The Penticton Vees battled back from a 2-0 deficit in the third period to take a 3-2 overtime (OT) victory in Game 6 over the Prince George Cougars and advance to the Western Conference Final to battle the Everett Silvertips.   

The Western Conference Final schedule has the opening two games hosted by the Everett Silvertips on April 23 and 25. The Vees return to place inform of the hometown crowd on Mon, Apr 27 and Tue, Apr 28 at the South Okanagan Events Centre in Penticton.

For the Penticton Vees, this playoff run marks a defining first season at a new level, stepping into the Western Hockey League after years of dominance in junior A. The transition hasn’t come quietly. Instead, the Vees have carried their winning culture forward, quickly proving they can compete with—and beat—established WHL franchises.

The Vees opened early with a 14-game winning streak during the regular season, then carried that momentum through a 44-win record — the most ever by a WHL expansion team — on their way to capturing the B.C. Division title.

Game Summary

The Penticton second round victory followed a 3-2 game lead for the Vees against Prince George. After no goals were scored in an opening period of the final match, where the Cougars outshot the Vees 15-4, Prince George found the back of the net off the stick of Carson Carles off a rush and Lee Shurgot on the powerplay to make it 2-0 after 40 minutes. 

Diego Johnson got the Vees back within one early in the third period, his first goal of the post-season. Then, Doogan Pederson struck for his first playoff goal to tie the game 2-2 and send it to overtime for the first time in the series. Just after two minutes into overtime, Samuel Drancak fired a shot off the pads of Joshua Ravensbergen which Jacob Kvasnicka deposited into the net for his seventh of the playoffs and the series clinching goal. 

The Vees will take on the Everett Silvertips in the Western Conference Final starting next week. 

GAME STATS

Shots: Vees- 25 Cougars- 42

Scoring:

Vees- Diego Johnson, Doogan Pederson, Jacob Kvasnicka

Cougars- Carson Carels, Lee Shrug

Goaltending:

Vees- AJ Reyelts – 40/42. Cougars- Joshua Ravensbergen – 22/25

Playoff tickets

Tickets to the home games are available at ValleyFirst Tix : https://valleyfirsttix.evenue.net/promotions/VEESROUND3

Thu, Apr 23 Penticton vs Everett 7:05 pm PDT Angel of the Winds Arena – Everett, WA
Sat, Apr 25 Penticton vs Everett 6:30 pm PDT Angel of the Winds Arena – Everett, WA
Mon, Apr 27 Everett vs Penticton 7:05 pm PDT South Okanagan Events Centre – Penticton, BC
Tue, Apr 28 Everett vs Penticton 7:05 pm PDT South Okanagan Events Centre – Penticton, BC
Fri, May 1 Penticton vs Everett 7:00 pm PDT Angel of the Winds Arena – Everett, WA
Sun, May 3 Everett vs Penticton 6:05 pm PDT South Okanagan Events Centre – Penticton, BC
Tue, May 5 Penticton vs Everett 7:05 pm PDT Angel of the Winds Arena – Everett, WA