A round-up of results from junior hockey teams in the Okanagan.
WESTERN HOCKEY LEAGUE
After a week off, the Kelowna Rockets are back in action tonight as they host the Brandon Wheat Kings.
Kelowna’s last game was last Saturday, a 4-3 overtime victory against the visiting Prince George (6-7-1-2). This evening, Brandon (8-3-3-2) rolls into Prospera Place after posting a 3-2 overtime victory against the host Kamloops Blazers on Friday night.
Tonight’s game against Kelowna (6-10-0-0) will be the last stop of a six-game road swing for Brandon. That road trip started October 23rd with a 2-1 loss in Lethbridge before trekking across the Rocky Mountains. In B.C., Brandon has had a rough time, losing 4-3 in overtime to Kootenay, 3-1 to Victoria and 3-2 in a shootout to Vancouver before besting Prince George 5-4 on Tuesday, then Kamloops on Friday.
Overall, Brandon is 3-3-2-2 in its past 10 games. Meanwhile, Kelowna is 5-5-0-0, but is also 2-0 under new head coach Adam Foote.
Game time at Prospera Place is 7:05 p.m. The game will have a pink theme to it, as it’s Paint the Rink Pink night, with proceeds from jersey auctions and the puck toss being donated to the Canadian Cancer Society.
B.C. HOCKEY LEAGUE
Penticton 4, Merritt 3 (SO)
At Penticton, the Vees rallied from a two-goal deficit to tie the game, then went 2-for-3 in the shootout to defeat the Centennials.
Luke Loheit, James Miller and Eric Linell scored in regulation time for Penticton (10-6-0-2), while Mathieu Gosselin, Rylan Van Unen and Matthew Kopperud scored in regulation for Merritt (12-8-0-1). The Cents led 1-0 after the first, 2-1 after 40 minutes and 3-1 five minutes into the third. Miller made it 3-2 at 11:36, with Linell tying the game at 15:24.
Nothing was solved in overtime, and, in the shootout, the Vees went 2-for-3, with Massimo Rizzo missing but Cassidy Bowes and Conner Hutchison scoring. Kopperud and Gosselin were stopped in the shootout for Merritt.
Jack LaFontaine faced 29 shots, stopping 26 of them for Penticton. Vincent Duplessis had a busier night in Merritt’s net, facing 41 shots and stopping 38. Both teams were 1-for-4 on the power play. The attendance was 2,866.
Coquitlam 4, Vernon 1
At Coquitlam, the Express jumped out to a 2-0 lead after two periods, then added two more in the third to defeat the visiting Vipers.
Josh Latta had the only goal for Vernon (7-6-4-2), which was outshot 37-32. Regan Kimens, Christian Sanda, Connor Gregga and Joshua Wildauer scored for Coquitlam (14-6-1-0).
Aidan Porter made 33 saves for Vernon while Clay Stevenson stopped 31 shots for Coquitlam. The Vipers were 0-for-3 on the power play while the Express were 1-for-7. The attendance was 567.
West Kelowna 4, Wenatchee 3
At Wenatchee, the Warriors overcame an early 2-0 deficit by scoring four times in the second period to defeat the Wild.
Mike Hardman, with two goals, Lucas Cullen and Max Bulawka scored for West Kelowna (12-7-0-1), which got all of its goals in a six-minute span in the middle frame. Replying for Wenatchee were Bryan Adams and Lucas Sowder, with goals in the first period, and Josh Arnold.
Hardman made it 2-1 at 10:14 of the second, with Cullen scoring at 11:25 to even the score. Arnold scored at 14:01 to put Wenatchee ahead 3-2, but Bulawka made it 3-3 at 16:21 with Hardman tallying his second of the night at 16:40 to put West Kelowna ahead 4-3. The third period was scoreless.
Connor Hopkins stopped 29 of 32 shots for West Kelowna, while Austin Park took the loss for Wenatchee, stopping 25 of 29 shots. The Warriors were 1-for-7 on the power play while the Wild were 1-for-6.
