Penticton's incredible season continues; Vees win 41st in row

Every time the Penticton Vees step on the ice, another record seems to fall.

On Tuesday, the Vees trounced the Trail Smoke Eaters 10-0 for their 41st victory in a row -- a North American junior league record. Five Minnesotans had at least three points in the game.

Joey Benik, a St. Cloud State recruit from St. Francis, scored the final goal and had four assists.

Brothers Ryan and Mike Reilly of Chanhassen both had three points. Ryan, a forward, had two goals and one assist. Mike, a defenseman, had one goal and two assists.

Both the Reillys have signed to play with the Gophers as has Ryan's twin brother, Connor, who has missed the last three games after suffering a season-ending lower body injury.

"When [Ryan] seen his big brother go down," Vees assistant coach Mike Hengen said, "he saw he needed to step up."

Ryan is 5-8-1/2, his twin Connor is 6-feet tall.

The Vees are now 53-3-0-2; the fourth column is for overtime losses. Their 53 wins and 108 points are both BCHL records.

"It is kind of hard to comprehend if you have not been around for the whole thing," Hengen said on the home postgame radio show."

The Vees led only 1-0 after the first period, then 4-0 after the second before wearing down the Smoke Eaters

Hengen said the Vees were playing a little like prima donnas the opening period. "We were not smacking bodies," he said. "We have to separate the man from the puck."

The home broadcasters named Benik the first star of the game, Fogarty the second and Ryan Reilly the third.