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Penticton Vees clinch playoffs, tie CHL win record

Hockey players celebrate on the ice in an arena.
X/Penticton Vees via Brian Cobb

The inaugural season tear continues for the Penticton Vees with a playoff-clinching win.

Their Tuesday night win in Swift Current not only made the Vees the second western conference team to lock-in their playoff spot but also tied a long-held CHL win record.

Now with 37 victories in their first WHL season, Penticton has tied the national record and remains on track to set a new one with 11 games remaining.

They remain second in the WHL’s western conference, trailing 15 points behind the Everett Silvertips and 10 points ahead of the Prince George Cougars. Now guaranteed a spot in the playoffs, they’ve clocked two wins out of three games so far on a road trip through the prairies.

Taking on the Swift Current Broncos, Feb. 24, the Vees won 3-1.

Winger Brady Birnie scored the first goal against his former team, starting this season with the Vees after he was drafted in the first round by the Broncos in 2021.

Penticton plays against the Saskatoon Blades tonight, Feb. 25, as they continue their prairie road trip. If they win, the Vees will set a new record for most wins in an inaugural CHL season. The record has been held by the now-defunct QMJHL team Longueuil College-Francais since 1983.

Elsewhere in the region, the Kelowna Rockets and Kamloops Blazers are on track to make a playoff spot, sitting in fourth and fifth in the western conference, respectively.

They played each other in back-to-back games last weekend, with Kelowna taking both wins.

The Blazers won’t play either Okanagan team again during the regular season, but fans have two more chances to watch the battle of the Okanagan next month.

The Rockets and the Vees are set to close out their regular seasons with back-to-back games on March 20 and 21.

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Levi Landry

Levi is a recent graduate of the Communications, Culture, & Journalism program at Okanagan College and is now based in Kamloops. After living in the BC for over four years, he finds the blue collar and neighbourly environment in the Thompson reminds him of home in Saskatchewan. Levi, who has previously been published in Kelowna’s Daily Courier, is passionate about stories focussed on both social issues and peoples’ experiences in their local community. If you have a story or tips to share, you can reach Levi at 250 819 3723 or email LLandry@infonews.ca.

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