The Vernon Vipers and Penticton Vees had a few things in common heading into Game 5 action in their respective Interior Conference semi-finals series on Monday night: both were higher seeds coming off Game 4 losses with an important home showdown on tap. And both the Vipers and Vees came through in the clutch, securing shutouts and a chance to advance with another victory on Tuesday.
In Vernon, Connor Jones scored the eventual game winner with a shorthanded effort midway through the first period of a 4-0 triumph. Mike Collins doubled the Vipers lead before the end of the frame, and Kellen Jones netted early in the second period to give the home side a three-goal cushion. Cole Ikkala capped off the scoring late in the third.
Graeme Gordon made 26 saves for his first shutout of the postseason, while his teammates did theur part in limiting the Millionaires to just five shots in the third period. Kirby Halcrow saw 38 shots in the loss.
Now up 3-2 in the series, Vernon will look to punch their ticket to the Conference Finals with a victory in Quesnel on Tuesday evening.
Meanwhile, the Vees rode a 23-save effort from Sean Bonar and multi-point nights from Denver Manderson and Garrett Milan to a 3-0 home ice victory over the Westside Warriors.
Penticton's power-play made its mark early, as Milan scored at the 10:01 mark of the first period before Manderson stretched the lead on a man-advantage early in the second. The Vees then held their visitors to three shots in the final 20 minutes, while Logan Johnston provided the final goal of the night.
Westside now returns home needing a victory on Tuesday night at Royal LePage Place to keep their postseason alive by forcing a Game 7 on Wednesday. Faceoff is set for 7:00 PM.
