A roundup of junior hockey results from the Okanagan and area.
The Kelowna Rockets have now lost three in a row, after dropping a 4-2 decision against the Everett Silvertips Saturday night.
The opening frame was nothing short of action-packed, as it was a back-and-forth period where both teams got on the board twice. Gabriel Szturc (31) and Caden Brown (8) scored for Kelowna, while Austin Roest (36) and Caden Brown (8) struck for Everett.
Both Silvertips’ first-period goals came on the man advantage, and the two teams were tied after 20 minutes of play.
Late in the second period with the score still deadlocked, Everett’s Julius Miettinen (30) received a sweet one-time pass from Jesse Heslop, and he ripped it past Rockets netminder Jari Kykkanen to give the ‘Tips at 3-2 advantage.
Then, just :19 seconds into the final stanza, Eric Jamieson (10) fired home a shot from the blueline past Kykkanen blocker side, giving Everett a 4-2 lead.
The Silvertips locked it down after doubling up their lead, only allowing Kelowna 4 shots the rest of the way.
The Rockets’ record is now 31-30-4-1. They’ll finish off the regular season with a home-and-home series against the Vancouver Giants, which kicks off Friday night in Langley before doing battle in Kelowna on Saturday.
The Giants have now leapfrogged the Rockets for fifth place in the Western Conference standings, after a 9-2 drubbing against the Kamloops Blazers on Saturday.
Saturday’s results
- Brandon 3, Prince Albert 2
- Vancouver 9, Kamloops 2
- Medicine Hat 4, Swift Current 2
- Moose Jaw 6, Saskatoon 3
- Lethbridge 3, Red Deer 2 (OT)
- Portland 5, Wenatchee 3
- Prince George 10, Victoria 4
- Spokane 7, Tri-City 6
Sunday’s games
- Lethbridge at Calgary
- Swift Current at Edmonton
- Moose Jaw at Regina
- Portland at Seattle
- Wenatchee at Spokane
- Prince George at Vancouver
Just a day after the Vernon Vipers announced that general manager and head coach Jason McKee had mutually agreed to part ways, the club picked up a huge win in overtime against the Nanaimo Clippers.
Vernon’s Hank Cleaves (13) and Owen Kim (16) both scored powerplay goals, but the Clippers put two even-strength goals up on the board and the score was all even after the first period.
Neither team would find the back of the net in period two or three, but in overtime with the game on the line, Vernon’s Julian Facchinelli (11) would be the hero 1:15 into extra time.
Despite the loss, the Clippers outshot the hometown Vipers 46-42. Vernon went 2-for-4 on the powerplay while Nanaimo went goalless on three powerplay opportunities.
The Vipers get right back in action on Sunday as they host Alberni Valley.
Despite being badly outshot 38-21, the Alberni Valley Bulldogs stunned the Penticton Vees and their fans with a 2-1 victory Saturday night.
After a scoreless first period, Alberni Valley’s Lenny Greenberg (4) opened the scoring to silence the crowd of 2,847 at the South Okanagan Events Centre.
But the lead didn’t last long, as the Vees answered back just under seven minutes later thanks to Anselmo Rego. (10)
Then, 29 seconds into the final period, the Bulldogs broke the tie thanks to Nicholas Beneteau, (16) and that tally would stand as the game-winner.
Penticton went 0-for-1 on the powerplay while Alberni Valley went 0-for-3.
The Vees’ next game gets underway on Friday when they host Merritt.
A two-goal performance from Issac Lambert helped propel the Salmon Arm Silverbacks over the Coquitlam Express Saturday night.
JJ Monteiro (17) and Ryan Gillespie (9) also scored for the Silverbacks, who led 3-1 after two periods of play.
In the third, Lambert (21) registered his second of the night just 2:47 in. Coquitlam made things interesting when Kasper Walthner-Sneve scored to make it 4-2, but the Silverbacks put the game out of reach when Riley Ashe (5) added a late-period goal.
Salmon Arm outshot Coquitlam 39-29, Their powerplay was a perfect one-for-one, while Coquitlam went goalless on the man advantage with two opportunities.
The Silverbacks hit the road and face Penticton on Saturday.
Saturday’s results
- Cowichan Valley 4, Powell River 1
- Blackfalds 4, Okotoks 3
- Surrey 3, Chilliwack 2
- Prince George 4, Merritt 3 (OT)
- Spruce Grove 6, Brooks 5 (OT)
- Cranbrook 5, Trail 2
- Langley 6, Victoria 5 (OT)
Sunday’s games
- Sherwood Park at Blackfalds
- Alberni Valley at Vernon
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