With the win, West Kelowna took over top spot in Interior Division standings. The Warriors are tied with Merritt for first with 25 points apiece, though the Centennials have played one more game. Salmon Arm is second with 23 points with Penticton in third with 22 points. Vernon and Wenatchee are next with 20 points with Trail in seventh and last with 18 points.
In BCHL games for Saturday night, Salmon Arm (11-7-1-0) visits Chilliwack (16-6-0-0), Penticton treks to Prince George (13-6-0-1), Merritt hosts Alberni Valley (7-11-1-0) and Vernon is in Langley (9-9-1-0).
KOOTENAY INTERNATIONAL JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE
Kelowna 6, Fernie 2
At Kelowna, the Chiefs scored early and often to defeat the Ghostriders and earn their 16th win in 18 games this season.
Ryan Stack, with two goals, Isaac Dutka, Liam Drager, Kayson Gallant and Jordan Lowry scored for Kelowna (16-0-1-0-1), which led 2-0 and 3-1 at the breaks. Dylan Defosse and Nikolas Sombrowski replied for Fernie (8-6-0-0-2).
Braeden Mitchell made 23 saves in facing 25 shots for Kelowna while Riley Fonger stopped 26 of 32 shots for Fernie. The Chiefs were 1-for-4 on the power play while the Ghostriders were 0-for-3. Attendance at Rutland Arena was 408.
Revelstoke 4, Spokane 1
At Spokane, Kaeden Patrick opened and closed the scoring in leading the Grizzlies to a three-goal win.
Cody Flann and Brenden Vulcano also scored for Revelstoke (13-1-0-0-0), which led 1-0 and 2-1 after the first and second periods. Bear Hughes replied for Spokane (8-7-0-0-2), which was outshot 55-28.
Ben Waslaski made 51 saves for the Braves while Liam McGarva stopped 27 shots for the Grizzlies. Both teams were 1-for-10 on the power play. The attendance was 825.
Chase 1, Sicamous 0
At Sicamous, Evan Hughes had the game’s only goal as the Heat won despite getting outshot 40-30.
Dylan Barton posted the shutout for Chase (3-13-1-0-0), while Cole Steinke had an almost perfect outing as well for Sicamous (7-9-2-0-1), turning aside 31 of 32 shots. Hughes’ goal was a power-play marker in the second period.
Chase was 1-for-5 on the power play while the Eagles were 0-for-4. The attendance was unavailable.
Summerland 6, Creston Valley 3
At Summerland, the Steam scored three unanswered goals in the third period to defeat the Thundercats.
Linden Gove, with two goals, Ty Banser, Mitchell Gove, Morey Babakaiff and Cody Swan scored for Summerland (10-7-1-0-1), which trailed 2-1 after the first period but was on level terms at 3-3 after 40 minutes. Carson Small, with two goals, and Austin Dennis replied for Creston Valley (5-10-0-0-2).
Sam Burford stopped 35 of 41 shots for the Thundercats. Jared Breitkreuz turned aside 28 of 31 shots for the Steam. Creston Valley was 1-for-7 on the power play while Summerland was 3-for-6. The attendance was unavailable.
Osoyoos 3, North Okanagan 0
At Armstrong, goaltender Daniel Paul kept the host Knights off the scoresheet as Osoyoos blanked North Okanagan.
Ryan MacDonald and Elijah Havers, with power-play goals in the first, and Peter Michailides, in the third period, scored for Osoyoos (6-10-1-0-0). Paul was perfect in net, stopping all 29 shots fired his way. For North Okanagan (3-12-0-1-0), Devin Chapman faced 34 shots, stopping 31.
The Coyotes were 2-for-10 on the power play while the Knights were 0-for-6. The attendance was 107.
In KIJHL action tonight, Spokane is in Sicamous, Revelstoke visits Chase, Fernie travels to Armstrong to play North Okanagan, Summerland hosts 100 Mile House (8-5-1-0-1), Princeton (8-8-0-0-0) is in Fruitvale to play Beaver Valley (8-8-1-0-1) and Creston visits Osoyoos.
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