Welcome back to the 17th bi-weekly installment of the Flyers Junior Hockey Prospect Report.
This week sparks the beginning of the playoff push for the Flyers, as they are facing off against most of the teams that are directly competing against them for the final playoff positions in the Eastern Conference. The importance of this upcoming stretch of games over the next two weeks will shed further light on whether or not the Flyers will have the inside track on a Wildcard spot (or even a divisional place) and will also inform what the team may do for the trade deadline on Monday February 24th.
The playoff push is on in the junior ranks as well, with the teams that have Flyers prospects are all currently in the playoff picture. As the jostling and jockeying for positioning continues at both the pro and amateur levels, stay in the loop with the Flyers Junior Hockey Prospect Report and more Philadelphia Flyers coverage at www.brotherlypuck.com.
Speaking of prospects, some of the Flyers related storylines from the Junior Hockey universe that are that we will be following up on in this week’s edition include:
Will Jay O’Brien and the Penticton Vees continue their winning ways and build on their six game winning streak?
Can the Seattle Thunderbirds hold on to a playoff spot after will Roddy Ross be a difference maker in the stretch run?
How effective will Egor Serdyuk be going forward for the Victoriaville Tigres, as it has been revealed that he is still bothered by the lower body injury that required him to miss games earlier in the season?
This edition covers the week that was in the CHL and the BCHL from Wednesday January 28th – Tuesday February 11th.
WHL (Western Hockey League)
Wyatte Wylie #29 (D) – Everett Silvertips (WHL)
| SEASON | GP | G | A | PTS | +/- | S | PIM |
| 2019-2020 | 50 | 12 | 36 | 48 | +14 | 160 | 29 |
- Friday night (Jan. 31) had the Everett Silvertips host the visiting Portland Winterhawks in a matchup that featured the top two teams in the U.S. Division. The game went through the opening period scoreless with Portland holding an 11-9 shots on goal advantage. The second period saw the shot discrepancy increase to 17-5 for the Winterhawks, and they were rewarded an even strength goal and a shorthanded marker to lead 2-0 at 7:20. Everett battled back with 2 goals on five shots in the period with goals by Bryce Kindropp (his 31st) and Brendan Lee (his 5th). With the score tied 2-2 in the third, Wyatte Wylie scored his 12th goal of the season only 22 seconds in to give the Silvertips a 3-2 lead. Kindropp scored his 32nd at 9:16 to make it a two goal lead, which was important as the Winterhawks got a goal on the powerplay at 15:38 to bring them back to within one goal. Silvertips goaltender Dustin Wolf shut the door from that point onward as Everett took advantage of home ice to defeat Portland by a score of 4-3. Wylie finished the game with 1 goal, a -1 rating, and 2 shots on goal.
- The Everett Silvertips were back in action on Friday night (Feb. 7) as they visited the Tri-City Americans. Everett started the game a bit sloppily early on and had difficulty clearing the puck out of their zone with Dustin Wolf bailing out his teammates’ mistakes. The Silvertips would settle down and got on the board in the final minute of the first period as Wyatte Wylie won a neutral zone board battle that allowed Ethan Regnier to feed Jake Christiansen who fired a wrist shot top corner on the glove side for the 1-0 lead. Everett extended their lead in the second period with Gage Goncalves leading the way with a goal and an assist for a 3-0 lead and outshot Tri-City 17-3. Everett continued to push the pace in the third period and added a goal at 6:37 to make it 4-0. Wylie scored the fifth goal of the game for Everett on the powerplay (his 12th goal) with a wrister from the slot. The Silvertips won the game in dominating fashion over the Americans by a score of 5-0. Wylie finished the game with 1 goal and 1 assist for 2 points, a +1 rating, and 3 shots on goal.
