A round-up of junior hockey results from the Okanagan and area.
WESTERN HOCKEY LEAGUE
It was the start the Kelowna Rockets wanted, but the finish? Not so much.
At Wenatchee, the Wild rallied from a 4-1 deficit after 20 minutes by outscoring the Rockets 7-2 over the final two periods on Friday night.
Briley Wood, with four goals, Evan Friesen, Karter Prosofsky, Graham Sward and Kent Isogai scored for Wenatchee, which leads the best-of-seven series 1-0.
Tij Iginla, with a hat trick, Max Graham, Gabriel Szturc and Marek Rocak scored for Kelowna, which opened the scoring just 67 seconds into the game and led 2-0 midway through the first.
The Rockets took that 4-1 lead into the second, but the Wild scored quickly, just 20 seconds in before Iginla completed his hat trick at 6:18 to make it 5-2.
Enter Wenatchee’s comeback, as the Wild scored three goals in four minutes to make it 5-5.
Rocak made it 6-5 at 19:03, but Wood immediately replied, with his third goal of the night, at 19:49 to make it 6-6.
In the third, Wood tallied his fourth goal at 7:06, with Isogai closing out the scoring at 19:58 with an empty-net goal.
Daniel Hauser stopped 29 of 35 shots for Wenatchee, with Jari Kykkanen making 29 saves on 36 shots.
The Wild were 4-for-5 on the power play while the Rockets were 2-for-6.
The attendance for the first WHL playoff game at Town Toyota Center was 2,110.
The two teams meet on Saturday night in Wenatchee, with the series shifting to the Okanagan for Games 3 and 4 on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Friday’s results
- Prince George 6, Spokane 1
- Portland 4, Victoria 3
- Vancouver 6, Everett 4
- Swift Current 3, Lethbridge 0
- Moose Jaw 7, Brandon 4
- Red Deer 5, Medicine Hat 4
- Saskatoon 4, Prince Albert 1
Saturday’s games
- Spokane at Prince George
- Victoria at Portland
- Vancouver at Everett
- Brandon at Moose Jaw
- Red Deer at Medicine Hat
- Lethbridge at Swift Current
- Kelowna at Wenatchee
Sunday’s games
- No games scheduled.
B.C. HOCKEY LEAGUE
At Penticton, Teagan Kendrick put on a goaltending clinic, stopping 47 of 49 shots, as the Smoke Eaters tripped up the Vees on Friday night.
Mathieu Cobetto-Roy, Isaac Fecteau, Maxim Potvin and Jason Stefanek scored for Trail (27-20-6-0-0), which led 1-0 and 3-0 at the period breaks.
It was Trail’s first regular-season win in Penticton since Nov. 6, 2019.
Callum Arnott and Francesco Dell’EIce replied for Penticton (38-9-3-3-0), which made it 3-2 in the third but couldn’t tie the game despite heavily outshooting the Smoke Eaters 49-18.
Will Ingemann made 14 saves for the Vees.
Trail was 1-for-1 on the power play while Penticton was 1-for-5.
WEST KELOWNA 4, POWELL RIVER 3
At West Kelowna, the Warriors roared out to a 4-0 lead, then fended off a close comeback by the Kings on Friday night.
Dylan Krayer, Felix Caron, Carter Oakenfold and Trent Wilson scored for West Kelowna (32-10-11-0-0), which led 2-0 after the second period following a scoreless first.
Oakenfold and Wilson scored back-to-back goals early in the third to make it 4-0. However, the Kings rallied with three goals to make a game of it.
Christian Maro and Zander Stewart, with two goals, replied for Powell River (14-34-5-0-0).
Rorke Applebee stopped 19 of 22 shots for the Warriors, with Justin Katz making 31 saves on 35 shots for the Kings.
West Kelowna was 1-for-4 on the power play while Powell River was 0-for-2.
PRINCE GEORGE 6, VERNON 5 (OT)
At Vernon, Skogen Schrott scored the game-winning goal in overtime as the Spruce Kings downed the Vipers on Friday night.
Owen Goodbrand, with two goals, Linden Makow, Luca Primerano and Kazumo Sasaki also scored for Prince George (16-34-3-0-0), which led 2-1 and 4-2 at the period breaks.
Noah Dorey, with two goals, Julian Facchinelli, Carson McGinley and Hank Cleaves replied for Vernon (32-19-2-0-0), which trailed 5-2 early in the third, but rallied with three goals to force overtime.
Charlie Zolin stopped 22 of 27 shots for the Spruce Kings, with Ethan David making 23 saves on 29 shots for the Vipers.
Prince George was 1-for-5 on the power play while Vernon had no power-play chances.
At Salmon Arm, Eli Pulver stopped 28 of 29 shots on Friday night as the Silverbacks downed the Bucks.
Adam Boatter, Reid Varkonyi and Patrick Raftery scored for Salmon Arm (34-16-0-3-0), which led 1-0 after the first period and 2-0 early in the third period.
Donovan Frias replied for Cranbrook (20-31-3-0-0), which made it 2-1 at 15:45 of the third.
Braedyn McIntosh made 36 saves on 39 shots for the Bucks.
Both teams were 1-for-5 on the power play.
Friday’s results
- Alberni Valley 3, Surrey 2
- Chilliwack 4, Cowichan Valley 2
- Nanaimo 4, Langley 3 (OT)
Saturday’s games
- Surrey at Cowichan Valley
- Trail at Salmon Arm
- Powell River at Vernon
- Langley at Alberni Valley
- Victoria at Coquitlam
- Chilliwack at Nanaimo
- Prince George at Merritt
Sunday’s games
- West Kelowna at Penticton
- Victoria at Coquitlam
*End of regular season*
KIJHL
PLAYOFFS
CONFERENCE FINALS
Friday’s results
- Beaver Valley 3, Fernie 2
- Princeton 3, Revelstoke 2 (2OT)
Saturday’s games
- Beaver Valley at Fernie
- (Fernie leads series 3-2)
- Princeton at Revelstoke
- (Revelstoke leads series 3-2)
Sunday’s games
- No games scheduled
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