Welcome to spring skiing!

The initial list of nominees for the prestigious Hobey Baker Award were announced with four Vees alumni among the 77 players in the running for college hockey’s annual award for the nation’s top player.

It didn’t seem like a game for first place.

The National Hockey League’s Central Scouting Bureau released their Mid-Term Rankings ahead of the 2022 NHL Entry Draft in Montreal, Quebec which includes Penticton Vees defenseman Ryan Hopkins ranked 158th amongst North American skaters.

Penticton Vees are healthy and ready to go.

The Penticton Vees Hockey Club are pleased to announce the commitment of defenseman Brady Smith (’05) for the 2022/23 season.

Former Penticton Vees netminder Jack LaFontaine has signed a one-year, entry-level contract with the Carolina Hurricanes in the National Hockey League (NHL), the team announced on Sunday.

WINTERBERG, Germany — Summerland's Justin Kripps and Cam Stones captured their first career World Cup two-man bobsleigh medal in Winterberg, Germany, winning the bronze on Saturday.

Cold, but not frigid. And the snow keeps acomin’.

A league-best 19 players on the Penticton Vees roster have now committed to play NCAA Division 1 college hockey in the U.S. after their junior careers are over.

Three teams in the B.C. Hockey League, including the Penticton Vees, have been shut down for five days as a result of COVID-19.

The Penticton Vees came back from a 1st period deficit but could not find the game winning goal as they fell by a 4-3 score to the West Kelowna Warriors in a shootout at Royal LePage Place on Saturday night.

The Penticton Vees Hockey Club announced Saturday the team has traded forward Trevor O’Brien (’02) to the Coquitlam Express in exchange for future considerations.

The Penticton Vees controlled the game most of the night and were helped by a 15-save shutout from Carter Serhyenko in a 3-0 victory over the West Kelowna Warriors on Friday night at the South Okanagan Events Centre.

Editor’s note: We decided to end 2021 on a positive note by putting together a four-part series featuring four young athletes from the Penticton area who have turned their love of sports into post-secondary educations or careers on the international stage.

Editor’s note: We decided to end 2021 on a positive note by putting together a four-part series featuring four young athletes from the Penticton area who have turned their love of sports into post-secondary educations or careers on the international stage.

The Penticton Vees threw 41 shots on goal but just could not find a late equalizer as they dropped a 4-3 decision to the West Kelowna Warriors on Wednesday night at Royal LePage Place.

Editor’s note: We decided to end 2021 on a positive note by putting together a four-part series featuring four young athletes from the Penticton area who have turned their love of sports into post-secondary educations or careers on the international stage.

Editor’s note: We decided to end 2021 on a positive note by putting together a four-part series featuring four young athletes from the Penticton area who have turned their love of sports into post-secondary educations or careers on the international stage. We asked for suggestions from local…

It’s getting a little bit crowded in the Penticton Vees’ crease.

Mother Nature giveth and Mother Nature taketh away.

The BC Hockey League has announced the postponement of the league’s 60th Anniversary event to January 2023 due to increased provincial restrictions around events and a spike in COVID-19 cases in the province.

The BC Hockey League unveiled their Three Stars of the Week in the final week ahead of the holiday break which included Penticton Vees forward and Captain Fin Williams named 2nd Star of the Week.

ALTENBERG, Germany -- Justin Kripps bounced back from a crash in training to pilot Canada to silver in a World Cup four-man bobsled race Sunday.

The Penticton Vees couldn’t find an equalizer in the 3rd period as they fell by a 5-2 score to the West Kelowna Warriors on Saturday night at Royal LePage Place.

POWDER ALERT: Big White Ski Resort’s daily ski report on Tuesday morning announced 20 centimetres (eight inches) of new snow had fallen during the previous 24 hours.

It was only appropriate that on an evening to recognize the legacy of Neil Jamieson that the Penticton Vees posted one of their most impressive wins of the season.

It was only appropriate that on an evening to recognize the legacy of Neil Jamieson that the Penticton Vees posted one of their most impressive wins of the season.

Neil Jamieson will become the 16th individual (and only one of three non-players) to have his name in the rafters of the South Okanagan Events Centre.

The Penticton Vees erased two deficits to come-from-behind for a 6-3 victory over the Trail Smoke Eaters on Saturday night at the Trail Memorial Centre.

The game started with a frantic pace as both teams came out with plenty of pace, although the Vees did begin the game shorthanded with a penalty during warm up but killed that off to get back to five-on-five play. Special teams did factor into the opening frame with some penalty trouble for the Vees forced them into a 4-on-3 shorthanded and Evan Bushy got Trail ahead by a 1-0 score.

Bushy took a pass from Zach Michaelis at the mid-point as he walked down into the left face-off circle and snapped a shot over the glove side of Vees netminder Kaeden Lane at the 8:51 mark of the 1st period and the power play marker gave Trail a 1-0 advantage.

24 seconds later, Brady Hunter followed up on a Michaelis net drive that got the home side ahead by a 2-0 margin. Michaelis made a strong move to the right-wing as he drove to the net on the glove side of Lane, having his chance stopped before Brady Hunter followed up and tapped in the backhand shot at the 9:13 mark to give Trail a 2-0 advantage.

The Vees concluded the period with a 16-10 hold in the shots on goal category and carried that momentum into the 2nd period as they got within a goal early in the frame as just 10 seconds into the period, Casey McDonald made it a one-goal contest.