- On Saturday night (Feb. 8) the Everett Silvertips visited the Seattle Thunderbirds. Jake Christiansen scored his 14th goal of the season while shorthanded and left all alone in front to give Everett the 1-0 lead, but Seattle tied it 1-1 while on the powerplay. In the second period, Everett cashed in with 3 goals on 15 shots at 5:55, 10:40, and 11:48 to take a 4-1 lead. Wyatte Wylie registered a powerplay assist on the second Silvertips goal of the frame that ended up being the game winner. Both teams ended up trading goal in the third period, but Everett would never allow Seattle to get back in the game as the Silvertips won by a score of 5-2. Wylie finished the game with 1 assist, a 0 rating, and 6 shots on goal.
- Sunday evening (Feb. 9) had the Everett Silvertips visit the Spokane Chiefs looking to keep pace with the Portland Winterhawks for the lead in the U.S. Division. In the first period, Everett scored 2 goals on 11 shots to take a 2-0 lead as Ethan Regnier scored his 10th goal of the season and Jake Christiansen continued his recent goal surge with his 16th. The second period saw the Chiefs turn things around drastically as they scored four consecutive goals in a 13 minute span to lead 4-2. The Silvertips Christiansen scored his 17th at 17:04 to cut the lead to one, but Spokane iced the game with an empty net goal late in the third period to win the game by a score of 5-3. Wyatte Wylie was held off the scoresheet in this one and finished with 0 points, a -1 rating, and 2 shots on goal. Wylie also picked up a 2 minute minor penalty for hooking at 17:39 of the first period.
The Everett Silvertips remain in 2nd place in the U.S. Division behind the league leading Portland Winterhawks. Everett has 72 points from 50 games and are 9 points behind the Winterhawks with a game in hand.
Egor Zamula #9 (D) – Calgary Hitmen (WHL)
| SEASON | GP | G | A | PTS | +/- | S | PIM |
| 2019-2020 | 28 | 7 | 21 | 28 | +19 | 74 | 14 |
- Wednesday evening (Jan. 29) had the Calgary Hitmen host the visiting Winnipeg Ice. The Hitmen scored the opening goal of the game at 18:57 after getting outshot 11-5 in the first period. Conrad Mitchell followed up Dakota Krebs opening goal with his 5th goal of the season to give Calgary a 2-0 lead. By the end of the second period, Winnipeg would have the game tied 2-2 through a powerplay goal and an even strength goal on the back of Peyton Krebs 2 assists. The tie game continued until very late in this game as Calgary scored the winning goal at 19:16 with Mark Kastelic’s 24th of the season to win the game for the Calgary Hitmen by a score of 3-2.
- The Calgary Hitmen hosted the visiting Brandon Wheat Kings on Friday night (Jan. 31). Despite getting 37 shots on goal, the Hitmen could not convert their chances into goals and went 0 for 5 on the powerplay as the Wheat Kings shutout the Hitmen by a score of 4-0. Brandon got on the board with a powerplay goal at 9:40 of the first period, and added an even strength marker at 16:03 to lead 2-0. They never looked back as they added even strength goals in the second and third periods in the shutout victory.
- On Saturday night (Feb. 1) the Calgary Hitmen hosted the visiting Red Deer Rebels. Calgary thoroughly dominated this game by leading the shots on goal by a 28-14 spread and not allowing Red Deer to have more than 6 shots in a single period. After taking a 1-0 lead in the first period, Carson Focht and Jackson van de Leest scored two goals apiece as the Hitmen overwhelmed the Rebels by a 5-0 score. Jack McNaughton stopped all 14 Red Deer shots in the shutout victory.
- Friday night (Feb. 7) had the Calgary Hitmen hosting the visiting Prince Albert Raiders. The Hitmen opened the scoring in the game with Josh Prokop scoring his 13th of the season at 4:07. Calgary extended their advantage to 2-0 as Riley Fiddler-Schultz scored at the 14:48 mark. The Raiders took more shots in the second and third periods, and got one back at 10:30 of the second period to make the score 2-1. Brayden Peters was sensational in the Calgary goal and stopped all 17 Raiders shots in the third period to win the game 2-1 for the Hitmen and be named the game’s First Star.
