A roundup of junior hockey results from the Okanagan and area.
Western Hockey League
Spokane at Kelowna
After suffering back-to-back losses in Prince George earlier this week, the Kelowna Rockets are back in action on Saturday night as they host the Spokane Chiefs.
The losses — including an 8-1 setback on Wednesday in which they were terribly outshot 47-11 — dropped Kelowna (1-2-1-0, 3 points) below the .500 mark. The Rockets are currently fourth in B.C. Division standings.
Meanwhile, Prince George (6-1-0-0, 12 points) has rocketed to the top of the B.C. Division and the Western Conference with a red-hot offence. Through seven games, the Cougars have scored a league-high 46 goals, good for an average of 6.5 per game.
By comparison, Kelowna has just 13 goals. Portland has the second-highest goal total in the Western Conference at 21.
Further, the Cougars not only have the league’s top five scorers, with three tied for first at 17 points, but there are seven Cougars in the top 10.
As for Saturday night’s opponent, Spokane (2-2-0-0, 4 points) is mired in fifth place in U.S. Division standings – though the Chiefs are only two points out of first place. Portland (3-1-0-0) and Everett (3-2-0-0) are tied for first with six points each.
The Chiefs also enter tonight’s road game on a two-game losing streak, including a 4-2 home-ice loss to Seattle (2-1-0-0, 4 points) as the Thunderbirds rallied from an early 2-0 deficit and scored four unanswered goals, including two in the third period.
Ben Bonni and Owen Martin, with back-to-back goals at 12:25 and 13:24 of the first to make it 2-0, scored for Spokane. Cooper Michaluk stopped 22 shots in the loss as the Chiefs outshot the T-Birds 30-26.
The Chiefs’ roster features two players from the Southern Interior: forward Cole Wadsworth, 17, of Penticton and defenceman Nathan Mayes, also 17, of Salmon Arm.
Wadsworth, a 5-foot-9 winger, has played in two games this season. He’s currently listed as out of action with an undisclosed upper-body injury.
Mayes, at 6-3 and 170 pounds, has played in four games this season, including Friday’s loss to Seattle.
Neither have any points so far this season.
Kelowna also has two players on the injury list: defenceman Caden Price and forward Marcus Pacheco. Both have lower-body injuries.
Goaltender Jari Kykkanen could also miss this weekend’s game. He’s listed as day to day after suffering an upper-body injury on Tuesday in Prince George. The team has called up affiliate goalie Nathan Kam, 16, for the weekend.
Saturday’s game will be the first of a five-game homestand for the Rockets. On Monday, Kelowna will host Victoria (1-4-0-0) in an afternoon game at 12:35 p.m.
In other news, the WHL announced earlier this week that Wenatchee Wild head coach has been suspended indefinitely, saying he violated the league’s standard of conduct policies.
The WHL did not say what the violation was, but noted that “should Constantine wish to return to coaching in the WHL, he will be required to formally apply for reinstatement to the WHL Commissioner. Constantine will not be eligible to apply for reinstatement until July 2025 at the earliest.”
Friday’s results
- Victoria 4, Kamloops 1
- Lethbridge 4, Moose Jaw 0
- Portland 4, Everett 1
- Prince George 6, Wenatchee 4
- Prince Albert 6, Red Deer 2
- Seattle 4, Spokane 2
- Medicine Hat 8, Swift Current 7
Saturday’s games
- Calgary at Brandon
- Prince Albert at Edmonton
- Spokane at Kelowna
- Moose Jaw at Medicine Hat
- Vancouver at Portland
- Wenatchee at Prince George
- Lethbridge at Red Deer
- Regina at Saskatoon
- Everett at Tri-City
Sunday’s games
- Wenatchee at Kamloops
B.C. Hockey League
At Penticton, Callum Arnott scored the game-winning goal in overtime as the Vees edged the Smoke Eaters on Friday night.
Larry Keenan, Brock Reinhart and Attila Lippai also scored for Penticton (3-1-0-1-0), which led 3-2 after the second period following a 1-1 tie after 20 minutes.
Mathieu Cobetto-Roy, Ridge Dawson and Adam Parsons replied for Trail (1-1-3-0-0), which was outshot 46-24.
Andrew Ness and Will Ingemann split netminding duties for the Vees, with Ness starting and stopping six of eight shots during 27 minutes of action before giving way to Ingemann, who stopped 15 of 16 in relief. Ryan Parker turned aside 42 shots for the Smoke Eaters.
Penticton was scoreless on the power play at 0-for-5 while Trail was 2-for-2.
Notably, the Vees’ win was their 44th straight home-ice victory. The streak dates back to April 1, 2022, and is a league record for most consecutive wins at home.
At Salmon Arm, the Silverbacks roared out of the gate, scoring three times in the first period, en route to a four-goal win over the Warriors.
Cole Cooksey, with two goals, Tristan Allen, Reid Varkonyi, Isaac Lambert, Ty Paisley and Casy Laylin scored for Salmon Arm (4-1-0-0-0), which led 3-0 and 5-1 at the period breaks.
Brennan Nelson, with two goals, and Felix Caron replied for West Kelowna (3-2-0-0-0).
Eli Pulver stopped 34 of 37 shots for the Silverbacks. For the Warriors, starter Rorke Applebee turned aside 12 of 16 shots through 27 minutes of play, with Matthew DellaRusso stopping 10 of 13 shots in relief.
Salmon Arm was 3-for-6 on the power play while West Kelowna was 1-for-6.
At Langley, the Vipers had a strong second period, scoring three times, as they easily downed the Rivermen on Friday night.
Erik Pastro, with two goals, Cooper Cleaves, Adam Csabi, Owen Kim, Isaac Fecteau and Georgios Stavrianeas scored for Vernon (3-1-0-0-0), which led 4-1 after 40 minutes. The game was tied 1-1 after the first period.
Vitaly Levyy and Oskar Komarov replied for Langley (2-3-0-0-0), which was outshot 32-27.
Colin Reay stopped 25 shots for the Vipers. For the Rivermen, starter Liam Hallett turned aside 14 of 18 shots before giving way early in the second to Charlie Tritt, who stopped 11 of 14 shots in relief.
Vernon was 2-for-5 on the power play while Langley was 0-for-4.
Friday’s results
- Merritt 4, Cranbrook 2
- Coquitlam 7, Cowichan Valley 4
- Nanaimo 5, Powell River 3
- Surrey 7, Chilliwack 2
- Alberni Valley 4, Victoria 1
Saturday’s games
- Vernon at Chilliwack
- Powell River at Cowichan Valley
- Coquitlam at Victoria
- Merritt at Cranbrook
- Nanaimo at Alberni Valley
- Penticton at Trail
- Salmon Arm at West Kelowna
- Surrey at Langley
Sunday’s games
- No games scheduled.
Kootenay International Junior Hockey League
Friday’s results
- Kimberley 8, North Okanagan 2
- Fernie 6, Golden 1
- 100 Mile House 3, Kelowna 2
- Revelstoke 3, Columbia Valley 0
- Sicamous 8, Chase 4
- Grand Forks 7, Castlegar 2
- Beaver Valley 7, Nelson 6
- Summerland 6, Osoyoos 5
Saturday’s games
- North Okanagan at Fernie
- Columbia Valley at Golden
- Sicamous at Osoyoos
- Grand Forks at Princeton
- Kelowna at Chase
- Kimberley at Castlegar
- Creston Valley at Nelson
- 100 Mile House at Summerland
Sunday’s games
- Spokane at Nelson
- North Okanagan at Creston Valley