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4-goal third propels Vees to win

Held scoreless and trailing by a goal through 40 minutes, the Penticton Vees exploded for four goals in the third period to earn a 4-1 home win over the Merritt Centennials.

Neither team scored in the first and Merritt’s Bradley Cocca put the Cents ahead with a power-play goal in the second. Grant Cruikshank tied things up for the Vees early in the third with a shorthanded tally but Rylan Van Unen put the Cents ahead again just 52 seconds later on another power-play marker.

The Cents’ lead was short-lived however as Massimo Rizzo tied the game only 41 seconds after Van Unen’s goal and Ryan Sandelin scored what would be the winner at the 5:00 mark of the final frame. Dakota Boutin added an empty-net goal in the final minute for Penticton. Nolan Hildebrand made 18 saves for the win while Jacob Berger stopped 39 for Merritt.

Dayne Finnson’s goal at 15:10 of the second period stood up as the winner for the Victoria Grizzlies in a 2-1 triumph over the visiting Coquitlam Express. Marty Westhaver’s power-play goal had Victoria up 1-0 after one but Colby Pederson was able to tie it for Coquitlam near the middle of the second. Finnson’s goal, his first of the season, was the final tally of the night. Zach Rose made 27 saves for the win while Reid Cooper stopped 29 for Coquitlam.

The Trail Smoke Eaters fired 51 shots on net and got goals from four different scorers on the way to a 4-1 home win over the Cowichan Valley Capitals. Levi Glasman opened the scoring in the first for the Smokies and Ross Armour’s power-play tally in the second was the winner. Azzaro Tinling got the lone Caps marker on the man advantage later in the second. Daine Dubois and Ryan Murphy scored 30 seconds apart in the third to put the finishing touches on the win for Trail. Adam Marcoux made 47 saves for the Caps while Brandon Wells stopped 19 for Trail.

Overtime settled nothing between the Prince George Spruce Kings and the Powell River Kings as they teams skated to a 3-3 deadlock at Hap Parker Arena. Ethan de Jong scored just 23 seconds into the game for PG and Chong Min Lee made it 2-0 Spruce Kings at 5:35 into the second. Carter Turnbull scored his first of two on the power play just past the middle of the second to get the Kings on the board and he tied the game 41 seconds into the third. Kyle Johnson put PG up again in the third but Ben Berard equalized for Powell River just 22 seconds later. Evan DeBrouwer made 39 saves for PG while Mitch Adamyk stopped 18 for Powell River.

Regan Kimens scored a hat trick and Skyler Brind’Amour added a pair as the Chilliwack Chiefs defeated the visiting Salmon Arm Silverbacks 6-1. Kimens and Brendan O’Reilly scored in the first to give the Chiefs all the goals they’d need. Kimens and Brind’Amour added on in the second and Mitch Stapley got the lone ‘Backs goal early in the third. Kimens finished his hat trick in the final frame and Brind’Amour rounded out the scoring with just under four minutes to go.

AJ Vanderbeck and August Von Ungern scored a pair of goals each to help the Wenatchee Wild to an 8-4 home win over the Surrey Eagles. Chase Danol got the Eagles on the board first but the Wild replied on Von Ungern’s first. Desi Burgart and Cooper Zech then traded tallies making it 2-2 after 20 minutes. Vanderbeck scored his first at 5:30 of the second but Jordan Robert replied to tie it for Surrey. Jasper Weatherby put the Wild ahead going to the third and Slava Demin’s goal on the man advantage at 9:04 of the third was the winner with Von Ungern adding his second shortly after. Burgart got the final Eagles goal while Vanderbeck and Sam Hesler added the final Wild goals.