A roundup of junior hockey results from the Okanagan and area.
WESTERN HOCKEY LEAGUE
Luke Schelter scored twice for Kelowna as the Rockets overcame a 3-0 deficit by tallying four unanswered goals on Friday night.
Landon Cowper and Gabriel Szturc also scored for Kelowna (18-16-2-0), which trailed 3-0 after the first period and 3-1 after 40 minutes.
“I guess it’s the old adage: It’s not how you start the game but how you finish,” said Rockets head coach Kris Mallette.
“(The Oil Kings) are a hard-working team that is playing really confident right now. We came in and didn’t do ourselves any favours in the first period, for sure. And in the second period, as it wore on, we started to find our game, but we can’t keep doing this.”
Cowper scored at 3:30 of the third with a sharp-angle shot to make it 3-2, with Szturc tying the game at 11:47 following a blast from the blue line. Then, at 13:04, Schelter netted what stood up as the game-winner with a simple wrister from the top of the left faceoff circle.
The Rockets outshot the Oil Kings 43-21. For Kelowna, starter Jari Kykkanen stopped nine of 12 shots in 20 minutes of play, with Jake Pilon stopping all nine shots he saw in relief. Kolby Hay made 39 saves for the Oil Kings.
Scoring for Edmonton (13-21-1-1) were Adam Jecho, with two goals, and Skyler Bruce.
The Rockets were 1-for-4 on the power play while the Oil Kings were 1-for-3.
Kelowna is back in action on Saturday night as they visit the Wenatchee Wild (23-13-3-0).
Friday’s results
- Calgary 6, Kamloops 2
- Tri-City 3, Lethbridge 0
- Moose Jaw 6, Prince Albert 4
- Portland 5, Everett 3
- Red Deer 5, Medicine Hat 3
- Saskatoon 6, Regina 4
- Prince George 2, Seattle 1
- Swift Current 8, Spokane 4
Saturday’s games
- Vancouver at Brandon
- Seattle at Everett
- Tri-City at Medicine Hat
- Prince George at Portland
- Saskatoon at Prince Albert
- Victoria at Regina
- Moose Jaw at Swift Current
- Kelowna at Wenatchee
Sunday’s games
- Edmonton at Calgary
- Prince George at Everett
- Spokane at Medicine Hat
B.C. HOCKEY LEAGUE
At Prince George, Charlie Zolin put on an impressive goaltending display, making 47 saves, as the Spruce Kings stunned the league-leading Vees on Friday.
Alexis Cournoyer and Kazumo Sasaki each scored twice as Prince George (11-16-3-0-0) roared out to leads of 2-0 after the first period and 7-0 after 40 minutes.
Skogen Schrott, Owen Goodbrand and Linden Makow also scored for the Spruce Kings, who were outshot 51-22 and sit last in Interior Division standings with 25 points – 21 fewer than Penticton.
Callum Arnott, Francesco Dell’EIce, Cade Littler and Ryan MacPherson replied for Penticton (21-6-2-2-0), which scored four unanswered goals in the third period.
Will Ingemann stopped eight of 12 shots for the Vees in 31 minutes of action, with Andrew Ness stopping seven of 10 shots in relief.
Prince George was 3-for-5 on the power play with Penticton going 2-for-6.
The two clubs play again in Prince George on Saturday night.
At West Kelowna, the Warriors jumped into a tie atop the Interior Division as Rorke Applebee posted a shutout against the Centennials on Friday night.
Applebee stopped all 18 shots he faced, with Jack Pridham scoring twice for West Kelowna (21-6-4-0-0). Also reaching the scoresheet were Brennan Nelson, Viggo Nordstrom and Jackson Kyrkostas.
For Merritt (11-16-3-1-0), starter Karlis Mezsargs stopped eight of 10 shots in 20 minutes of action, with Dylan Adams making 22 saves on 25 shots in relief.
Both teams were scoreless on the power play at 0-for-3.
In Interior Division standings, West Kelowna and Penticton are tied for first with 46 points apiece. Salmon Arm is third with 40 points.
At Nanaimo, two goals in the first period propelled the Clippers past the Silverbacks on Friday night.
Luke Buss and Mike Murtagh scored for Nanaimo (18-10-2-0-0) in the low-scoring contest, with Jacob Bonkowski replying for Salmon Arm (19-9-0-2-0) late in the second period.
Tyler Hodges stopped 26 of 27 shots for the Clippers, with Eli Pulver turning aside 21 of 23 shots for the Silverbacks.
Nanaimo was 1-for-3 on the power play while Salmon Arm was 0-for-2.
At Vernon, Colin Reay was perfect between the pipes on Friday night, stopping all 25 shots he faced, as the Vipers blanked the Bucks.
Georgios Stavrianeas, Etienne Lessard, Owen Kim and Erik Pastro scored for Vernon (18-11-1-0-0), which led 1-0 after the second period following a scoreless first.
Braedyn McIntosh turned aside 23 of 26 shots for Cranbrook (13-18-1-0-0).
The Vipers were 2-for-7 on the power play while the Bucks were 0-for-2.
Friday’s results
- Alberni Valley 5, Coquitlam 3
- Cowichan Valley 5, Chilliwack 3
- Surrey 3, Langley 1
- Victoria 7, Powell River 1
Saturday’s games
- Powell River at Cowichan Valley
- Penticton at Prince George
- Trail at Vernon
- Chilliwack at Victoria
- Salmon Arm at Alberni Valley
- Coquitlam at Nanaimo
- Cranbrook at West Kelowna
Sunday’s games
- Cranbrook at Langley
- Coquitlam at Surrey
KIJHL
Friday’s results
- Golden 6, Columbia Valley 5 (SO)
- Creston Valley 4, Fernie 3 (OT)
- Princeton 7, Sicamous 4
- Kamloops 4, 100 Mile House 1
- Kimberley 10, Chase 2
- Grand Forks 6, Castlegar 1
- Revelstoke 13, Spokane 1 (Shots: 85-32)
- Kelowna 2, North Okanagan 1
- Nelson 4, Summerland 3 (SO)
Saturday’s games
- Fernie at Golden
- Nelson at Kelowna
- Grand Forks at Osoyoos
- Kimberley at 100 Mile House
- Princeton at Kamloops
- Chase at Sicamous
- Revelstoke at Beaver Valley
- Creston Valley at Castlegar
- North Okanagan at Summerland
Sunday’s games
- Nelson at North Okanagan
- Revelstoke at Castlegar
- Kimberley at Kamloops
- Columbia Valley at Fernie