- On Saturday night (Feb. 8) the Calgary Hitmen travelled to Red Deer to play the Rebels. Red Deer struck quickly for the first goal of the game only 46 seconds in. Rebels goaltender Ethan Anders was phenomenal the rest of the game as Calgary outshot Red Deer in every period to the tune of 41-18 in the game. With no scoring in the second period, Red Deer added to their lead despite the lack of shots with two goals in the third period to secure a 3-0 shutout victory.
Sunday evening (Feb. 9) saw the Calgary Hitmen host the Lethbridge Hurricanes. In the first period, Lethbridge got on the board first with a goal by Calen Addison at 9:14 and added a second goal on the powerplay at 13:02. Calgary got a goal back in the dying seconds of the period as Jett Woo scored a powerplay goal at 19:49 to cut the lead to 2-1. In the second period, Calgary had a 15-8 shot advantage but allowed two goals to the Hurricanes and trailed 4-1 after 40 minutes. Calgary pushed the pace in the third period, scoring three consecutive goals (one by Focht and two by Kastelic) to tie the game 4-4, but Lethbridge took the lead again 1:40 later and added an empty netter to defeat Calgary by a score of 6-4.
The Calgary Hitmen have 61 points from 51 games played. They continue to hold the first playoff wildcard spot and are in 4th place in the Central Division. They are ahead of the Saskatoon Blades by 2 points and are chasing the Medicine Hat Tigers by 8 points with a game in hand for third in the division.
Roddy Ross #1 (G) – Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL)
| SEASON | GP | W | L | SO | MINS | SH | SAV | GAA | SAV% |
| 2019-2020 | 40 | 17 | 17 | 0 | 2350 | 1377 | 1254 | 3.14 | 0.911 |
- On Tuesday night (Jan. 28) the Seattle Thunderbirds hosted the Tri-City Americans. Roddy Ross got the nod in goal for Seattle as they looked to solidify their hold on a playoff spot. In the first period, Seattle struck first with Matthew Rempe’s 7th goal of the season on the powerplay at 6:53. Tri-City got one back at the tail end of the period to tie the game 1-1 at 18:20. In the second period, Seattle took the 2-1 lead after Henrik Rybinski scored his 11th at 9:15. Seattle extended their lead to 3-1 at 16:33 of the third period, but the Americans came right back with a goal of their own 58 seconds later to make a game of it. But the Thunderbirds would not be denied on this night as Lucas Ciona iced the game with an empty netter to secure another two points for Seattle in a 4-2 victory. Ross was solid in goal allowing 2 goals on 30 shots making 28 saves. Ross’ steady play earned him the Second Star honours for the game.
- Saturday night (Feb. 1) had the Seattle Thunderbirds travel into Portland to face the Winterhawks. Roddy Ross got the start in goal looking to replicate the First Star performance that he had the previous time these two teams met. The Winterhawks got on the board first and enjoyed a 15-6 shot advantage in the first period, but Seattle exited the period tied 1-1 through a Jared Davidson goal. Portland struck early in the second period only 24 seconds in with a Svechnikov style lacrosse goal, but the Thunderbirds equalized in short order to tie the game 2-2 only 19 seconds later. Both teams traded goals later in the second period (Portland on the powerplay and Seattle at even strength) and a scoreless third period thanks to some great saves by both goaltenders meant that the game would need extra time tied 3-3. Overtime solved nothing, and in the shootout Ross only allowed one goal while his teammates scored two to grab the extra point in a 4-3 Seattle victory. Ross was exceptional once again against Portland, garnering First Star honors once again by only allowing 3 goals on 46 shots.
- The Seattle Thunderbirds visited the Prince George Cougars on Tuesday night (Feb. 4). The Thunderbirds gave the start in goal to Roddy Ross once again, as Seattle looked to further solidify their hold on a playoff spot. In the first period, the Cougars took advantage of their opportunities and came away with a 2-0 lead. Prince George extended their lead 1:37 into the second period to lead 3-0 before Seattle stormed back with three goals to tie the game 3-3 after 40 minutes. Seattle took the lead 5:13 into the third period, but the Cougars roared back to score on the powerplay, at even strength, and into an empty net to win the game by a score of 6-4. Ross took the loss in this one; allowing 5 goals on 38 shots and making 33 saves.
