Photo Credit: Vicki Brown
PENTICTON- It was another battle in Penticton as the Spruce Kings headed to the South Okanagan Events Centre for the third time this season to take on the Vees.
It was a hard-fought duel, ending with the Spruce Kings losing 4-0. However, there are positives to take away from the road team.
While being outshot in the first period 14-5, the Spruce Kings controlled the pace of play for the majority of the 20 minutes.
Their only fault was Skogen Schrott’s (’05) two-minute penalty for tripping. Penticton and their league-best power play didn’t take long to capitalize. Eight seconds and one shot was all it took for the Vees to take the lead with the man advantage. Conyr Hellyer (’04) caught the puck below the red line, turning and jamming it past Spruce Kings starter, Marcus Ouellet (’04). 1-0, the score after the first period.
The Vees would take control in the second period. Penticton scored three times, once on the power play. Billy Renfrew (’03), Brock Reinhart (’04), and Ryan MacPherson (’05) would all find the back of the net in the second period. 4-0 the score after 40 minutes.
That would be the final score in Penticton. The third period flew by with little stoppage in the play.
The tale of Friday night could not be told without the topic of goaltending. Ouellet was rock solid for the Spruce Kings. Making multiple big saves in key situations for Prince George.
The first star of the game was Vees’ Starting goalie, Andrew Ness (’04). The Winnipeg, Manitoba, product stood on his head Friday. Ness would turn away all 28 Spruce Kings shots he faced, including a few high-quality chances.
Game Summary
Scoring
Prince George: N/A
Penticton: C. Hellyer (7), B. Renfrew (6), B. Reinhart (3), R. MacPherson (10)
Goaltending
Marcus Ouellet (L) 60:00 (4GA 42 saves)
Andrew Ness (W) 60:00 (28 saves)
Power play
Prince George: 0/3
Penticton: 2/2
Next Game: The Prince George Spruce Kings will now travel to Vernon to take on the Vipers Saturday night. Watch on FloHockey and listen on Mixlr.
