The Penticton Vees fell by a 3-1 score to the Medicine Hat Tigers in a tightly contested Monday night battle at the South Okanagan Events Centre.
The Vees fall to 7-5-2 on the season with the loss.
The Vees opened the scoring once again on Monday with a powerplay goal from Brady Birnie for his fifth of the season at 13:26 of the first period. That would be all the scoring in a defensive first period that saw the shots read 8-4 for the Tigers.
Local product Markus Ruck would tie the game up for Medicine Hat at 2:03 of the second period off a rebound for his second of the season. The Tigers almost took the lead with eight seconds left in the period but Morgan Tastad made a great defensive play to tie a stick up in front to send the game to the third even at one.
The Tigers got a powerplay two minutes into the final frame and it would be the other Ruck twin, Liam, who would score the game winner with the man advantage making the score 2-1.
The Vees hit a crossbar and had three to four golden chances in the last five minutes but were unable to solve Jordan Switzer. The Tigers would add an empty netter on a scramble play in front of the Vees net to make the final 3-1.
The Vees killed four of their five penalties on the night to continue their solid PK as of late.
The next home game for the Vees will be Wednesday, Nov. 5 against the Kelowna Rockets, a game in which they will wear their alternate jerseys for the first time.