- Wednesday night (Feb. 5) saw the rematch between the Seattle Thunderbirds and the Prince George Cougars. The two teams met the previous evening in a rather high scoring affair. Roddy Ross got the start for the second time in as many nights, looking to improve on his previous outing. The game started positively for the Thunderbirds, as Andrej Kukuca opened the scoring on the powerplay at 18:13 of the first period to give Seattle a 1-0 lead. Going into the second period, Ross had made quite a few saves through traffic to keep Seattle in the lead. He was finally beaten at 13:04 on a breakaway goal that was sniped top shelf to tie the game 1-1. Ross and Cougars goalie Taylor Gauthier were flawless the rest of the way, and the goaltender dual between the two ensured that both regulation time and overtime would not be enough to decide the game. In the shootout, both teams scored on their opening three shots but it was Prince George that came away with a 2-1 victory thanks to Cole Moberg’s shootout goal. Ross returned to his excellent form once again by only allowing 1 goal on 25 shots in the loss. His 24 save performance had him named as the game’s Second Star.
- The Seattle Thunderbirds were back in action on Saturday night (Feb. 8) as they hosted the Everett Silvertips. Roddy Ross got the evening off as Blake Lyda started in the Thunderbirds goal. Shots and goals were even between both teams as Everett scored first while shorthanded through Jake Christiansen’s 14th and Seattle scored a powerplay goal through Jared Davidson’s 7th. The second period saw the Silvertips break through with three goals on 15 shots to take a 4-1 lead into the second intermission. Seattle scored at 15:35 of the third period to make it 4-2, but Christiansen scored his second goal of the game into an empty net to secure the 5-2 win for the Silvertips.
- On Sunday evening (Feb. 9) the Seattle Thunderbirds hosted the Prince George Cougars. Returning to the net for this game was Roddy Ross who was looking to get nominated for the Three Stars of the game for the fourth time in his last five starts. Seattle opened the scoring at 7:24 of the first period through Conner Bruggen-Cate’s 13th goal of the season. The second period saw the Thunderbirds extend their lead as Matthew Rempe beat Cougars goaltender Tyler Brennan for his 8th goal at 15:51. Prince George responded with a powerplay goal 41 seconds later to cut the lead to 2-1. Both Ross and Brennan were perfect in the third period, stopping a combined 18 shots and contributing to a scoreless period and resulting in a 2-1 win for the Seattle Thunderbirds. Ross was outstanding once again in this game, allowing only 1 goal on 34 shots and making 33 saves in the win. Roddy Ross was named the First Star of the game.
Follow this link to the highlights of Roddy Ross’ First Star performance against the Prince George Cougars: https://whl.ca/gamecentre/1017065/boxscore
The Seattle Thunderbirds remain in the second and final wildcard spot in the Western Conference. With 48 points in 51 games, Seattle now trails the Kelowna Rockets by only 1 point for the first Wildcard spot.
OHL (Ontario Hockey League)
Mason Millman #12 (D) – Saginaw Spirit (OHL)
| SEASON | GP | G | A | PTS | +/- | S | PIM |
| 2019-2020 Saginaw Spirit | 47 | 12 | 21 | 33 | +17 | 100 | 53 |
- On Friday night (Jan. 31), the Saginaw Spirit travelled into Ontario to face the Sarnia Sting. The Spirit were the better team in the opening period as they scored two goals and held a 20-8 shots on goal advantage to lead 2-0. The second period was more even with both teams trading goals and scoring twice each with Saginaw leading 4-2 after 40 minutes. Mason Millman assisted on Saginaw’s third goal of the game at even strength at the 15:51 mark. The third period had Saginaw’s D.J. Busdeker score a shorthanded goal 44 seconds in to make it a 5-2 game, but Sarnia responded 8 minutes later to get a goal back. The Spirit were too much to handle on this night as Ryan Suzuki added a final goal at 16:43 to cement the two points in Saginaw’s 6-3 victory. Millman had an assist to go along with a +2 rating and 2 shots on goal in this contest.
