A roundup of junior hockey results from the Okanagan and area.
WESTERN HOCKEY LEAGUE
The playoffs are on the horizon, and the Kelowna Rockets scored an important win on Friday night.
Caden Price netted the game-winning goal in overtime as Kelowna fumbled a 3-0 lead en route to a 4-3 road win over the Giants in Langley.
In Western Conference standings, the two teams are jockeying for their playoff seeding. Kelowna (27-28-3-1) is in seventh place with 58 points while Vancouver (28-26-4-0) is sixth with 60 points.
The Rockets have nine regular-season games remaining, while the Giants have 10. The two clubs will likely finish either sixth or seventh, though they have an outside chance of catching fifth-place Victoria (28-26-4-0).
Max Graham, with two goals, and Tij Iginla also scored for the Rockets, who led 2-0 after the first period and 3-0 after 40 minutes.
Ty Halaburda, Jaden Lipinski and Cameron Schmidt replied for the Giants, with all their goals coming in the second half of the third period.
Jari Kykkanen stopped 34 of 37 shots for Kelowna, with Brett Mirwald making 24 saves on 28 shots for Vancouver.
The Rockets were 2-for-6 on the power play while the Giants were 1-for-7.
Kelowna and Vancouver close out their regular-season schedule with a home-and-home set against each other on March 22-23.
On Saturday, the Rockets will visit the ninth-place Tri-City Americans (22-33-2-0, 47 points).
Friday’s results
- Prince Albert 2, Brandon 1
- Moose Jaw 8, Everett 7 (SO)
- Seattle 5, Kamloops 3
- Medicine Hat 7, Edmonton 4
- Portland 3, Regina 0
- Spokane 5, Prince George 4 (OT)
- Swift Current 7, Red Deer 5
- Lethbridge 4, Saskatoon 1
- Victoria 6, Tri-City 4
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Saturday’s games
- Saskatoon at Brandon
- Swift Current at Edmonton
- Regina at Everett
- Vancouver at Kamloops
- Victoria at Portland
- Lethbridge at Prince Albert
- Spokane at Prince George
- Calgary at Red Deer
- Moose Jaw at Seattle
- Kelowna at Tri-City
Sunday’s games
- Calgary at Medicine Hat
- Seattle at Vancouver
- Moose Jaw at Wenatchee
B.C. HOCKEY LEAGUE
The Vees vaulted into first place overall in league standings Friday night with a solid road win in Langley over the Rivermen.
Max Heise, Ryan MacPherson, Billy Renfrew, Callum Arnott and Anselmo Reggo scored for Penticton (33-7-3-2-0), which now has 71 points.
The Vees lead the Interior Division by a comfortable margin, with nine points over second-place West Kelowna (27-10-9-0-0).
However, their lead for first overall in the BCHL is just one point. The Surrey Eagles (34-7-2-0-0) have 70 points and lead the Coastal Division, but have two games in hand over the Vees.
Ryan Schelling, Logan Morrell and Ryder McIntosh replied for Langley (14-27-5-0-0, 33 points), which trailed 2-1 after the first and second periods.
Will Ingemann stopped 18 of 21 shots for the Vees, with Mason Beaupit making 32 saves on 37 shots.
Penticton was 1-for-6 on the power play while Langley was 0-for-2.
At Vernon, Isaac Tremblay and Luke Pakulak both scored twice as the Vipers downed the visiting Spruce Kings Friday night.
Erik Pastro, Connor Elliott and Hank Cleaves, with an empty-net goal, also scored for Vernon (27-17-1-0-0, 55 points), which led 3-1 and 4-3 at the period breaks. Colin Reay had 17 saves on 22 shots for the Vipers.
Kilian McGregor-Bennett, with two goals, Kazumo Saskaki, Jared Langdon and Luca Primerano replied for Prince George (14-28-3-0-0, 31 points). Ryan Sanborn turned aside 23 of 29 shots for the Spruce Kings.
Vernon was 1-for-3 on the power play while Prince George had no power-play chances.
Ridge Dawson scored twice, including the winner in overtime, as the Smoke Eaters rallied from a two-goal deficit Friday night.
Ethan Warrener, with a hat trick, and Jason Stefanek also scored for Trail (22-17-6-0-0, 50 points), which trailed 4-3 and 5-3 at the period breaks but scored twice in the third to tie the game.
Felix Caron, Trey Ausmus, Isaiah Norlin, Callum Huges and Jack Pridham replied for West Kelowna (27-10-9-0-0, 63 points), which leads Merritt by a wide margin in Interior Division standings but was outshot 40-26.
Ryan Parker stopped 21 shots for the Smoke Eaters with Rorke Applebee making 34 saves for the Warriors.
Trail was 2-for-6 on the power play while West Kelowna was 2-for-4.
At Merritt, Patrick Raftery had a goal and two assists as the Silverbacks rolled past the Centennials.
Ty Paisley, Cole Cooksey, Tanner Walos and Nathaniel Davis also scored for Salmon Arm (27-15-0-3-0, 57 points), which led 3-2 after the second period following a 1-1 tie after 20 minutes.
Easton Ryan and Dylan Wegner replied for Merritt (18-23-3-1-0, 40 points).
Eli Pulver turned aside 23 of 25 shots for the Silverbacks, with Andrew Ballantyne making 30 saves on 34 shots for the Centennials.
Both teams were scoreless on the power play, with Salmon Arm at 0-for-3 and Merritt at 0-for-4.
Friday’s results
- Chilliwack 5, Cowichan Valley 4
- Nanaimo 5, Coquitlam 2
- Victoria 6, Powell River 4
- Surrey 6, Alberni Valley 3
Saturday’s games
- Victoria at Powell River
- Alberni Valley at Chilliwack
- Trail at Salmon Arm
- Penticton at Coquitlam
- Nanaimo at Surrey
- West Kelowna at Vernon
- Prince George at Merritt
- Cowichan Valley at Langley
Sunday’s games
- No games scheduled
KIJHL
PLAYOFFS
Friday’s results
- Fernie 4, Creston Valley 3
- (Fernie wins series 4-1)
- Kamloops 6, Sicamous 1
- (Sicamous leads series 3-2)
- Princeton 6, Kelowna 2
- (Princeton wins series 4-1)
- Grand Forks 3, Nelson 0
- (Grand Forks wins series 4-1)
Saturday’s games
- Kamloops at Sicamous
- (Kamloops leads series 3-2)
Sunday’s games
- No games scheduled
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