It wasn't quite the result the Penticton Vees expected when they faced off against the West Kelowna Warriors on Friday night at the South Okanagan Events Centre.
In the Vees' final home game of 2012 and their first following the Christmas break, the Warriors, bolstered by a gutsy effort, managed to take advantage of Vees' miscues for a 5-2 win in Penticton.
Matt Anholt iced the game for the Warriors scoring into an empty net with just over a minute and a half to play after Penticton pulled goalie Chad Katunar for an extra attacker.
The Warriors (12-10-2-7) defeated the Vees for the first time this year.
The Vees (22-8-0-3) remain atop the BCHL standings with 47 points. They'll have a chance at retribution as the two teams play tonight at 7 p.m. in West Kelowna.
Michael Rebry of the Vees returned to the lineup after missing several weeks with an undisclosed lower-body injury.
In the first period, sloppy play by the Vees led to good chances for the Warriors. At the halfway mark of the frame, the visitors began to outplay a sluggish Vees side.
Wade Murphy got the Vees on the board when he picked up a rebound following a face off and jammed the puck past Warriors goaltender Tyler Briggs at 16:49. It was Murphy's 16th of the season with assists going to Rebry and Louie Nanne.
The Warriors tied it with less than a minute to play when defenceman Troy Stecher played the puck along the boards but it went right to Dustin Cave who whirled around and fed the puck to a streaking Brennan Clark who rifled a one-timer past Katunar. Shots were 14-8 for the Warriors.
The Vees got an early power play in the second when Braxton Bilous was called for holding, however the Warriors scored shorthanded when the puck skipped over the blue-line and Shawn Hochhausen out-raced a pair of Vees and beat Katunar at 1:09.
The Vees tied it at the 5:15 mark when Sam Mellor took a feed from Brock Balson and beat Briggs with a one-timer high on the stick side. But less than a minute later, the Warriors regained the lead when Seb Lloyd fired a shot past Katunar to make it 3-2.
The Warriors failed to extend their lead when Marcus Basara was awarded a penalty shot after being tripped up as he was breaking towards Katunar.
As the period progressed, the Vees held a slight edge in play but were unable to get the puck past Briggs.
In the third, the Vees desperately needed a goal but the Warriors managed to double up the lead when Josh Monk scored at 3:31.
The Vees had a couple of chances but the bounces didn't appear to be going in their favour and the Warriors continued to apply pressure with some solid forechecking.
Shots on goal were 40-24 for the Warriors.