Vees win four straight to tame Cougars, advance to Western Conference Championship

Penticton earned its wins the hard way in Round Two.

The B.C. Division Champions earned a 3-2 overtime win to eliminate the Prince George Cougars in Game 6 of their second-round series on Sunday night.

New York Islanders prospect Jacob Kvasnicka delivered the series-clinching goal on the road.

2026 NHL Draft-eligible Carson Carels and centreman Lee Shurgot opened the scoring for the home side, but Penticton clawed its way back in the third period.

Diego Johnson scored his first goal of the playoffs just over a minute into the final frame, and Doogan Pederson found the equalizer with less than seven minutes remaining in regulation.

Penticton collected four straight victories after falling behind 2-0 after the first two tilts in the Okanagan.

The Cats routed the Vees 4-1 in Game 1 and 6-2 the following night.

It looked like more of the same results were on tap in Game 3 as Prince George jumped out to a 2-0 lead, but alternate captain Brady Birnie scored twice, including a late game-winning goal, for a 5-3 victory.

Seattle Kraken prospect Ryden Evers notched a goal and two assists as the Vees came out on top in a 5-2 penalty-filled affair in Game 4 to bring the series to even ground.

In front of a passionate crowd at the South Okanagan Events Centre, the WHL newcomers took their first lead of the series in a narrow 1-0 victory that saw Andrew Reyelts deny 25 shots for his first postseason shutout.

Penticton went 44-14-6-4 in its first WHL season to claim the B.C. Division title and set WHL and CHL records for most wins by an expansion team in its inaugural season.

Now, they’ll face the very team whose record they broke- the Everett Silvertips.

The mighty ‘Tips claimed the Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy as regular-season champions with a franchise-best 57-8-2-1 record.