A look at this week’s games involving junior hockey teams from the Okanagan and area.
Western Hockey League
Kelowna at Prince George
After securing their first victory of the season, the Kelowna Rockets are now looking for win No. 2.
On Saturday, Kelowna (1-0-1-0) defeated visiting Wenatchee 5-3, with the Rockets outshooting the Wild 42-29.
Tij Iginla had a goal and assist for Kelowna, with Andrew Cristall tallying three points (one goal, two assists) in his first game back with the team after attending the Washington Capitals’ training camp.
This week, the Rockets will play three games: two against Prince George on Tuesday and Wednesday, with Saturday seeing Kelowna hosting Spokane.
Notably, the Rockets will also host Victoria on Monday, Oct. 9.
In Prince George, the Cougars (3-1-0-0) are off to a hot start, having outscored their competition 29-11 through four games. By contrast, Kelowna has scored 10 goals but given up nine.
With 29 goals, Prince George leads the league in scoring. And, not surprisingly, three Cougars are 1-2-3 in league scoring: Terik Parascak (eight goals, four assists, 12 points), Ondrej Becher (2-9-11) and 20-year-old Zac Funk of Coldstream (4-6-10).
Another three Cougars are in the league’s top eight scorers: Riley Heidt (4-4-8), Hudson Thornton (2-6-8) and Viliam Kmec (4-3-7).
Last season, Funk split the season between Calgary and Prince George, with the Hitmen shipping him to the Cougars at the trade deadline. The six-foot winger finished the 2022-23 campaign with 26 goals and 58 points in 64 games.
With the Cougars, he had 13 goals and 26 points in 31 games. In 10 playoff games, he had five goals and eight points.
Kelowna’s top scorer is left-winger Turner McMillen with two goals and two assists for four points.
The Cougars also have the league’s top power play at 42.9 per cent (nine goals on 21 power plays) while Kelowna is second at 40.0 per cent (four goals on 10 power plays).
Tuesday’s game starts at 7 p.m., as does Wednesday’s game.
The CHL’s weekly top-10 list was released on Tuesday, and the Cougars didn’t make the cut despite having better a record than second-ranked Portland (2-1-0-0), fourth-place Moose Jaw (3-2-0-0) and ninth-ranked Saskatoon (2-2-0-0).
B.C. Hockey League
There are no games until Friday and Saturday.
Friday’s schedule:
- Trail (1-1-2-0) at Penticton (2-1-0-1)
- West Kelowna (3-1-0-0) at Salmon Arm (3-1-0-0)
- Vernon (2-1-0-0) at Langley (2-2-0-0)
Saturday’s schedule:
- Vernon at Chilliwack (2-3-0-0)
- Penticton at Trail
- Salmon Arm at West Kelowna
Kootenay International Junior Hockey League
Tuesday’s schedule:
- North Okanagan (2-2-0-0) at Kelowna (1-4-0-0)
- Kamloops (3-0-0-0) at Chase (2-1-0-0)
Friday’s games:
- North Okanagan at Kimberley (3-1-0-0)
- 100 Mile House (0-4-0-0) at Kelowna
- Chase at Sicamous (4-1-0-0)
- Castlegar (3-1-0-0) at Grand Forks (1-2-0-1)
- Osoyoos (1-4-0-0) at Summerland (1-2-0-0)
Saturday’s games:
- North Okanagan at Fernie (1-1-0-0)
- Sicamous at Osoyoos
- Grand Forks at Princeton (3-1-0-0)
- Kelowna at Chase
- 100 Mile House at Summerland
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