GAME DAY: Vees host Bucks, look for a record 12th-straight win to open the season
Photo: Jack Murray
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Game Time: 6:30 pm PT
Location: SOEC
Tonight’s game will be broadcast on Bounce 800 am and Hockey TV, starting with the pre-game show at 6:10 pm
Penticton Vees
GM & Head Coach: Fred Harbinson
2022-23: GP 11 11-0-0-0, 1st Interior Conference
Home: 5-0-0-0
Away: 6-0-0-0
Power Play: 30% (2)
Penalty Kill: 83.9% (4)
Top Scorer: Bradly Nadeau (10-14-24)
Season Series
| Sep 24th vs. Cranbrook, 7-1 W |
| Oct 26th vs. Cranbrook, 6:30 pm |
| Dec 10th at Cranbrook, 7:00 pm (MST) |
| Jan 28th at Cranbrook, 7:00 pm (MST) |
| Feb 20th vs. Cranbrook, 2:00 pm |
Last Game: Penticton extended their season-opening win streak to 11 games Saturday, with their 4-2 win over the Wenatchee Wild. Penticton went up 2-0 after 20 minutes courtesy of goals from Josh Nadeau and Hiroki Gojsic. Bradly Nadeau extended the Vees lead to 3-0 in the second period. Jackson Nieuwendyk scored in the final frame, which was bookended by Wenatchee goals. Luca Di Pasquo earned his seventh win, stopping 30 of 32 shots. The power play scored twice on four chances.
Tonight: Tonight, is the second of five meetings with the Bucks and the first since the opening weekend of the BCHL regular season. The Vees beat Cranbrook 7-1 back on September 24th, which included the Vees scoring three goals in 65 seconds in the first period. Penticton led 4-1 after the first, then scored three more over the final 40 minutes. The Vees are chasing history, looking for their best start in franchise history. A win tonight would make it 12 consecutive victories to start the season. They have tied the previous mark of 11, which was set during the 2019-20 season.
NHL Central Scouting: Tuesday, NHL Central Scouting released its Preliminary Players to Watch List for the 2023 NHL Draft, and both Bradly Nadeau and Aydar Suniev were listed. Nadeau is listed as a ‘B’-ranked skater, a projected second-third round selection, and Suniev is a ‘C’-ranked skater, projected to be fourth to sixth round pick. A total of nine BCHL players were ranked. The 2023 NHL Draft is set for June 28-29 in Nashville, TN.
Cranbrook Bucks
GM & Head Coach: Ryan Donald
2022-23: GP 10 7-3-0-0-0, 4th Interior Conference
Home: 3-2-0-0
Away: 4-1-0-0
Power Play: 20% (12)
Penalty Kill: 81.5% (6)
Top Scorer: Jack Silica (9-3-12)
Last Game: Cranbrook returned home last Friday and promptly thumped the Powell River Kings 10-3 at Western Financial Place. It was a 2-1 game after 20 minutes, before the Bucks scored five goals on 14 shots in the second period; they adde three more in the third. Jaxon Fuder and Jack Silica each had a pair of goals in the win. Cameron Kungle had three helpers. Cranbrook has had some time to saviour that win, as they haven’t played since. Tonight, the Bucks kick-off a three-game Okanagan road trip, as they visit the Salmon Arm Silverbacks Friday and the Vernon Vipers Saturday. It’s a busy stretch on the road for Cranbrook, as tonight begins a six-game stretch away from home. Following this weekend, the Bucks play three games in three days on the road against Nanaimo, Alberni Valley, and Coquitlam starting November 5th.