyfirsttix.com.