Lucky bounce propels Vees by Wayne Moore – Story: 43141 Curtis McKenzie scored his second of the game 1:01 into double overtime, propelling the visiting Penticton Vees to a 4-3 come-from-behind win over the Westside Warriors. The goal, with the teams playing three-on-three, came seconds after a Warriors breakaway pass hit the skate of the referee at the Warriors blueline and bounced onto the stick of Denver Manderson. Manderson spotted McKenzie, who's shot from a sharp angle dribbled past Warriors netminder Kevin Jebson.
Nov 14, 2008 / 9:52 pm
Warriors coach Mark Howell, was livid at the turn of events.
“As referees you have to pay attention and he had no idea where the puck was. Am I mad that a puck hit him? No. I'm mad that he wasn't paying attention,” says Howell. “We cleared the puck on a bank play for a breakaway and he had no idea. That's why I'm disappointed.”
The Warriors came out quick, building a 2-0 lead on goals by Garrett Watson and Jordon Gagne 25 seconds apart. The Vees evened the score on their only two shots of the opening period, getting goals from Erik Slemp and McKenzie on a power-play. Penticton took over the game in the second and third and finally took the lead when Travis Oullette hit a wide open net midway through the third.
“Our first period was great, but then we never played the same after that. We turned the puck over way too much and didn't really play hard puck possession hockey,” added Howell.
Justin Schultz forced overtime on a penalty shot with just three and a half minutes to go in regulation time. Schultz deked netminder Jordon White and slipped home a backhander to assure the Warriors of the single point. Westside dominated the first extra period, out shooting Penticton 8-1. Gagne had the best chance to end the game, but he put the puck wide while standing about 15 feet in front of a wide open net.
The Warriors out shot Penticton 33-27 over the course of the game. The single point moves the Warriors into a second place tie with Vernon, three points behind Salmon Arm, after both the Vipers and Silverbacks lost Friday.
The Warriors host Vernon Saturday.
Lucky Bounce Propels Vees
