The Penticton Vees got two 3rd period goals including a late marker from Danny Weight to help them to their sixth straight win to begin the season in a 4-3 victory over the Nanaimo Clippers on Sunday afternoon at the Frank Crane Arena.

 

The Vees didn’t take long to get the scoring going on Sunday afternoon as just 44 seconds into the hockey game, Tristan Amonte opened the scoring for the second consecutive game. David Silye danced around a check on the left wing as he pushed the puck down to the goal line where Amonte worked his way to the front of the net and slid the puck past the glove side of Clippers goaltender Zach Bennett for his 5th goal of the season and a 1-0 advantage early in the game.

 

Just after the media timeout in the opening period, Nanaimo tied the game against the flow of play. The puck was pushed back to the blue line where Robby Drazner put a slap shot on goal that beat the glove side of Vees netminder Derek Krall to even the score at 1-1, despite the Vees outshooting the Clippers by an 11-6 margin after one period.

 

The second period was much of the same for the Vees, heavily outshooting the Clippers but Nanaimo found a way to get ahead by a 2-1 score while shorthanded. Travis Walton intercepted a pass to the point and was able to break away for a shorthanded chance, beating Krall with a shot on the blocker side to give the Clippers their first lead of the game at 2-1 just 1:47 into the 2nd period.

 

The Vees evened the score right off of a media timeout in the second period with Danny Weight scoring the first of his two goals on the night. Liam Malmquist spun a pass from the right corner that deflected off a skate to Weight in the bottom of the right face-off circle as he beat Bennett through the legs for his 5th goal of the season and a 2-2 game at the 10:38 mark of the middle stanza.

 

Just over two minutes later, Nanaimo took their second lead of the game at the 12:48 mark of the second period. A loose puck inside the Vees zone was collected by Sean Donaldson at the top of the right face-off circle as he zipped a shot past the glove side of Krall as the Clippers took a one-goal lead into the 3rd period.

 

Penticton again spent most of the period inside Nanaimo’s zone and got the game on even terms over halfway through the 3rd period. A battle in the corner saw the puck kicked out to the right corner as Lukas Sillinger sent a pass across to Carson Kosobud in the left-wing face-off circle as he sent a shot up and over the diving glove of Bennett for his 1st goal of the season and a 3-3 game at the 12:27 mark of the final period.
The Vees would jump ahead with the eventual game winning goal late in the 3rd period at the 17:17 mark with Weight collecting his second goal of the game. Carrying the puck from his own zone, Weight rushed through the neutral zone and cut into the Nanaimo end, breaking to the slot before dragging to his backhand before finishing off the rush with a shot over the blocker shoulder of Bennett for his second goal of the game and a 4-3 Vees lead late.

 

Penticton didn’t allow much in the 3rd period and held Nanaimo to just four shots in the final frame to push them to their sixth straight win to begin the season. Derek Krall stopped 15 of the 18 shots he faced in his 3rd win of the season while Zach Bennett turned aside 35 of the 39 shots thrown his way in his 2nd loss of the season.

 

FINAL SCORE: 4-3 Vees