On the strength of four-point nights from each of the astonishing Nadeau brothers and a lightning fast start that saw the home team surge to a commanding 3-0 lead just 5:27 into the first period, the Penticton Vees drubbed the Salmon Arm Silverbacks 6-2 Saturday night at the SOEC.
With the victory, Penticton moved ahead 2-0 in the third round best-of-seven series that will decide the winner of the BCHL's Interior Division.
As in the Vees' first two series of the 2022-23 playoffs, their latest opponent looks massively outgunned. The Vees scored 11 goals in the first two games of the series. The Silverbacks popped just three.
Saturday night the shots didn’t come easy. At least not at first. But it's the finish that mattered. Penticton scored on its first two shots of the evening,and by 5:27, Josh had two goals and Bradley had two assists.
The Silverbacks' first goal at 6:47 took some air out of the building, but Bradly's first of the night and third point of the period at 13:51 restored the three-goal margin. The teams traded goals in the 2nd but Dovar Tinling added to the Silverbacks' misery with his sixth of the playoffs at :29 of the third.
Final shot totals were 35-20 in favour of the Vees, which went two for five on the powerplay versus Salmon Arm's zero for two. Tinling's goal was his third point of the game and both he and Aydar Suniev, who notched three assists, were noticeable all evening.
Attendance Saturday night was 3011, which in the grand scheme of things can be seen as a bit disappointing. This is a phenomenal team that marched unflinchingly to the Cup last year, has now won 40 in a row at home, hasn't lost in the playoffs since Game One of their 2021-22 first round series, and last but certainly not least has the murderous one-two hometown Nadeau punch 'til the end of these playoffs.
Game Three and Four in the BCHL Interior Division championship series are Tuesday and Wednesday evenings in Salmon Arm. Game Five, if necessary, goes at the SOEC Friday evening.
