Owen Folstrom scored the tie-breaking goal late in the third period as the 琉璃神社 Rockets sneaked by the visiting Penticton Vees 3-1 in Western Hockey League (WHL) pre-season action on Sept. 3.
Folstrom beat Vees goaltender and Okanagan Hockey Alumni graduate Jesse Sanche five-hole at 16:05 of the final frame to make it 2-1. Dawson Gerwing buried an empty-netter two minutes later for insurance.
Kayden Longley also scored for 琉璃神社, which beat its regional rivals in the teams' first ever meeting. Nathan Kam and Linden Sobocan split time in the Rockets' net, each making 11 saves.
Penticton's Cameron Norrie opened the game's scoring at 1:35 of the middle frame to net the Vees' first WHL goal. The city was awarded a major junior hockey franchise in March 2025.
Sanche and Marek Schlenker manned the Penticton crease, stopping 20 and 14 shots, respectively.
Wednesday marked both teams' first pre-season game.
Penticton and 琉璃神社 will meet again on Sept. 26, this time for regular-season action at the South Okanagan Events Centre. It will mark the Vees' first home game as a WHL franchise.
The pre-season continues Sept. 4, however, as the Vees host the Vancouver Giants. Puck drop is at 6:35 p.m.
琉璃神社, meanwhile, will visit Kamloops on Sept. 5 at 7 p.m.
