Junior hockey: Vees post 4-1 win, level series with Silverbacks

A roundup of junior hockey results from the Okanagan and area.

B.C. HOCKEY LEAGUE

PENTICTON 4, SALMON ARM 1

Will Ingemann stopped 27 of 28 shots for Penticton as the Vees downed the Silverbacks to level their third-round playoff series at 1-1 on Friday night.

James Fisher, Billy Renfrew, Connor MacPherson and Callum Arnott scored for Penticton, which led  2-1 after 40 minutes following a scoreless first period.

Jonah Aegerter had the lone goal for Salmon Arm, which posted a stunning result in Game 1 on Thursday night, winning 2-0 despite getting outshot 37-11.

“As the old saying goes, patience is a virtue,” said Matt Miller, Penticton’s director of hockey operations.

1:17 Silverbacks shut out Vees in Game 1

“We did a lot of the same things tonight that we did a night ago. Took us until the second to break through, but scoring the first goal was huge.

“Big confidence boost for our guys, and we didn’t have to chase the game.”

The shots were more balanced in Game 2, with Penticton outshooting Salmon Arm 36-28. Eli Pulver stopped 32 shots for the Silverbacks.

Fisher opened the scoring at 9:05 of the second period with a five-hole penalty shot, with Aegerter levelling the score at 1-1 just minutes later at 12:30.

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In turn, Renfrew restored Penticton’s lead two minutes after that, at 14:44.

In the third, the defending league champion Vees pulled away when MacPherson made it 3-1 at 14:24, bringing the crowd of 2,587 at the South Okanagan Events Centre to its feet.

1:17 ‘Go Canucks Go’ banner raised at YVR

Arnott then closed out the scoring at 19:23 with an empty-net goal.

Both teams were scoreless on the power play, with Penticton at 0-for-1 and Salmon Arm at 0-for-2.

The Interior Conference final resumes Monday with Game 3 in Salmon Arm.

Saturday’s game

• Alberni Valley at Surrey
  (Series at 0-0)

Sunday’s game

• Alberni Valley at Surrey

Monday’s game

• Penticton at Salmon Arm

2:11 Vancouver Canucks fans celebrate as team eliminates Nashville Predators from playoffs

WESTERN HOCKEY LEAGUE

PORTLAND vs. PRINCE GEORGE

It’s a rare, but well-deserved, weekend off in the Western Conference.

Following three games in four days, the Prince George Cougars and Portland Winterhawks will resume their third-round playoff series on Monday night.

Portland has a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven set, which features a 2-3-2 format because of the long travel distance (1,200 kilometres) between the two cities.

The Cougars stormed out of the gate by posting a 5-0 victory in Game 1 in front of a raucous home crowd on April 26. But the next night, Portland bounced back to win 5-3.

The series then shifted from Northern B.C. to Oregon, where Portland posted a 4-1 win in Game 3 on Monday, April 29.

1:46 Pride grows as Edmonton Oilers advance to Round 2 of NHL playoffs

Two nights later, in Game 4 on Wednesday, the Winterhawks went up 3-1 with a 5-2 victory.

But on Thursday, facing elimination, Prince George rebounded and crushed Portland 6-1 — scoring six unanswered goals after giving up the game’s first marker just seven minutes into the contest.

The Cougars also outshot the Winterhawks 36-26 in that game. The attendance at Veterans Memorial Coliseum was 6,138.

Game 6 and Game 7, if needed, will be played at the CN Centre in Prince George.

Friday’s results

• Saskatoon 5, Moose Jaw 4 (OT)
• (Saskatoon leads series 3-2)

Saturday’s games

• No games scheduled.

Sunday’s game

• Saskatoon at Moose Jaw