- Saturday night (Feb. 1) had the Saginaw Spirit host the visiting Erie Otters. Saginaw came out of the gate strong and boasted a 13-5 shots on goal advantage in the opening frame. Oddly enough, their first two goals came while shorthanded at 3:52 and 10:05 to take a 2-0 lead. The Spirit extended their lead to 3-0 before the end of the first period as Mason Millman grabbed an assist on Jake Goldowski’s 13th of the year. The Otters responded in the second period with two goals to narrow the lead to 3-2. In the third, Saginaw’s Damien Giroux scored two goals (his 31st and 32nd) to put the game out of reach at 5-2. Erie did pull one back, but the result was never in doubt as Ryan Suzuki potted an empty netter to secure a 6-3 win for Saginaw. Millman finished the game with 1 assist, an even rating, and 2 shots on goal.
- The Saginaw Spirit were back in action on Friday night (Feb. 7) as they visited the London Knights. The game started positively for Saginaw as they scored the game’s opening goal at 5:35. The Spirit extended their lead to 2-0 with another even strength goal at 11:44, but the Knights got one back before the end of the period to make it a 2-1 game. The second period was an absolute disaster for Saginaw as London lit them up to the tune of five consecutive goals on only 12 shots to take a 6-2 lead. The Spirit got one goal back before the end of the second period, as Dalton Duhart scored his second goal of the game on an assist from Mason Millman at even strength. But the damage had already been done as the Knights added another goal in the early portion of the third period to win the game convincingly 7-3. Millman finished the game with 1 assist, an even rating, and 2 shots on goal.
- Saturday night (Feb. 8) had the Saginaw Spirit return home to face the visiting Guelph Storm. The home team drew first blood as Danny Katic scored his 10th goal of the season to put Saginaw up 1-0 in the first period. Guelph answered back in the second period by scoring goals 2:14 apart to take a 2-1 lead. At 8:42 of the second period, Damien Giroux scored his 32nd goal of the campaign to tie the game 2-2. The third period did not see any goals as both goaltenders stopped a combined 16 shots to send the game into overtime. In the extra period, top draft prospect Cole Perfetti won the game for the Spirit by pouncing on a loose puck in the neutral zone and converting on a breakaway opportunity for his 30th goal and winning the game for Saginaw by a score of 3-2. Mason Millman did not score a point in the game and finished with a +2 rating and 3 shots on goal.
The Saginaw Spirit remain in 1st place in the West Division with 68 points from 51 games played. They have extended their lead to 4 points ahead of the Flint Firebirds and have played 1 more game.
QMJHL (Quebec Major Junior Hockey League)
Egor Serdyuk #18 (RW) – Victoriaville Tigres (QMJHL)
| SEASON | GP | G | A | PTS | +/- | S | PIM |
| 2019-2020 Victoriaville Tigres | 40 | 13 | 19 | 32 | -9 | 88 | 28 |
- On Wednesday night (Jan. 29) the Victoriaville Tigres hosted the visiting Val-d’Or Foreurs. Egor Serdyuk opened the scoring at 5:49 of the first period ripping a snapshot from the slot for his 13th goal of the season. The Tigres extended their lead early in the second period through Thomas Ethier’s 8th goal of the season. The Foreurs got a goal back at 14:46 but Victoriaville restored their two goal lead with 9 seconds remaining in the period as Felix Pare scored his 15th to make the score 3-1. Val-d’Or struck quickly in the third period and made it a one goal game at 0:42. The Tigres capitalized on the powerplay at the 3:00 mark to extend their lead once again and would not look back as Conor Frenette iced the game with an empty net goal to finalize the 5-2 win for Victoriaville. Serdyuk finished this game with 1 goal, a +1 rating, and 1 shot on goal.
