Penticton Vees blank visiting Vipers

PENTICTON – Hunter Miska turned aside all 29 shots he faced and Dante Fabbro supplied all the offense, as the Penticton Vees shutout the Vernon Vipers 1-0 Saturday at the South Okanagan Events Centre.

The shutout win extends the Vees season-high win streak to nine games and they now sit eight points clear of second place Merritt.

Both teams held each other scoreless in the opening period and the two goaltenders had a large say in the matter. First, Jarrod Schamerhorn robbed Josh Laframboise with a spectacular glove save midway through the frame. Laframboise took a cross-ice pass and looked to have an open net but Schamerhorn snatched the puck with the trapper.  Hunter Miska replied with a glove save of his own later in the first, when he flashed the leather on Trevor Fidler, who wired a shot from the right-circle.

After twenty-minutes of scoreless hockey, it took just sixty-five seconds for the Vees to break the deadlock in the second. The Vees needed all of seven seconds of power-play time to go ahead 1-0. Right off the face-off, Demico Hannoun slid the puck across to Dante Fabbro who hammered the one-timer past Schamerhorn on the short-side; Fabbro’s third, all of which of have been scored on the power-play.

Penticton then had back-to-back-to-back chances to go ahead by two but couldn’t find the back of the net. First, Hannoun kept on a two-on-one rush but his wrist-shot was fought-off by Schamerhorn’s blocker. Then Lewis Zerter-Gossage won a race to the puck at centre, rushed down the middle on a breakaway but rifled a shot off the cross-bar. Finally, Tyson Jost had a burst of speed down the right-wing, deked around the Vernon defenseman but couldn’t tuck the puck around the outstretched leg of Vernon’s goalie.

Vernon’s best chance in the second came off the stick of Mitch Meek but he was thwarted by Miska’s pad. Meek took a pass in the right-circle but had his shot kicked out by Miska who slid across with the double pad stack save.

It was a defensive struggle in the third, as neither team was giving up much in the territorial battle; the two combined for just 11 shots in the stanza.

The Vees penalty-kill flexed its muscle early in the third, as they killed-off back-to-back Vernon power-plays. The Vees best chance offensively in third came whilst they were short-handed. Mike Lee had a two-on-one rush with Hannoun but his centering feed for Hannoun just hopped over the forward’s stick.

Vernon’s best look at the net in the third came off the stick of Thomas Aldworth. Aldworth danced down the middle of the Vees zone but his deke was stuffed at the post by the left-leg of a sprawled Miska.

Final Score: 1-0 Vees

Shots: 29-26 Vernon

Power-Plays: Vees 1-2 Vernon 0-3

Three Stars: 1) Hunter Miska 2) Dante Fabbro 3) Trevor Fidler

Attendance: 2,614

The Vees are now 12-1-0-0 and 6-0-0-0 at home with the win. They’re 8-1-0-0 against the Interior and 2-0-0-0 against Vernon. Saturday was the fifth straight game the Vees held their opposition to two or less goals; their second clean sheet in their last five games.

The Vees wrap up their busy weekend tomorrow afternoon in Salmon Arm, as they have a date with the Silverbacks at the Shaw Centre; puck drop is 3 p.m. Fans can listen to the game on EZ Rock AM 800 or watch online at www.fasthockey.com.