Off the opening face-off, Stefano Bottini made a play to the right wing as Jackson Nieuwendyk made his way into the left face-off circle before centering a pass to Casey McDonald, who pushed through the slot and moved to his backhand to lift a shot over the glove side of Smoke Eaters goaltender Evan Fradette for his 9th goal of the season and cut the Smoke Eaters lead to 2-1 early in the 2nd frame.

Moments after that, the Vees were able to get on even ground as Ryan Hopkins pushed Penticton into a 2-2 tie. The puck made it to the blue line at the right point where Hopkins threw the puck at the net and, through heavy traffic in front, was able to get it past the blocker side of Fradette for his 4th marker of the season at the 3:57 mark of the middle frame to even the score at 2-2.

The Smoke Eaters came back and got the game back in their favour as the third point of the game from Zach Michaelis gave Trail a one-goal lead. Michaelis got the puck in the right face-off circle on a strong forechecking effort and zipped a shot past Lane on the blocker side at the 8:28 mark of the 2nd period for a 3-2 Trail advantage,

Penticton once again had an answer and scored for the third time in the period as Beanie Richter evened the score at 3-3. A shot from the right face-off circle by Thomas Pichette was stopped by Fradette with Richter following through and burying his backhand try past the glove side of the Smoke Eaters netminder for his 2nd goal of the season at the 13:18 mark of the middle frame to even the score heading into the 3rd period.

The Vees gave the Smoke Eaters nothing to work with in the 3rd period, outshooting Trail by a 16-3 margin in the final 20 minutes of action and took their first lead of the game just 2:19 into the final frame as Spencer Smith pushed the Vees ahead.

A scramble at the front of the net off a shot from Brett Moravec developed as the puck went below the goal line on the blocker side of Fradette with Smith shooting the puck off the right pad of the Smoke Eaters goaltender and into the back of the net for his 6th goal of the season and a 4-3 Penticton lead.

The Smoke Eaters eventually got their first shot on goal in the period with just over 9 and a half minutes remaining in the game as the Vees hemmed their chances well before the captain was able to give Penticton an insurance marker at the 15:11 mark of the final period.

Fin Williams took a Luc Wilson pass at the top of the slot, creeping his way into the middle of the zone and laced a shot over the glove side of Fradette for his 9th tally of the season and leadfrogged the Vees ahead by a 5-3 score.

Trail pulled their netminder in the final minute and a half of the game and the Vees did not give up much of anything before Brett Moravec landed his 13th goal of the season into the empty net to seal a 6-3 victory for the Vees.

----

FINAL SCORE: 6-3 Vees

SHOTS ON GOAL: 46-22 Vees

VEES PP: 0/4

VEES PK: 4/5

3 STARS:

1) Zach Michaelis (1-2-3)

2) Casey McDonald (1-1-2)

3) Brady Hunter (1-2-3)

Fortis Energy Player of the Game: Ridge Dawson (0-0-0)

---

The Vees (19-2-0-1) host the Vernon Vipers (6-11-3-3) on Retro Night at the South Okanagan Events Centre. The game will feature music from all decades while the Vees will wear special 60th anniversary jerseys against their old rival. It is also a Night For Neil as the Vees honour the legacy of Neil Jamieson with a pre-game ceremony and induction into the Vees Ring of Honour. Puck drop is slated for 7:00 PM with tickets available for purchase online at valleyfirsttix.com as well as at the Valley First Box Office at the SOEC.

The Penticton Vees erased two deficits to come-from-behind for a 6-3 victory over the Trail Smoke Eaters on Saturday night at the Trail Memorial Centre.

Full-time winter has finally arrived in the Okanagan Valley bottom so the bikes are in temporary storage and the skis are waxed. Sovereign. Thursday. Winter wonderland. Skiing excellent.

The Penticton Vees more than doubled up the Salmon Arm Silverbacks in shots on goal, firing 43 pucks on net but fell in a shootout by a 4-3 score on Friday night at the South Okanagan Events Centre.

Best known for its youth camps, Lake City Basketball is now expanding into a men’s recreational league, which is set to begin play Jan. 5 at Unisus School in Summerland.

Already boasting the top netminder in the B.C. Hockey League, the Penticton Vees still managed to improve their depth in the crease this week with the acquisition of a new goaltender.

While the Penticton Vees have now won nine in a row after a pair of home-ice victories over the weekend that put them into first place overall in the B.C. Hockey League, their Okanagan rivals are scrapping for every point they can get.

There should be a few thousand fuzzy friends at tonight’s matchup between the Penticton Vees and Cranbrook Bucks.

Pity the B.C. Hockey League’s schedule maker.

As snow creeps down valley hillsides, Okanagan XC ski areas and downhill resorts are preparing to open — if they have not already launched their 2021-22 season.

VERNON —  The Penticton Vees scored four unanswered, third period goals and came-from-behind down 3-0 in the 3rd period to defeat the Vernon Vipers by a 4-3 score on Saturday night at Kal Tire Place.

There will be a new look to the Penticton Vees’ defence corps this weekend.

Penticton Vees captain Fin Williams will represent the host club in the B.C. Hockey League’s first-ever 3-on-3 outdoor All-Star Tournament set for Jan. 15 on an outdoor rink currently under construction in downtown Penticton.