- Friday night (Jan. 31) saw the Victoriaville Tigers travel to the provincial capital as they faced the Quebec Remparts. Victoriaville opened the scoring at 9:53 with an even strength goal, and then turned to the powerplay to extend their lead to 2-0 at 14:49 through Brooklyn Kalmikov’s 18th of the season. In the second period, the Tigres used the powerplay to their advantage once again as Alex DeGagne made it a 3-0 lead at 3:53. The Remparts responded with two goals in 52 seconds to make it a one goal game, but Fabio Iacobo stopped all 9 shots that he faced in the third period to help Victoriaville to a 3-2 win. Serdyuk was held scoreless in this contest and finished with a -1 rating and 1 shot on goal.
- Thursday night (Feb. 6) had the Victoriaville Tigres visit the Acadie-Bathurst Titan. This one ended up being a largely one sided affair, as the Tigres outshot the Titan in this game 33-14. Victoriaville started the game well as Brooklyn Kalmikov opened the scoring on the powerplay for the Tigres only 5:49 into the first period. This was followed up by a Vincent Sevigny goal (once again on the powerplay) at 13:45 to give the Tigres a 2-0 lead. Egor Serdyuk notched an assist on the Sevigny goal as he brought the puck into the zone and initiated a pretty passing play that ended up in the Titan net. The score remained 2-0 late into the third period until Victoriaville put any doubts of victory to rest with an empty net goal courtesy of Mikhail Abramov’s 33rd of the season as the Tigres won this game 3-0. Serdyuk finished the game with 1 assist, a +1 rating, and 1 shot on goal.
- The Victoriaville Tigres played their second game in three nights on Friday night (Feb. 7) as they travelled to Prince Edward Island to face the Charlottetown Islanders. Charlottetown came out swinging in the first period, scoring early at 3:21 and late at 19:44 to take a 2-0 lead. The second period did not fare any better for Victoriaville as the Islanders put up four goals in the frame to take a dominating 6-0 lead. Special teams in particular propelled the Islanders in that period as they had a shorthanded goal and two powerplay goals to put the game well out of reach. Victoriaville did end up breaking the shutout with Anthony Poulin scoring at 3:15 of the third, but it wasn’t nearly enough for the Tigres as they fell 6-1. Egor Serdyuk was held scoreless and finished the game with no points, a -1 rating, and 1 shot on goal.
- The road trip out east continued for the Victoriaville Tigres on Saturday night (Feb. 8) as they visited the Halifax Mooseheads. The first period turned into a slugfest as a total of five goals were scored by both teams on 19 shots. Victoriaville opened the scoring as Egor Serdyuk skated the puck into the Halifax zone and feathered a pass to Vincent Sevigny who converted his 8th goal of the season. The Mooseheads tied the game at the 11:03 mark, but Brooklyn Kalmikov scored his 20th just 27 seconds later to restore the 2-1 lead for the Tigres. Victoriaville converted on a man advantage 1:45 later to make it 3-1, but Halifax got one back before the end of the period to head into the intermission down 3-2. With no scoring in the second period, the third period saw Victoriaville extend their lead for good through goals by Kalmikov’s second of the night (21st) and Conor Frenette’s 8th goal of the season as the Tigres defeated the Mooseheads by a score of 5-2. Serdyuk finished the game with 1 assist, a +1 rating, 1 shot on goal, and 2 minutes in penalties thanks to a cross checking call at 3:36 of the third period.
The Victoriaville Tigres remains in the 6th position in the Western Conference and have 51 points from 53 games. Victoriaville is now 5 points ahead of Shawinigan and is in the final playoff spot. Shawinigan has two games in hand on Victoriaville.
BCHL (British Columbia Hockey League)
Jay O’Brien #9 (RW) – Penticton Vees (BCHL)
| SEASON | GP | G | A | PTS | PIM |
| 2019-2020 Penticton Vees | 42 | 23 | 38 | 61 | 49 |
- Saturday evening (Feb. 1) saw the Penticton Vees host the visiting Vernon Vipers. The Vees put up four even strength goals in the first period to put the Vipers in a massive 4-0 hole. The second period saw more of the same as the Vees scored another three goals even though the shots on goal in the frame were even at eight shots apiece. Jay O’Brien assisted on Penticton’s seventh goal of the night (his 36th assist of the season) at 12:54 of the second period. Although Vernon did breakthrough with a goal late in the second period, the third period was scoreless and the Vees cruised to a dominating 7-1 win. O’Brien finished the game with 1 assist and 2 PIMs as he was assessed a minor penalty for high sticking at 7:04 of the second period.
