Top two teams in the BC Hockey League face off tonight at Royal LePage Place

Photo: Tami Quan

Charles-Alexis Legault

Round one of what should be seven knock-down, drag-out fights between the West Kelowna Warriors and Penticton Vees is set for tonight at Royal LePage Place.

The Interior Division rivals occupy the top two spots in the division, and the league. Penticton, at 11-2, is first based on winning percentage (.846), while the 12-3 Warriors lead in overall points (24).

Tonight's meeting is the first of seven on the season and, thanks to a creative schedule, they will face off five times in a span of 20 days around the Christmas season.

The Warriors are coming off a split of weekend games with Salmon Arm, losing 6-3 before bouncing back for a 2-0 win Saturday.

They've won eight of their last nine.

The Vees meantime have won three in a row and are 8-2 in their last 10.

Penticton is led by overage forward Luc Wilson who leads the club in scoring with 10 goals and 19 points. Josh Nadeau has 10 goals and 17 points.

But, Warriors head coach Simon Ferguson says top to bottom, the Vees are a strong, and dangerous team.

“They have four lines that can score, they’re always a dangerous team similar to the Silverbacks. We’ve got to keep our game simple and we need to out match them," says Ferguson.

He says scoring can come from anywhere.

Tonight's game is a complete sellout after Total Restoration purchased all available tickets for the game and offered them back to fans free of charge.

Faceoff Tuesday is 7 p.m.

Meantime, the opponent for Saturday night has changed. The Cranbrook Bucks will provide the opposition instead of the Chilliwack Chiefs as the league continues to make adjustments to the schedule due to flooding in the Fraser Valley and Merritt.