By Lexi McFarlane, Times Chronicle
An incredible season for the Penticton Vees is about to continue with their first Western Hockey League playoff run, beginning this week.
The Vees begin a best-of-seven first-round series against the Seattle Thunderbirds on Friday night at the South Okanagan Events Centre. Game 2 will also be at the SOEC, on Saturday night.
In their inaugural WHL season, the Vees did things that no expansion teams before them had ever done. In addition to a 44-14-10 record that saw them clinch the BC Division and the second-seed overall in the Western Conference, Penticton at one point posted a 14-game winning streak- a league record for an expansion franchise.
Part of the reason for the Vees’ success was its offence. They got 35-goal seasons from both Ryden Evers and Jacob Kvasnicka, with Kvasnicka adding a team-high 50 assists, also giving him the club lead for points with 85. Matteo Danis and Brady Birnie also appeared in the top five in both goals and points.
In net, goaltender Andrew Reyelts stole the show most nights, with a 29-6-6 record on the season. Both him and goaltender Ethan McCallum had similar save percentages above .900 on the season, with goals-against averages in the 2.5 range.
Though anything can happen in the WHL playoffs, Penticton should be feeling good about the opponent they will face in the First Round. The Vees faced off against the Thunderbirds four times over the course of the regular season, sweeping the season series. The only win of the four that didn’t come in regulation was a 5-4 shootout victory at the Thunderbirds’ home arena on February 1.
The Vees previously played in the BCHL as one of its founding members in the 1960’s, winning several championships over the course of its history, including back-to-back titles in 2022 and 2023, with a third consecutive Finals appearance in 2024. They became the first of two WHL expansion franchises joining the league in this decade, with the other franchise starting up in Chilliwack next year.
