GAME DAY: GM 3 Vees at Wenatchee Wild

BROADCAST INFORMATION

Game Time: 6:00 pm PDT

Location: Town Toyota Center, Wenatchee

Radio: Bounce 800 am

Webcast: Hockey TV 

Penticton Vees

GM & Head Coach: Fred Harbinson

2023 Playoffs: GP 6 6-0

Home: 4-0

Away: 2-0

GF: 38

GA: 10

Power Play: 38.5% (10/26)

Penalty Kill: 75% (12/16)

Scoring Leader: Bradly Nadeau (10G-5A-15PTS)

Playoff Series

GM 1: 3-1 W vs. Wenatchee (Apr. 14)

GM 2: 7-0 W vs. Wenatchee (Apr. 15)

GM 3: Apr. 18 @ Wenatchee, 6:00 pm

GM 4: Apr. 19 @ Wenatchee, 6:00 pm

GM 5: April 21 vs. Wenatchee, 7:00 pm*

GM 6: April 22 @ Wenatchee, 6:00 pm*

GM 7: April 25 vs. Wenatchee, 7:00 pm*

* If necessary

Game Two Recap: Penticton took a 2-0 series lead with a 7-0 win in Game 2 on Saturday at the SOEC. Luca Di Pasquo earned his first shutout of the BCHL Playoffs, as he stopped all 22 shots faced. Joshua Niedermayer and Bradly Nadeau each had three points in the win. Aydar Suniev had a pair of goals.

The first period was the key for Penticton, as they scored three goals in three minutes early and led 4-0 after 20 minutes. They scored once in the second and added two more in the third period.

Tonight: The Vees look to grab a 3-0 series lead tonight in Game 3 at the Town Toyota Center in Wenatchee, WA. Penticton is 2-0 on the road in the playoffs and were 23-3-0-1 away from home in the regular season. The Wild handed the Vees one of their three regulation losses in the regular season, when they beat Penticton 2-1 on December 9th.

Luca Di Pasquo, fresh off being named the BCHL First Star of the Week, will make his seventh consecutive start for Penticton. Di Pasquo is 6-0 with a 1.67 goals-against average and .926 save percentage.

NHL Central Scouting Final Rankings: NHL Central Scouting released its final rankings for the 2023 NHL Draft and three Vees made the grade. Bradly Nadeau is ranked 17th among North American Skaters, Aydar Suniev is 40th and Ryan Hopkins is 199th. Rankings can be found HERE.

Wenatchee Wild

General Manager: Bliss Littler

Head Coach: Chris Clark

2023 Playoffs: GP 8 4-4

Home: 3-0

Away: 1-4

GF: 23

GA: 25

Power Play: 23.8% (5/21)

Penalty Kill: 90.9% (30/33)

Scoring Leader: Parker Murray (13G-0A-13PTS)

Round One Recap: The 7th-seeded Wild “upset” the 2nd-seeded Cranbrook Bucks in their opening round series. The Wild knocked off the Bucks in six games to advance to Round Two. A big reason why is hulking forward Parker Murray. The 6’5, 225-pound winger had 12 goals in just six games. He started the series against Cranbrook by posting back-to-back four-goal games. He scored a goal in every game game of the series. Murray leads the BCHL Playoffs in goals and points. His line mate, Ean Somoza, leads the BCHL in assists with 10 and is tied for second in BCHL Playoff scoring. Another key piece for the Wild his goaltender Andy Vlaha. The 19-year-old was lights-out against Cranbrook, as he posted a .930 save percentage over six games.

Tonight: Wenatchee looks for their first win of the series and they hope home cooking is the key. The Wild are undefeated at Town Toyota Centre in the BCHL Playoffs, posting a 3-0 record. They posted an 18-7-1-1 record at home in the regular season. Their Game 2 shutout loss was the first time they were held scoreless since a 2-0 setback to the Cranbrook Bucks back on January 13th.