Kelowna Rockets
The Kelowna Rockets fell 5-3 on Saturday night to the Kamloops Blazers at Prospera Place to close out the pre-season.
Kamloops jumped out to an early 2-0 lead but with under five minutes to play in the period Rockets new Finnish defenceman Lassi Thomson took a slap shot to get Kelowna on the board.
The Rockets scored three unanswered goals to carry a 3-2 lead into the middle frame.
Blazers forward Luc Smith regained the Kamloops lead with under two minutes to play before Zane Franklin added an empty netter for a 5-3 Kamloops final.
Saturday was Kelowna’s final preseason game before they head into the 2018-19 regular season.
The Rockets open the regular season in Kamloops against the Blazers on Sept. 21 at the Sandman Centre.
The Rockets home opener is Saturday, Sept. 22 at 7:05 p.m. at Prospera Place.
West Kelowna Warriors
The Trail Smoke Eaters entered Saturday night’s game bloodthirsty after a stinger loss in Cominco to the Warriors and skated to a 6-4 victory on Saturday night.
The game started fast and furious with scoring as each team picked up a pair of goals each.
The first goal was a fanned on shot from Mack Byers that caught Warriors goaltender Connor Hopkins off guard to give the Smoke Eaters a 1-0 lead.
Seven minutes later they came right back with a pair of goals from Willie Reim and Sam Anderson only 21 seconds apart from each other.
Chase Dubois was able to connect with his first of the season to tie the game up at three.
Only eight seconds later Kent Johnson stormed the Warriors goal and regained the one goal lead for the Smoke Eaters.
At the 16 minute mark the Smoke Eaters added to their lead with yet another power play goal courtesy of defenseman Jeremy Smith.
The Warriors would try and make it interesting late in the game with a Parm Dhaliwal tally, but it was too late.
Hayden Rowan finished off his stellar evening with his second of the season and fourth point of the night, giving the Smoke Eaters that much needed insurance to pick up the win.
Vernon Vipers
After a tough loss on Friday night to Wenatchee, the Vernon Vipers hit the road for the first time and were able to skate away with a strong 5-2 win over the Merritt Centennials on Saturday night at the Nicola Valley Memorial Arena.
Jesse Lansdell paced the visitors with a goal and assist, while Aidan Porter stopped 25 shots in the winning effort.
Next action for the Vipers will see them host the West Kelowna Warriors 7 p.m. Friday night at Kal Tire Place.
- ‘Shock and disbelief’ after Manitoba school trustee’s Indigenous comments
- Several baby products have been recalled by Health Canada. Here’s the list
- Canadian food banks are on the brink: ‘This is not a sustainable situation’
- Invasive strep: ‘Don’t wait’ to seek care, N.S. woman warns on long road to recovery
Comments