A roundup of junior hockey results from the Okanagan and area.
Though they’ve struggled mightily of late, the Kelowna Rockets found a way to knock off the Seattle Thunderbirds Saturday night.
Heading into Saturday’s contest, the Rockets had just one win in their last 11 outings. Desperate for a spark, Max Graham got the Rockets on the board just 2:07 into the game, and the stuffed animals rained down onto the ice for the annual Teddy Bear Toss. Prior to the game, fans were encouraged to bring new, unwrapped stuffies to throw on the ice surface after the Rockets’ first goal, which will all be donated to patients at Kelowna General Hospital.
Despite the long pause to allow the hundreds of teddy bears to be collected off of the ice, the Rockets got right back to work and added another goal courtesy of Tij Iginla who registered his 19th of the season to give his team a 2-0 lead just over five minutes into the game. The Thunderbirds would cut the Rockets’ lead in half however, after scoring with just one second remaining in the first period.
After missing the last four games, Andrew Cristall made his much-anticipated return to Kelowna’s lineup, and he made it a memorable one after scoring on the powerplay in the second period to restore the Rockets’ two-goal advantage.
The Thunderbirds would strike on a powerplay of their own in the third period, but Cristall doubled down, cashing in his second goal of the evening with just under five minutes to play. The Rockets managed to hold on for a 4-2 victory.
With the win, the Rockets’ record improved to 9-13-2-0. Graham also became the tenth Rocket to score a teddy bear toss goal, joining current Rocket Cristall, and former Rockets Ryan Olsen, Dillon Dube, Nick Merkley, Conner Bruggen- Cate, Mark Liwiski, Nolan Foote and Logan Peskett.
Kelowna will play host to the Wenatchee Wild on Wednesday, Nov. 29 for their final home game before the holiday break.
Saturday’s result
- Moose Jaw 6, Prince Albert 3
- Red Deer 3, Prince Albert 2
- Portland 5, Saskatoon 4
- Medicine Hat 6, Brandon 1
- Everett 4, Kamloops 3
- Calgary 7, Edmonton 3
- Spokane 8, Victoria 1
- Tri-City 5, Vancouver 2
Sunday’s games
- Brandon at Prince Albert
- Spokane at Portland
Despite being outshot and outplayed, the Vernon Vipers found a way to beat the BCHL’s best team, the Penticton Vees in a shootout.
In the first period, it was the hometown Vipers who found the back of the net first, bringing the fans at Kal Tire Place to their feet, thanks to Maks Percic’s first of the season. The score would remain 1-0 for the Vipers until the 14:40 mark of the second period, when Parker Murray scored on the powerplay to even up the score 1-1.
Neither team scored in regulation after that, so overtime was needed to decide the winner. In the extra frame, the Vees outshot Vernon 10-2, and came so close to finding the game-winning goal with seven seconds left in sudden death, but the puck rang off the crossbar and stayed out.
Overtime solved nothing, so both teams headed to a shootout, where it was the Vipers who squeaked out a win after seven rounds of the shoutout. The Vees outshot the Vipers 42-24, and despite their loss, they still collected a point because the game was decided in extra time. The point from the shootout loss extends the Vees’ point streak to 19 games.
Penticton hasn’t lost in regulation since opening night back on Sept. 22, while the Vipers now have a four-game point streak following their win on Saturday.
The Vees’ next game is Wednesday Nov. 29 against Trail in Penticton, and for the Vipers, they host the West Kelowna Warriors, also on Wednesday.
Thanks to a pair of late third-period goals, the Salmon Arm Silverbacks prevailed over the visiting Cranbrook Bucks on Saturday night.
Just over eight minutes into the opening frame, the Silverbacks would score the first goal of the evening, bringing the 1427 fans at the Shaw Centre to their feet. Then, with just :51 seconds left in the second period, the Bucks would even the score on a powerplay.
On a night when offence was hard to come by thanks to the performance of both teams’ netminders, the Silverbacks scored two quick goals in the finals minutes of the game to stun the Bucks and win by a score of 3-1. Despite the loss, Cranbrook outshot Salmon Arm 33-23. Salmon Arm will hit the road next to face the Trail Smoke Eaters on Friday, Dec. 1.
Saturday’s results
- Prince George 3, Surrey 2
- Victoria 5, Cowichan Valley 2
- Alberni Valley 6, Nanaimo 1
- Chilliwack 4, Powell River 1
- Langley 5, Coquitlam 3
Sunday’s game
- Victoria at Cowichan Valley
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