A roundup of junior hockey results from the Okanagan and area.
WESTERN HOCKEY LEAGUE
It was a wild finish in Wenatchee, Wash., on Friday night.
Leading 4-2 in the final minutes of the third period, the Wild looked to be in control of Game 5 despite facing playoff elimination in their first-round series with Kelowna.
Then chaos entered the arena.
Wenatchee forward Evan Friesen was handed a double-minor penalty for high sticking at 16:39, and the Rockets struck, scoring twice in the final 2:30 to force overtime.
But as quick as that happened, the game ended even quicker, with Steven Arp scoring 54 seconds into the extra frame following a faceoff win.
And with the game victory, Wenatchee avoided playoff elimination, though the Rockets are still in the driver’s seat with a 3-2 series lead.
“A win’s a win, and we move on. That’s’ the focus right now,” Wild assistant coach Andrew Sarauer said on the team’s website.
“It was a wild game tonight — a lot of ups and downs, comebacks and fights. Give credit to our guys — they played a great hockey game for about 55 minutes, we just couldn’t bear down and close it in regulation.
“We went in the locker room, and it wasn’t pretty – a lot of guys were hanging their heads, thinking it was done, but we told the guys to lift their heads. We told them to put pucks on the net; it’s usually a weird goal, and (Steven) Arp put the puck on the net and it was in.”
The series now shifts to the Okanagan, with Kelowna hosting Game 6 Sunday afternoon.
The Rockets will advance to the second round with a win, but if the Wild are the victors, Wenatchee will host Game 7 on Tuesday.
Kenta Isogai, with two goals, Briley Wood and Evan Friesen also scored for Wenatchee, which led 2-1 and 3-1 at the period breaks. The Wild were 2-for-4 on the power play.
Gabriel Szturc, with two goals, Michael Cicek and Tij Iginla, with his series-leading seventh goal of the playoffs, replied for Kelowna, which went 4-for-11 on the power play. Andrew Cristall had three assists.
The Rockets made it 3-2 midway through the third when Szturc tallied his first of the night, a power-play marker at 9:47. However, the Wild quickly replied, Friesen at 11:01, to make it 4-2.
But in the dying minutes, Szturc closed the gap on the power play at 17:39, with Iginla levelling the score at 4-4 with a power-play goal at 19:13.
Daniel Hauser stopped 27 of 31 shots for the Wild, with Jari Kykkanen making 26 saves on 31 shots for the Rockets.
Friday’s results
- Red Deer 5, Medicine Hat 2
- (Red Deer wins series 4-1)
- Saskatoon 6, Prince Albert 2
- (Saskatoon wins series 4-1)
- Everett 4, Vancouver 1
- (Everett leads series 3-1)
Saturday’s games
- No games scheduled
Sunday’s games
- Vancouver at Everett
- Wenatchee at Kelowna
- (Kelowna leads series 3-2)
B.C. HOCKEY LEAGUE
In the opening weekend of playoff action, Southern Interior teams went 4-for-4 on home ice, with Penticton, West Kelowna, Salmon Arm and Vernon all taking early 1-0 leads in their best-of-seven series.
At Penticton, Will Ingemann posted the shutout with a 20-save effort as the Vees blanked the Spruce Kings on Friday night.
“Our team committed to the game plan. We talked about playing with speed, playing physical this week and we did just that,” said Matt Miller, the Vees’ director of hockey operations.
“A well-executed game from our group, especially on the heels of a tough ending to the regular season. It was good to see a complete team effort.”
Anselmo Rego, Francesco Dell’EIce and Zack Stringer scored for Penticton, which led 1-0 and 3-0 at the period breaks.
Charlie Zolin stopped 24 of 27 shots for Prince George.
The Vees were 0-for-1 on the power play while the Spruce Kings were 0-for-3.
At West Kelowna, the Warriors jumped quickly out of the starting gate, scoring three times in the first period en route to a lopsided romp over the Bucks on Friday night.
Jack Pridham, with a hat trick, Johannes Lokkeberg, Sean Keohane, Callum Hughes, Trent Wilson and Owen Drury scored for West Kelowna, which led 3-0 and 3-1 at the period breaks.
Jacob Fletcher, late in the second period, and Bryce Sookro, midway through the third to make it 5-2, replied for Cranbrook.
Rorke Applebee stopped 24 of 26 shots for the Warriors, with Braedyn McIntosh turning aside 30 of 38 shots for the Bucks.
West Kelowna was 4-for-6 on the power play while Cranbrook was 1-fo-4.
At Salmon Arm, Adam Boatter scored early in overtime as the Silverbacks rallied from a 2-0 deficit to defeat the Centennials on Friday night.
Maddux Martin, with two goals, also scored for Salmon Arm, which trailed 2-0 midway through the second period following a scoreless first.
Boatter’s goal came at 2:57 of overtime.
Eli Pulver stopped 27 of 29 shots for the Silverbacks, with Andrew Ballantyne making 44 saves on 47 shots for the Centennials.
Both teams were scoreless on the power play, with Salmon Arm at 0-for-2 and Merritt 0-for-1.
At Vernon, Ethan David posted a shutout, stopping all 30 shots he faced, as the Vipers blanked the Smoke Eaters on Friday night.
Owen Kim and Julian Facchinelli scored for Vernon. Both goals came late in the third period, at 17:04 (shorthanded) and 18:38 (empty net).
Teagan Kendrick stopped 25 of 26 shots for Trail.
The Vipers had no power plays while the Smoke Eaters were 0-for-3.
Friday’s results
- Alberni Valley 5, Coquitlam 4 (OT)
- Chilliwack 5, Langley 4 (OT)
- Victoria 4, Nanaimo 2
- Surrey 4, Cowichan Valley 2
Saturday’s games
- Langley at Chilliwack
- Merritt at Salmon Arm
- Nanaimo at Victoria
- Prince George at Penticton
- Trail at Vernon
- Cranbrook at West Kelowna
- Coquitlam at Alberni Valley
- Cowichan Valley at Surrey
Sunday’s games
- No games scheduled
KIJHL
PLAYOFFS
LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP
Friday’s results
- Revelstoke 5, Fernie 2
Saturday’s game
- Fernie at Revelstoke
(Revelstoke leads series 1-0)
Sunday’s game
- No games scheduled
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