- The Penticton Vees returned to action on Wednesday night (Feb. 5) as they took on the Surrey Eagles. Even with a 13-8 shot advantage, the Vees found themselves tied with the Eagles after the first period of play. Penticton opened the scoring at 11:59, but Surrey answered back by scoring an even strength goal of their own at 14:12 to tie the game 1-1. In the second period, both teams traded goals once again as the Vees took the 2-1 lead before the Eagles tied it with a powerplay goal at 14:08 to make it 2-2. Jay O’Brien gave the Vees the lead just 1:22 later as he scored a powerplay goal for his 21st of the season. The pesky Eagles tied the game 3-3 once again at 18:42, but O’Brien scored his second goal of the game and 22nd overall to put the Vees up 4-3 58 seconds later. O’Brien’s goal at the end of the second period would turn out to be the game winner, as both teams could not pot a goal in the third period as the Vees won the game by a final score of 4-3. Jay O’Brien finished the game with 2 goals and was named the game’s First Star. Penticton has now won eight games in a row.
Here are the highlights of O’Brien’s 2 goal effort vs. Surrey: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mh8qKVpdX2c
- Going for their ninth win in a row, the Penticton Vees were in action on Friday night (Feb. 7) against the Salmon Arm Silverbacks. Salmon Arm took the lead after only 2:10, but the Vees tied it up 1-1 through a Lucas Sillinger goal on the powerplay at 8:18. Jay O’Brien assisted on the Sillinger goal to tie the game, and then scored the go ahead goal in the second period (his 23rd) to give Penticton the 2-1 lead. O’Brien also found himself on the box score after being assessed a minor penalty for hooking at 4:08 of the third period. Salmon Arm ended up tying the game at 15:57 of the third period and would sent the game to overtime tied 2-2. In overtime, the Vees only needed 1:12 to take the extra point as Danny Weight scored his 24th of the season to help Penticton win their ninth game in a row by a score of 3-2. Jay O’Brien finished the game with 1 goal and 1 assist for 2 points and picked up 2 PIMs.
- On Sunday evening (Feb. 9) the Penticton Vees put their nine game winning streak on the line as they faced off against the West Kelowna Warriors. The Warriors opened the scoring at the 5:06 mark of the first period to take a 1-0 lead. David Silye scored his 20th of the season to tie the game for the Vees, but West Kelowna scored at 16:10 to take a 2-1 lead into the intermission. In the second period, Jay O’Brien picked up his 38th assist of the season on the powerplay to help the Vees tie the game, and Jackson Niedermayer added another in the frame to give the Vees a 3-2 lead. The Warriors seemed determined to end the Vees winning streak and scored at 3:07 of the third period and added another one minute later to retake the lead 4-3. Jackson Niedermayer scored his second goal of the game to equalize once again for the Vees and the game needed extra time to declare a winner. In overtime, Penticton found a hero in Nico Somerville whose 7th goal of the season gave Penticton their tenth win in a row by a score of 5-4. Jay O’Brien finished the game with 1 assist and was assessed a game misconduct after being involved in a skirmish during overtime after a teammate went to the box for boarding.
The Penticton Vees remain on top of the Interior Division with 84 points from 54 games. They lead the 2nd place Trail Smoke Eaters by 13 points and have played 1 extra game.
***
Hope you enjoyed this late January/early February edition of the Flyers Junior Hockey Prospect Report.
As always, feel free to leave any comments or feedback via twitter or at www.brotherlypuck.com.
Until next time from BrotherlyPuck.com,
I remain,
Manny Benevides
brotherlypuck.com 