The Penticton Vees now stand alone among all major junior hockey expansion franchises.
Louis Wehmann scored the only goal in a six-round shootout to lift the visiting Vees to a 3-2 win over the Eastern Conference-leading Prince Albert Raiders on Feb. 27, helping Penticton break the new Canadian Hockey League (CHL) expansion wins record.
The Vees (38-13-4-4) passed the 1982-1983 Longueuil Chevaliers of the QMJHL to set the mark.
Longueuil, coached by future Stanley Cup-winning bench boss Jacques Lemaire, went on to make the QMJHL finals in its first year.
Matteo Danis had a goal and an assist on Friday for Penticton, which sits atop the B.C. Division and second overall in the Western Conference.
Vees captain Nolan Stevenson also scored and A.J. Reyelts made 28 saves.
Michal Orsulak shone in net for Prince Albert (44-8-5-1), the first WHL club this season to clinch a playoff berth.
Vancouver Canucks top prospect Braeden Cootes opened the game’s scoring at 13:04 of the first period to make it 1-0 Raiders.
Cootes, who was traded by Seattle to Prince Albert in January, fired the puck past Reyelts on the power play for his 21st of the campaign.
Danis got Penticton even midway through the second period. It marked the forward’s 25th of the year, and fifth in the last four games.
Prince Albert restored its lead at 4:33 of the third period when Jonah Sivertson found the back of the net.
Stevenson made it 2-2 about 10 minutes later, scoring his 10th of the campaign and forcing overtime on the power play.
Neither team recorded a shot on net in overtime.
Up next
Penticton wraps up its six-game Eastern Conference road trip on Saturday night as it visits the Moose Jaw Warriors.
Prince Albert hosts the Vees’ divisonal foes, the Prince George Cougars.