Manderson tribute motivates Vees
After watching his own highlight reel, Denver Manderson lit up the Powell River Kings for two power-play goals.
The Penticton Vees honoured its captain at the South Okanagan Events Centre for reaching the 100-point plateau.
“It doesn’t hurt to watch a highlight reel of yourself,” responded Manderson with a smile when asked if the tribute pumped him up for the game. “It was an honour and it was great to be recognized.”
Manderson teamed up with forward Beau Bennett and defenceman Joey Laleggia to score twice in under seven minutes and get the crowd of 1,654 excited. Manderson said both goals were the result of good plays. On the second, Laleggia found him open to the side of the crease and the BCHL scoring leader made no mistake one-timing the shot behind Kings goalie Josh Watson. Manderson’s second was a beauty in which he picked the top left corner of Watson’s glove side with a wrist shot.
The Kings didn’t get many solid scoring chances among their 28 shots, but they poured on the pressure late in the third period. Matt Garbowsky, a former teammate of Vees rookie forward Alex Szczechura during their junior B days, scored his second of the game making it 3-2 on the power-play. Szczechura was in the box for an interference call and watched as Garbowsky managed to hide in the crowd of players creating chaos in front of Vees goalie Sean Bonar. The Vees netminder nearly stopped the redirection which he said he never saw.
“They were in great desperation,” said Bonar. “They had some great opportunities and were a good challenge.”
Vees fans may have been on the edge of their seats as Bonar was forced to make his last of 26 saves at the buzzer sounded. Bennett scored the winner in the second period as his shot trickled past Watson
at 13:30.
Vees coach-general manager Fred Harbinson smiled and said he was glad to get two points when asked what he liked of the win.
“It was two good teams playing hard,” said Harbinson. “Powell River is a good club and they didn’t quit. They hung in at the end.”
Manderson said he expected a hard game from Powell River who he felt played well.
“They have guys that can make plays,” he said. “That was a good test for us and we responded well.”
A visit from the Kings also brought back former Vee Mitch Labreche, who returned for the first time since being traded at the start of the season. Manderson said he’s a great guy who players miss. When it came to facing the speedster, Manderson said you don’t really “notice him” only because when players are out there, “it’s just black and white.”
“I’m happy for him and he’s done well,” said Manderson.
Labreche said he had a strange feeling returning to Penticton.
“I was here for two years and guys like Murray (Maxwell, dressing room services for the Vees) here cheering me on and my billets too, it was just like coming back to the rink like I was playing for them,” said Labreche, who has 10 goals and 26 points in 50 games. “It was good. In the end, I think we would make it a pretty good series in the playoffs so I hope to be back again.”
The next challenge for the Vees comes Friday when they visit the Merritt Centennials before hosting the Quesnel Millionaires on Saturday.
Bonar said that the Nicola Valley Arena in Merritt is tough to play in because it’s a smaller rink.
“They are good at home,” said Bonar of the Centennials who are 13-10. “The power-play is tough to run and you have to find different ways to score.”
The Vees will have to be ready for a physical affair as Bonar noted the Centennials like to play hard in their barn.
The win against the Kings improves the Vees to 40-6-0-3 giving them 83 points, one point behind the Vernon Vipers for first-place in the Interior Conference. The Vipers are coming off a 3-1 loss to Westside last Saturday and host the Kings on Friday and the Langley Chiefs on Saturday.
Vees notes: Forward Eric Filiou has begun skating on his own after missing 10 games with Mononucleosis. Defenceman Bo Dolan returned to the lineup to play the last four games after he broke his leg in Powell River
on Nov. 20.
Penticton Vees forward Beau Bennett breaks down the ice on another rush during third period action in Wednesday’s BCHL game against the Powell River Kings at the South Okanagan Events Centre. Bennett scored the game winner and added two assists in the Vees 3-2 win. Vees head coach and GM Fred Harbinson gives instructions to his players during a time out against Powell River.
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