If tremors are rumbling through Penticton after the Vees lost 5-4 to the Merritt Centennials, the team isn’t concerned.

They have pushed it aside and are focussed on taking a second win from the Trail Smoke Eaters before heading up Highway 97 to Vernon and doing the same.

Vees coach-GM Fred Harbinson put his team through a solid practice on Wednesday and is confident his troops are ready for battle.

“Everybody except for Vernon has had their hiccup here and there,” said Harbinson. “I imagine they are not invincible either. Somewhere down the line they will have a hiccup too.”

A shorthanded tally by Joey Holka, who collected his fifth goal in nine games, should have given the Vees more momentum and control of the game. It didn’t happen. Nearly two minutes later, Silvan Harper scored what Harbinson described as a “weak” goal.

“It got them back in the game,” said Harbinson. “I thought our work ethic and compete level were just fine. We just didn’t execute certain things.”

Thirty seconds before the second period ended, Okanagan Hockey Academy alumni Dustin Johnson tied the game at four. Late in the third, Stephan Wall scored the winner while Penticton’s Cole Holowenko took care of the rest making 21 third-period saves, earning his first BCHL win.

“The 16-year-old goaltender from here played really well in the third period,” said Harbinson. “Got to give him credit.”

Missing Garrett Milan, Joey Laleggia and Sean Bonar didn’t help the Vees as they attended Team Canada West’s evaluation camp in Okotoks, Alta. Plus, Ben Sexton became ill with the flu.

Harbinson said offence wasn’t the problem against the Centennials, which is what the missing players would have brought. Goaltending was part of it.

“I think Joel Rumpel had a tough night,” said Harbinson, of his keeper, who he spoke to about the performance. “I think he knows he definitely could have been better. Sean Bonar was going through the same moments last year. We have confidence in Joel and his teammates have confidence in him.”

Nobody on the Vees is using their performance as an excuse.

“I thought it was a very poor effort,” said Manderson. “From top to bottom, I didn’t think anybody was good. I didn’t think any line was good. It was disappointing coming off such a good weekend against Salmon Arm.”

As the Vees work in practice, they know Friday brings a desperate opponent. The Vees coach said that for Trail, a victory against them could turn the Smoke Eaters season around as they are unbeaten in two games despite owning a 1-6-1 record.

And just because Trail is only ahead of Williams Lake in the Interior Conference standings, Bonar will get the nod in goal.

“The points against Trail are just as important,” said Harbinson. “Those are two huge conference points.”

The next day features a matchup that Harbinson believes most people are looking forward to but he’s not placing special importance on it.

“They could possibly be the best team in the country,” he added. “They are kind of the gauge. It’s exciting. The two teams get up for it. The players get up for it. The fans get up for it and I know the coaches do as well.”

Added Manderson: “I’m sure we will be able to get amped up to play Vernon. I think everybody will be at their best. It’s pretty hard not to. With us beating Salmon Arm, I think it kind of puts us and Vernon early in the year as the top two teams.”

ICE CHIPS: Vees rookie forward Alex Szczechura is on a hot streak sniping five goals and 10 points in his last five games. Szczechura chalks it up to working hard in practice and adjusting to the quicker pace of the BCHL and fighting off stronger opposition. The Vees also traded forward/defenceman Mitch Jones to the Nanaimo Clippers for future considerations. Jones wanted a larger role, which Harbinson said he couldn’t give with who is on the roster. In its Wednesday issue, The Penticton Western News misspelled Szczechura’s name and apologizes for the error.

Alex Szczechura of the Penticton Vees, pictured, will look to keep his point streak of 10 in five games alive as the Vees look to get back in the win column against the Smoke Eaters on Friday.