The Chilliwack Chiefs must have read my last article as they came up big with a 4-0 win over one of the top teams – the Penticton Vees on Friday night. Mathieu Caron got his second shutout of the season stopping 30 shots.
The first period saw the Chiefs bombarded with defensive play. Chilliwack got two power play opportunities when BCHL legacy players Danny Weight and Tristan Amonte took a penalty each. The Chiefs only managed one shot on goal in the entire period and they capitalized on it when Nikita Nesterenko popped in his ninth of the season on the second power play chance. Cooper Moore and newly acquired Tommy Lyons, who was airlifted in from the USHL, got the assists. Penticton threw 12 shots on goal and Caron stopped all of them.
The Chiefs found their legs in the second period. However, it didn’t start well when Brody Gagno put the Chiefs down a man 46 secs into the period. Luckily for Chilliwack, its penalty kill came up big and kept the Vees at bay. The Chiefs increased their lead to two when Ethan Bowen notched his ninth from Joey Larson and Brett Rylance. Chilliwack got its 3rd of the game when Peter Reynolds tallied his seventh of the season from Lyons. The Chiefs made up for lobbing only one shot at the Penticton net in the first as they threw 21 on Vees goalie Yaniv Perets in the second.
The Chiefs sealed the game in the third as Clark Nelson scored his first of the season from Carter Wilkie and Arlo Merritt. Caron stopped all 10 shots the Vees sent his way to secure the victory.
Takeaways from the Game
Lyons made an immediate impact in his first game with the Chiefs with two assists and was named third star of the game. Caron came up big in a hostile environment at the South Okanagan Events Centre and the Chiefs grabbed a huge win on the road against a very tough opponent in Penticton.
The Chiefs hope to continue their winning ways on the road in Trail against former Chilliwack legend and Smoke Eaters head coach Jeff Tambellini, whose team is coming coming off a 4-4 tie with Langley.
