It didn't take long for a capacity crowd of 5,307 to rise to their feet in the Penticton Vees' first-ever WHL home game.

Moments after league commissioner Dan Near delivered a speech at centre ice to formally welcome the community to major junior hockey, Vees forward Diego Johnson scored 12 seconds into the team's game against the Kelowna Rockets, sparking an extended roar from the South Okanagan Events Centre (SOEC).

Johnson's goal would turn out to be the start of a wild early-season battle, as Kelowna came back from a 3-0 deficit en route to a 5-4 win on Sept. 26.

Owen Folstrom scored the game-winning goal at 15:17 of the third period and Kayden Longley recorded a pair of assists for the Rockets (1-1-0-0), who used a three-goal final frame to stun Penticton in front of the largest at

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