James Fisher scored on a penalty shot, Will Ingemann made 27 saves and the Penticton Vees tied the Interior Conference Finals with a 4-1 win over the Salmon Arm Silverbacks in Game 2 on Friday, May 3, at the South Okanagan Events Centre.
Fisher’s goal in the second period marked the Vees’ first in four and a half periods after the team was blanked by Salmon Arm in Game 1 on Thursday.
Billy Renfrew, Connor MacPherson, and Callum Arnott also scored for Penticton.
The series is now tied 1-1, and heads to the Shuswap for Game 3 on Monday, May 6.
“As the old saying goes, patience is a virtue,” said Matt Miller, the Vees’ director of hockey operations. “Took us until the second to break through, but scoring the first goal was huge.”
Ingemann made 11 of his 27 saves in the third period to help the Vees break the Silverbacks’ four-game playoff winning streak.
The Wayzata, Minn. product was named the starting netminder for Game 2 after coming in relief for Andrew Ness in Game 1.
Fisher was rewarded a penalty shot at 9:05 of the middle frame. The Columbus Blue Jackets prospect scored the game’s first goal, via five-hole on Silverbacks goaltender Eli Pulver, who made 37 saves in Game 1 to blank Penticton.
Pulver made 32 saves on Friday in the loss.
Salmon Arm’s Jonah Aegerter tied the game less than four minutes later.
Renfrew restored Penticton’s lead two minutes after that, as the Vees headed to the third period with a 2-1 advantage.
After MacPherson scored his fourth of the playoffs at 14:24 of the third period, Arnott iced the game with an empty-netter at 19:23.
“Big confidence boost for our guys, and we didn’t have to chase the game,” Miller added.
The teams meet on Monday and Tuesday, May 6 and 7, for the third and fourth games of the conference finals.
In the Coastal Conference, the final series between the Surrey Eagles and Alberni Valley Bulldogs begins on Saturday night, May 4.
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