After winning two games in a row and drawing more than 7,700 people to the South Okanagan Events Centre, the Penticton Vees fell to the Salmon Arm Silverbacks in the Shuswap on Family Day.
Patrick Raftery scored late in the overtime period to lift the Silverbacks to a 3-2 victory, snapping the Vees’ win streak at six games.
Fred Harbinson’s team had not lost since Jan. 26.
The Vees (30-7-3-2) defeated the Vernon Vipers in front of a season-high crowd of 4,308 at the SOEC on Friday night, Feb. 16, before shutting out the West Kelowna Warriors on Saturday 4-0.
Penticton’s busy long weekend ended with the team six points ahead of the Warriors for top spot in the Interior Conference.
“Looking at the big picture, to come away with five out of six points against the three of the top four teams in the conference is huge,” said Matthew Vanden Berg, the Vees’ assistant coach. “Certainly not how we wanted to end this stretch but important points and a good weekend overall for our group.”
Chasing history
Penticton goaltender Will Ingemann is one step closer to making BCHL history.
The Plymouth, Minn. product earned his fifth shutout of the season in the Vees’ 4-0 win against the Warriors, moving within two of the all-time single-season record.
Ingemann is second in both save percentage (.923) and goals-against-average (1.82), among all BCHL netminders in 2023-2024.
Captain’s point streak
Vees co-captain Callum Arnott scored two goals on the weekend to extend his point streak to seven games (seven goals, 10 points).
Arnott leads Penticton in points this season (43) and ranks 10th among all BCHL skaters.
Up next
The Vees visit the Cranbrook Bucks on Saturday, Feb. 24, before heading to Trail for a showdown with the Smoke Eaters on Sunday, Feb. 25.
Penticton starts the month of March on the Lower Mainland and won’t play at the SOEC until March 9, when they host the Merritt Centennials.