A roundup of junior hockey results from the Okanagan and area.
WESTERN HOCKEY LEAGUE
For the past four seasons, the Blazers have had the Rockets’ number.
Not anymore.
On Friday night in Kelowna, Andrew Cristall rolled up an amazing seven points, tallying two goals and five assists, as the Rockets demolished the Blazers 9-1.
Marek Rocak, Carter Kowalyk, Gabriel Szturc, Dylan Wightman, Luke Schelter, Kayden Longley and Max Graham also scored for Kelowna (30-28-3-1), which led 3-0 and 5-0 at the period breaks.
“I’m really happy,” said Rockets head coach Kris Mallette, whose squad clinched a playoff spot with the win.
The Rockets are currently in sixth place with 64 points. Just six points separate fourth through seventh.
“We’re just going to continue to try to move up the standings and see what happens over these next six games.”
Blake Swetlikoff had the only goal for Kamloops (20-36-3-3), a goal early in the third period just after the Rockets had made it 6-0.
The lopsided result pushed Kelowna’s record against Kamloops this season to 3-3-1-0. Last season, the Blazers — who won the B.C. Division title for a fourth straight year — were 8-2 against the Rockets.
Jari Kykkanen stopped 30 of 31 shots for Kelowna, with Jesse Sanche making 31 saves on 40 shots for Kamloops.
The Rockets were 3-for-4 on the power play while the Blazers were 1-for-4.
The two teams close out their season series Saturday night in Kamloops.
Friday’s results
- Red Deer 4, Calgary 3
- Everett 4, Victoria 1
- Brandon 9, Lethbridge 0
- Moose Jaw 6, Regina 3
- Edmonton 3, Prince Albert 2 (OT)
- Prince George 5, Vancouver 3
- Saskatoon 3, Medicine Hat 1
- Seattle 5, Spokane 4
- Wenatchee 8, Tri-City 1
Saturday’s games
- Kelowna at Kamloops
- Lethbridge at Moose Jaw
- Wenatchee at Portland
- Medicine Hat at Prince Albert
- Vancouver at Prince George
- Calgary at Red Deer
- Edmonton at Saskatoon
- Seattle at Spokane
- Brandon at Swift Current
- Everett at Victoria
Sunday’s game
- Tri-City at Seattle
B.C. HOCKEY LEAGUE
PENTICTON 2, WEST KELOWNA 1 (OT)
With just a handful of regular-season games remaining, the Vees and Warriors clashed in an exciting game that went to overtime.
It could be a preview of this spring’s Interior Conference championship playoff series, as Penticton and West Kelowna occupy first and second in the division.
But on Friday night in West Kelowna, it was the top-seeded Vees who came out on top, with defenceman Francesco Dell’Elce burying an own-rebound at 1:10 of overtime as Penticton won its fifth straight game.
“That game was a great showcase for our league. It was back and forth, fast, physical, and tight-checking,” Vees assistant coach Matthew Vanden Berg said.
“Honestly, that may have been the most competitive game we had all season. It was great to get the two points out of a tough building. It was a complete team effort.”
Ryan MacPherson, who opened the scoring at 2:11 of the first, also scored for Penticton (35-7-3-2-0).
Jack Pridhim, at 19:52 of the third, replied for West Kelowna (28-10-10-0-0).
Will Ingemann stopped 24 of 25 shots for the Vees, with Rorke Applebee making 25 saves on 27 shots for the Warriors.
Both teams were scoreless on the power play at 0-for-1.
At Merritt, the Vipers jumped out to a big lead, then fumbled it en route to an overtime decision on Friday night.
Owen Kim, with a hat trick, Luke Bibby and Hank Cleaves scored for Vernon (28-18-1-0-0), which led 3-0 after the first period and 4-0 early in the second.
However, the Centennials rallied and scored the next four goals before the period ended. The third period was scoreless, with Kim netting the winner at 1:09 of overtime.
Scoring for Merritt (19-23-4-1-0) was Michael Felsing, Michael Stenberg, Luke Pfoh and Easton Ryan.
Ethan David turned aside 31 of 35 shots for the Vipers. For the Centennials, Andrew Ballantyne stopped 29 of 34 shots.
Vernon was 1-for-5 on the power play while Merritt was 0-for-4.
SALMON ARM 1, CRANBROOK 0 (OT)
At Cranbrook, J.J. Monteiro scored the game’s only goal in overtime as the Silverbacks blanked the Bucks on Friday night.
Eli Pulver stopped all 42 shots he faced for Salmon Arm (28-16-0-3-0).
Braedyn McIntosh was nearly perfect between the pipes for Cranbrook, (19-25-3-0-0) making 46 saves on 47 shots.
Both teams were scoreless on the power play at 0-for-2.
Friday’s results
- Langley 3, Coquitlam 0
- Cowichan Valley 2, Alberni Valley 0
- Surrey 3, Nanaimo 1
- Trail 5, Prince George 2
- Victoria 6, Powell River 5
Saturday’s games
- Langley at Chilliwack
- Surrey at Cowichan Valley
- Merritt at Penticton
- Salmon Arm at Cranbrook
- Nanaimo at Victoria
- Powell River at Alberni Valley
- Vernon at Trail
- Prince George at West Kelowna
Sunday’s games
- Surrey at Nanaimo
KIJHL
PLAYOFFS
First round
- Fernie vs. Creston Valley
- (Fernie wins series 4-1)
- Kimberley vs. Columbia Valley
- (Columbia Valley wins series 4-1)
- Beaver Valley vs. Castlegar
- (Beaver Valley wins series 4-0)
- Grand Forks vs. Nelson
- (Grand Forks wins series 4-1)
- Princeton vs. Kelowna
- (Princeton wins series 4-1)
- North Okanagan vs. Osoyoos
- (North Okanagan wins series 4-0)
- Revelstoke vs. Chase
- (Revelstoke wins series 4-0)
- Kamloops vs. Sicamous
- (Kamloops wins series 4-3)
Second round
Friday’s results
- Fernie 6, Columbia Valley 2
- (Fernie leads 1-0)
- North Okanagan 5, Princeton 3
- (North Okanagan leads 2-0)
- Grand Forks 2, Beaver Valley 1
- (Grand Forks leads 1-0)
- Revelstoke 5, Kamloops 3
- (Revelstoke leads 1-0)
Saturday’s games
- Columbia Valley at Fernie
- Grand Forks at Beaver Valley
- Kamloops at Revelstoke
Sunday’s games
- No games scheduled
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