A roundup of junior hockey results from the Okanagan and area.
WESTERN HOCKEY LEAGUE
Four unanswered goals, all scored in the second period, pushed the Rockets past the visiting Giants on Friday night.
Andrew Cristall, with a natural hat trick, and Luke Schelter scored for Kelowna (26-28-3-0, 55 points), which trailed 1-0 after the first period, but led 4-1 after 40 minutes.
Cristall levelled the score on the power play just three minutes into the second frame, faking a shot from the slot, then casually backhanding the puck past Vancouver’s goalie after a great deke.
A few minutes later, at 7:51, Cristall made it 2-1 with another power-play goal, a shot from the high slot that bounced in. And at 11:56, he completed the hat trick when his shot from the left faceoff dot squeaked home.
After scoring his 32nd, 33rd and 34th goals of the season, Cristall now has a team-high 89 points in 51 games. Second in Rockets scoring is Tij Iginla, who has 38 goals and 66 points.
Schelter closed out the scoring at 18:22 with his 10th goal of the season, a wide-open shot from the hashmarks after a soft centring feed.
Connor Levis, who opened the scoring at 16:03, replied for Vancouver (27-26-3-0, 57 points).
Jari Kykkanen stopped 19 of 20 shots for the Rockets, with Brett Mirwald turning aside 19 of 23 shots for the Giants.
Kelowna was 2-for-4 on the power play, with Vancouver going 0-for-5.
On Saturday night, Kelowna will host Prince George (39-15-0-3, 81 points), the top team in the Western Conference. Kelowna is seventh while Vancouver is sixth.
In six games so far this season between Kelowna and Prince George, the Cougars lead the series 4-2.
Friday’s results
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- Wenatchee 3, Calgary 2 (OT)
- Prince George 5, Kamloops 1
- Edmonton 2, Lethbridge 1
- Brandon 4, Saskatoon 1
- Spokane 5, Regina 2
- Swift Current 4, Medicine Hat 1
- Moose Jaw 9, Tri-City 4
- Portland 6, Victoria 2
Saturday’s games
- Prince George at Kelowna
- Swift Current at Medicine Hat
- Brandon at Prince Albert
- Wenatchee at Red Deer
- Everett at Seattle
- Moose Jaw at Spokane
- Regina at Tri-City
- Kamloops at Vancouver
- Portland at Victoria
Sunday’s games
- Lethbridge at Calgary
- Wenatchee at Edmonton
- Kamloops at Seattle
B.C. HOCKEY LEAGUE
At Surrey, Felix Caron scored his team’s first goal, then earned an assist on the game’s last goal as the Warriors downed the league-leading Eagles on Friday night.
Callum Hughes, Jack Pridham, Owen Drury and Jackson Kyrkostas, with an empty-net goal, also scored for West Kelowna (27-10-7-0-0), which trailed 2-0 after the first period but led 3-2 after 40 minutes.
Aaron Schwartz, with two goals, and Ryden Evers replied for Surrey (32-6-2-0-0), which was outshot 26-23.
West Kelowna surged ahead 4-2 at 3:25 of the third when Drury scored. However, Evers countered eight minutes later at 11:39 to make it 4-2. Kyrkostas closed the game out, though, with his empty-net goal at 18:41.
Rorke Applebee stopped 20 shots for the Warriors, with Ajeet Gundarah making 21 saves for the Eagles.
West Kelowna was 1-for-4 on the power play while Surrey was 0-for-1.
At Prince George, the Vipers opened and closed the scoring in a two-goal win over the Spruce Kings on Friday night.
Luke Bibby, Anthony Cliché, Shea Busch, Ewan McPherson and Julian Facchinelli scored for Vernon (26-16-1-0-0), which led 1-0 and 4-1 at the period breaks.
Alexis Cournoyer, J.R. Perdion and Kilian McGregor-Bennett replied for struggling Prince George (13-27-3-0-0).
Ethan David stopped 29 of 32 shots for the Vipers, with Charlie Zolin making 38 saves on 42 shots for the Spruce Kings.
Vernon was 0-for-1 on the power play while Prince George was 2-for-7.
At Salmon Arm, Andrew Ballantyne had a stellar outing in goal, stopping 49 shots as the Centennials knocked off the Silverbacks on Friday night.
Luke Pfoh and Jaxson Murray scored in regulation time for Merritt (17-22-3-1-0). The game not only had overtime, but a lengthy shootout that went 11 rounds. Jack Ziliotto had the only goal in 22 attempts by both teams.
Ty Paisley and Patrick Raftery replied for Salmon Arm (26-14-0-3-0), which outshot Merritt 51-33 and received a 30-save effort from Eli Pulver.
Merritt was 1-for-2 on the power play while Salmon Arm was 0-for-2.
Friday’s results
- Trail 4, Cranbrook 1
- Chilliwack 3, Coquitlam 2 (SO)
- Nanaimo 4, Cowichan Valley 2
- Powell River 6, Alberni Valley 3
Saturday’s games
- Alberni Valley at Powell River
- Vernon at Prince George
- Surrey at Victoria
- Penticton at Cranbrook
- West Kelowna at Coquitlam
- Cowichan Valley at Nanaimo
- Salmon Arm at Merritt
- Chilliwack at Langley
Sunday’s games
- Surrey at Victoria
- Penticton at Trail
KIJHL
PLAYOFFS
Friday’s results
- Creston Valley 3, Fernie 2 (OT)
- (Creston Valley leads series 1-0)
- Columbia Valley 3, Kimberley 2 (OT)
- (Columbia Valley leads series 1-0)
- Sicamous 4, Kamloops 3 (OT)
- (Sicamous leads series 1-0)
- Princeton 5, Kelowna 2
- (Princeton leads series 1-0)
- Revelstoke 4, Chase 1
- (Revelstoke leads series 1-0)
- Beaver Valley 4, Castlegar 1
- (Beaver Valley leads series 1-0)
- Grand Forks 4, Nelson 3 (OT)
- (Grand Forks leads series 1-0)
- North Okanagan 5, Osoyoos 4
- (North Okanagan leads series 1-0)
Saturday’s games
- Creston Valley at Fernie
- Columbia Valley at Kimberley
- Sicamous at Kamloops
- Kelowna at Princeton
- Chase at Revelstoke
- Castlegar at Beaver Valley
- Nelson at Grand Forks
- Osoyoos at North Okanagan
Sunday’s games
- No games scheduled
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