A round-up of Friday’s games involving junior hockey teams in the Okanagan.
WESTERN HOCKEY LEAGUE
Prince George 3, Kelowna 2
The Rockets scored back-to-back goals in the third period to tie the game, but it wasn’t enough as Kelowna suffered its fourth consecutive loss to start the season.
Scoring for winless Kelowna (0-4-0-0) were Conner Bruggen-Cate, at 5:36 of the third period, and Nolan Foote, at 6:28, which trailed 2-0 after the first period. Roman Basran made 26 saves as the Rockets were outshot 29-21.
Illijah Collins, at 2:05 of the first period, and Ethan Browne, 45 seconds later at 2:50, and Matej Toman, with the game winner at 8:57 of the third, scored for Prince George (2-1-0-1). Taylor Gauthier made 19 saves for the Cougars.
Kelowna was 0-for-3 on the power play while Prince George was 0-for-6. It was the second of three consecutive meetings between the two B.C. Division teams, with Prince George also beating Kelowna 4-2 on Wednesday. The announced attendance was 3,160.
The two teams meet again tonight, 7 p.m. at the CN Centre in Prince George.
BRITISH COLUMBIA HOCKEY LEAGUE
Penticton 6, Merritt 3
At Merritt, the Vees scored four times in the first period en route to a three-goal road win.
Brendan Harrogate, with two goals, Andre Ghantous, Ryan Sandelin, Mason Snell and Matthew Byrne scored for Penticton (3-3-0-0), which 4-0 after the first period and 5-1 after 40 minutes.
Rylan Van Unen, Brendan Schneider and Bradley Cocca replied for Merritt (4-4-0-0), which outshot Penticton 39-27. Austin Roden stopped 13 of 17 shots with Vincent Duplessis stopping 8 of 10 shots.
Penticton was 2-for-5 on the power play while Merritt was 0-for-7. The attendance was 804.
West Kelowna 5, Salmon Arm 3
At Royal LePage Place, Willie Reim had a hat trick for the Warriors, with two goals coming in the third period, as host West Kelowna pulled away late for the win.
Also scoring for West Kelowna (5-3-0-0) were Parm Dhaliwal and Mike Hardman. Dhaliwal opened the scoring at 1:34 of the first period, with Reim making it 2-0 at 14:02. In the third, Reim scored at 12:47 to make it 3-2, with Hardman making it 4-3 at 16:04. Reim closed out the scoring with an insurance marker at 17:56.
Olson Werenka, at 9:41 of the second, and Justin Wilson, at 16:25 of the second to make it 2-2 and 13:23 of the third to make it 3-3, scored for Salmon Arm (3-4-0-0).
Ethan Langenegger stopped 31 of 36 shots for Salmon Arm, while Connor Hopkins turned aside 32 of 35 shots for West Kelowna. The Warriors were 0-for-1 on the power play while the Silverbacks were 0-for-2. The announced attendance was 389.
Vernon 2, Wenatchee 0
At Kal-Tire Place, the host Vipers were outshot 34-24 but goalie Aidan Porter proved unbeatable as Vernon blanked the defending BCHL champion Wild.
Porter turned aside all 34 shots he faced while Connor Marritt, with what stood up to be the game-winning goal, and Jack Judson scored for Vernon (3-2-2-0). After a scoreless first period, Marritt scored at 1:32 of the second, with Judson making it 2-0 nine minutes later at 10:58.
Austin Park stopped 22 of 24 shots for Wenatchee (4-4-0-0), which started strong by firing 17 shots on Vernon’s net in the opening frame.
Wenatchee was 0-for-6 on the power play while Vernon was 1-for-3 with the extra man. The attendance was 2,089.
In Saturday’s games, Penticton hosts Alberni Valley (2-5-0-0), Merritt (4-4-0-0) visits Vernon and West Kelowna travels to Salmon Arm.
KOOTENAY INTERNATIONAL JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE
Princeton 5, Kelowna 4 (OT)
At Princeton, the Chiefs’ perfect start to the season came to an end with an overtime loss to the Posse.
Austin O’Neil netted the winner in overtime as Princeton overcame an early 2-0 deficit by scoring four times in the second period. Trevor Gulenchyn, Achille Casali, Justin Fodchuk and Terrance Josephson also scored for Princeton (2-4-0-0-0).
Zach Erhardt and Brody Dale, with goals in the first period, Kayson Gallant, in the second period to make it 3-3, and Devin Sutton, who tied the game at 4-4 in the third, scored for Kelowna (7-0-0-0-1).
Shane Zilka made 29 saves for Kelowna while Jaysen MacLean stopped 22 shots for Princeton, which outshot the Chiefs 32-26. Kelowna was 1-for-4 on the power play while Princeton was 0-for-4.
Sicamous 6, Kamloops 4
At Kamloops, Colby Sherlock scored twice for the Eagles in a road win over the host Storm.
Jordan Sheasgreen, Aaron Plessis, Nicholas Cossa and Justin Hodgson also reached the scoresheet for Sicamous (2-3-1-0-1), which led 3-2 after the second period and scored three times in the third.
Therann Kincross, with two goals, Julian Fodor, and Connor Steed replied for Kamloops (1-5-0-1-0). Cole Steinke stopped 40 of 44 shots for Sicamous, with Ethan Paulin-Hatch turning aside 35 of 41 shots for Kamloops.
Sicamous was 2-for-7 on the power play while Kamloops was also 2-for-7.
Kimberley 5, North Okanagan 2
Game details not available from Friday night’s game in Armstrong between the visiting Kimberley Dynamiters (6-1-0-0-0) and host North Okanagan Knights (1-4-0-1-0).
Summerland 6, Osoyoos 0
At Summerland, Liam McLaren scored twice and goaltender Jared Breitkreuz stopped all 20 shots he faced as the host Steam blanked the Coyotes.
Linden Gove, Cody Swan, Tyson Conroy and Tristan Hewitt also scored for Summerland (4-4-0-0-0), which led 1-0 after the first period and 4-0 after the second.
Daniel Paul stopped 35 of the 41 shots he faced for Osoyoos (1-4-0-0-0), which was 0-for-9 on the power play. Summerland was 2-for-12 with the extra man.
In Saturday’s games, Rutland Arena will feature a showdown between Kelowna (7-0-0-0-1) and Kimberley (6-1-0-0-0). The Chiefs and Dynamiters are two of the KIJHL’s three best teams so far this season, with the third being the undefeated Nelson Leafs (7-0-0-0-0).
Also Saturday, Osoyoos visits Grand Forks (2-5-0-0-0), Summerland is in Princeton and Sicamous hosts Revelstoke (4-0-0-0-0).
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