Tri-City, the last team without a win in the WHL, headed into Penticton on Saturday looking to finally get into the win column.
The Americans found themselves down 3-0 at one point, but battled back to make it a one-goal game before eventually falling 4-2 to the Vees.
Tri-City were outplayed for a majority of the night, but a small second-period spurt, combined with a strong goaltending performance from Xavier Wendt, made the final score appear much closer than the game often was.
1st Period
Penticton came out with a great start and, after some early pressure, broke through four minutes into the game following a great feed from Tyler Deakos.
With the puck behind the Tri-City net, Deakos went after it and, with great awareness, backhanded a pass behind himself to Gavin Katz at the side of the net. Katz then made his way to the front of the net and chipped the puck over the shoulder of Wendt to give Penticton a 1-0 lead.
After another great play by the Vees, it was 2-0 midway through the first.
Giorgos Pantelas made a beautiful stretch pass to Graham Jones, who burst into the Tri-City zone and went down the middle. Jones then fired a shot that just squeaked underneath the arm of Wendt.
Following the goal, Jones pointed directly at Tri-City captain Jaxen Adam and was handed a ten-minute misconduct penalty.
Later in the period, after an absolute rocket of a one-timer from the slot on the Vees’ first power play of the night by Nate Pederson, Tri-City were lucky it wasn’t 3-0, with the shot ringing off the bar.
The score remained 2-0 through the end of the first, and Tri-City would once again have to work from behind.
This year, Tri-City are now being outscored 5-1 by opponents in the first period, as they have continued to put themselves in bad situations by not coming out ready to play.
2nd Period
Jaxen Adam would pick up his second penalty of the game early in the second, and it would come back to bite Tri-City.
Just two minutes into the period, with the Americans on their heels, Tyden Bergenson beat Wendt shortside from close range to make it 3-0. It was Bergenson’s second goal of the season.
After Tri-City had been outplayed for much of the night, one quick penalty would help change the momentum 15 minutes into the second.
The Americans would score twice in quick succession, just under a minute apart, to make it a one-goal game.
On the power play, Owen Kraft picked up his first career WHL goal on a sharp-angle shot from up close.
Then, Eli McKamey, who played for Penticton in the BCHL two years ago, would rip one from the slot for his first goal of the season to bring Tri-City within one.
Suddenly, a game that had looked like it could get out of hand was right back in reach.
The score would remain 3-2 heading into the final frame, even though Tri-City were being outshot 24-11 and had been outplayed for most of the game.
3rd Period
For the third straight game this season, Tri-City entered the third period trailing by one, and they had come up just short of victory in each of the first three games.
Tonight would be no different, but it was close.
Tri-City nearly tied the game on a two-on-one, with Crew Martinson ringing a shot off the crossbar before Vees netminder Kaenan Smith quickly covered the puck with his glove.
The Americans continued to battle, but could not find the equalizer.
Late in the game, Tri-City pulled the goalie in an attempt to tie things up, but the gamble would not pay off.
Graham Jones would slide his second goal of the night into the empty net, securing a 4-2 win for Penticton.
Post Game / What’s Next
Despite the loss, there were some positives for Tri-City to take away from the night.
The Americans scored on their lone power-play opportunity, a sign of good things to hopefully come for a team that has struggled mightily on the power play to start the season.
Owen Kraft picked up his first career WHL goal, while Eli McKamey recorded two points, his first two as a Tri-City American.
And once again, goaltending was a major bright spot.
Xavier Wendt continues the goalie parade as goaltending has been the biggest strength of this Tri-City team to start the season. Wendt kept the game from getting way out of hand and made the final score much closer than it likely would have been without him.
Tri-City will be in the hunt for their first win next Wednesday when they take on the last-place team in the Eastern Conference at the moment, the Lethbridge Hurricanes, at home.
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