A roundup of junior hockey results from the Okanagan and area.
WESTERN HOCKEY LEAGUE
A strong start propelled Seattle to a three-goal victory in Game 3 of the league’s championship series on Tuesday night.
At Kent, Wash., Jeremy Hazel scored twice for the T-Birds, who lit the lamp just 25 seconds into the game, then added three more goals before the first period was over for a 4-1 lead after 20 minutes.
Kyle Crnkovic, who opened the scoring, Brad Lambert, Jared Davidson and Dylan Guenther also scored for Seattle, who lead the best-of-seven series 2-1.
Carson Latimer, Zach Benson and Zack Ostapchuk replied for Winnipeg, which trailed 6-2 after two periods.
Thomas Milic stopped 35 of 38 shots for the Thunderbirds. For the Ice, starter Daniel Hauser made 16 saves on 22 shots in two periods of action. Mason Beaupit played the third period, stopping all 11 shots he faced.
Seattle was 2-for-3 on the power play while Winnipeg was 1-for-4. Tuesday’s attendance was 5,505.
Game 4 is Wednesday night in Seattle, as is Game 5 on Friday night. The series will move back to Winnipeg for Games 6 and 7 on Sunday and Monday if needed.
The winner advances to the Memorial Cup in Kamloops, May 26 to June 4 as the WHL representative.
B.C. HOCKEY LEAGUE
The Vees are one win away from defending their BCHL championship.
At Port Alberni on Tuesday night, Josh Nadeau tallied two goals and an assist for Penticton as the Vees took a commanding 3-0 lead in the battle for the Fred Page Cup.
Aydar Suniev, with two goals and two assists, Dovar Tinling and Billy Norcross also scored for Penticton, which scored five times in the second for a 6-3 lead following a 1-1 tie after 20 minutes.
Matthew Maltais, Nicholas Beneteau and Brady McIsaac replied for Alberni Valley, which was outshot 42-31.
Luca Di Pasquo stopped 28 shots for the Vees, with Campbell Arnold turning aside 36 shots for the Bulldogs.
Penticton was 2-for-3 on the power play while Alberni Valley was 0-for-3.
Highlights of the game are available on YouTube.
The Vees, who are now 15-1 in these playoffs, won Games 1 and 2 in Penticton, each by scores of 4-3.
Game 4 is Wednesday night in Port Alberni, and a win by the Vees would cap the best season ever by a BCHL team.
During the regular season, Penticton won 50 of 54 regular-season games (50-3-0-1) and amassed a league-leading 101 points. The next best team? Nanaimo (37-14-3-0) with 77 points.
With 50 wins in 54 games, the Vees posted an incredible winning percentage of 92.9. Also, out of earning a possible two points per game, the Vees averaged 1.87 per game en route to tallying 101 points out of a maximum of 108.
Now, technically, the Vees’ wins and points this past regular season aren’t the best in league history.
Those records belong to the 2011-12 Vees (54-4-2-0), who earned 110 points. However, that team played six more regular season games (60).
All told, that team’s points percentage was 90.0, slightly lower than this season’s squad of 92.9. Also, out of earning a possible two points per game, that squad averaged 1.83 per game — lower than this season’s squad of 1.87.
In related news, a poll on the BCHL’s website asks which team will win the Fred Page Cup. The Vees were leading polling on Wednesday at 60.28 per cent. The Bulldogs had 39.72 per cent.
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