GAME DAY: GM #29 Vees @ West Kelowna Warriors
Photo: Jack Murray
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Game Time: 7:00 pm PT
Location: Royal LePage Place
Radio: Bounce 800 am
Webcast: Hockey TV
Penticton Vees
GM & Head Coach: Fred Harbinson
2022-23: GP 28 26-2-0-0, 1st Interior Conference
Home: 15-0-0-0
Away: 11-2-0-0
GF: 154
GA: 51
Power Play: 36.1% (1)
Penalty Kill: 84.5% (2)
Top Scorer: Bradly Nadeau (26-27-53)
Top Scorer vs. Warriors: Josh Nadeau (5-8-13)
| Last 5 Games | Next 5 Games |
| 7-2 W vs. Wenatchee Wild (Dec. 16) | Dec. 30 vs. West Kelowna, 7:00 pm |
| 8-0 W @ Merritt Centennials (Dec. 14) | Jan. 1 @ Vernon, 2:00 pm |
| 4-1 L @ Cranbrook Bucks (Dec. 10) | Jan. 6 @ Prince George, 7:00 pm |
| 2-1 L @ Wenatchee (Dec. 9) | Jan. 7 @ Prince George, 7:00 pm |
| 3-2 W vs. West Kelowna (Dec. 3) OT | Jan. 13 @ Trail, 7:00 pm |
| Season Series |
| 10-3 W @ West Kelowna (Oct. 1) |
| 4-1 W @ West Kelowna (Oct. 28) |
| 11-2 W vs. West Kelowna (Nov. 18) |
| 3-2 W vs. West Kelowna (Dec. 3) OT |
| Dec. 17 @ West Kelowna, 7:00 pm |
| Dec. 30 vs. West Kelowna, 7:00 pm |
| Feb. 17 vs. West Kelowna, 7:00 pm |
Last Game: Penticton picked up its second straight win Friday, dispatching the Wenatchee Wild 7-2 at the SOEC. Aydar Suniev recorded his first career hat-trick in the victory. Brett Moravec and Josh Niedermayer each had a goal and an assist. Nic DeGraves scored his first goal as a Vee. Beanie Richter also found the back of the net. Hank Levy kept his perfect record intact, stopping 16 of 18 shots to improve his record to 8-0. The Vees are now 3-1-0-0 against the Wild.
The third period got chippy as there was eight misconducts handed out, including a bench game misconduct to the Wild’s Head Coach Chris Clark. There was also a fight between the Vees’ Ben Brunette and the Wild’s Dane Westen.
Tonight’s Game: The Vees look for their third win this week, as they close out their pre-Christmas schedule against their Highway 97 rivals, the West Kelowna Warriors. Tonight, is the fifth of seven meetings, with the Vees winning the previous four. The two teams last met Dec. 3, at the SOEC, when Penticton came back from a 2-0 deficit to win 3-2 in overtime. The Vees are 2-0 at Royal LePage Place this season, most recently winning 4-1 back on Oct. 28.
Looks like Luca Di Pasquo will get the start in net for the Vees. He had a 16-save shutout on Wednesday in Merritt. Di Pasquo is 4-0 against the Warriors this season, with a 1.99 goals-against average and .925 save percentage. Outside of the goaltending switch, Penticton will likely ice the same lineup as they did Friday.
West Kelowna Warriors
GM & Head Coach: Simon Ferguson
2022-23: GP 28 16-8-4-0, 3rd Interior Conference
Home: 9-3-0-0
Away: 7-5-4-0
GF: 107
GA: 96
Power Play: 23.8% (3)
Penalty Kill: 75.4% (14)
Top Scorer: Jaiden Moriello (14-10-24)
Top Scorer vs. Vees: Rylee Hlusiak (2-0-2)
| Last 5 Games | Next 5 Games |
| 5-1 W @ Vernon (Dec. 16) | Dec. 30 @ Penticton, 7:00 pm |
| 5-4 OTL @ Wenatchee (Dec. 11) | Jan. 6 vs. Trail, 7:00 pm |
| 4-2 L @ Trail (Dec. 10) | Jan. 8 vs. Salmon Arm, 2:00 pm |
| 5-2 L @ Cranbrook (Dec. 9) | Jan. 13 vs. Prince George, 7:00 pm |
| 6-3 W vs. Prince George (Dec. 7) | Jan. 14 @ Merritt, 7:00 pm |
Last Game: The Warriors snapped their three-game losing streak Friday, with their 5-1 victory on the road against the Vernon Vipers. West Kelowna got goals from five different skaters, including Matt Fusco scoring the game-winning goal on the power play midway through the second period. Justin Katz was solid between the pipes for the Warriors, as he stopped 23 of 24 shots.
Scouting Report: West Kelowna has had a condensed schedule over the last two weeks. Going back to last week, tonight is their sixth game in 11 days. They had an especially tough schedule last weekend, playing three road games in three days, as they visited Cranbrook, Trail, and Wenatchee. West Kelowna picked up just a single point last weekend. Including tonight, four of their next five games are at home, plus they have a well-deserved week off after tonight. West Kelowna sits third in the Interior Conference, one point back of the surging Cranbrook Bucks, who have won six-straight. West K is looking for their first win against the Vees since March 25, of last season. Including last season’s playoffs, the Warriors have lost their last eight against Penticton.