Game Preview: Vees at Thunderbirds
Published on February 1, 2026 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Penticton Vees News Release
The Penticton Vees are on the road to wrap up a three-in-three weekend against the Seattle Thunderbirds in Kent, WA. Puck drop is 5:05PM.
Catch all the action on Victory+, Summit 800 AM and Summit 98.5 Summerland.
The Vees (30-10-4-3) got out to a 4-0 third period lead on the Portland Winterhawks and held on to take a 5-3 win last night. Jacob Kvasnicka, Ryden Evers and Tristan Petersen each had a goal and two assists in the victory and AJ Reyelts stopped 35/38 shots he faced.
The Thunderbirds enter Sunday's matchup 18-22-3-2 on the year. They sit in 10th in the WHL's Western Conference and are currently seven points out of the final playoff spot. Seattle fell 5-1 to Everett at home last night and are 4-5-1-0 in their last 10 contests.
Vees Player to Watch: F Jacob Kvasnicka: Kvasnicka enters the game on a six game point streak. It's his third six or more game streak of the season. Kvasnicka leads all Vees with 64 points this season.
Fast Fact: The Vees are averaging 4.06 goals per game this season which is the second best average in the Western Conference, just behind the Everett Silvertips.
HEAD TO HEAD: This is the final meeting between the Vees and Thunderbirds in the regular season. Penticton is 3-0-0-0 against Seattle this season and have outscored them 19-7 in the three games.
2025-26 Scoring Leaders:
Vees:
Jacob Kvasnicka- 64 points (27g, 37a)
Ryden Evers- 58 points (26g, 32a)
Brady Birnie- 53 points (17g, 36a)
Matteo Danis- 40 points (20g, 20a)
Brittan Alstead- 38 points (15g, 23a)
Thunderbirds
Cameron Schmidt- 72 points (33g, 39a)
Antonio Martorana- 44 points (18g, 26a)
Noah Kosick- 40 points (11g, 29a)
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