A round-up of results from junior hockey teams in the Okanagan.
WESTERN HOCKEY LEAGUE
Red Deer 7, Kelowna 0
The Kelowna Rockets continued a lengthy road trip in Red Deer on Friday night, and the Rebels weren’t kind hosts.
Red Deer got goals from seven players as the Rebels crushed Kelowna 7-0, sending the Rockets to their fourth consecutive loss. Kelowna’s six-game road trip ends this evening in Edmonton, against the Oil Kings, but more on that later.
Scoring for Red Deer (14-5-1-0) were Brandon Hagel and Dallon Melin in the first period, Chris Douglas and Reese Johnson in the second, plus Jeff de Wit, Alex Morozoff and Carson Sass in the third. Kelowna (8-13-1-0) was kept off the scoresheet for the third time this season. The Rockets were also blanked 5-0 by Vancouver on October 3rd and 3-0 by Portland on November 10th.
James Porter and Roman Basran split netminding duties for Kelowna, with Porter stopping 14 of 18 shots in taking the loss while Basran kicked aside 13 of 16 shots in relief. Ethan Anders stopped all 28 shots he faced for Red Deer. Kelowna was 0-for-3 on the power play while Red Deer was 2-for-4. The attendance was 4,213.
As of today, Saturday, November 17th, Red Deer and Edmonton (13-7-1-2) are tied for the Central Division lead with 29 points, though the Oil Kings have played three more games than the Rebels (23 to 20). Kelowna, by comparison, has just 17.
Offensively, the Oil Kings are averaging 4.08 goals a game (94 total). Red Deer is averaging 3.65 goals a game (73 total). Defensively, the stats are flipped, with Red Deer surrendering 2.95 goals a game (59 total) to Edmonton’s 3.43 (79 total). Kelowna is scoring 2.77 goals a game and giving up 3.54 goals a game.
Game time at Rogers Place in Edmonton is 6 p.m. PT.
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B.C. HOCKEY LEAGUE
Merritt 3, Salmon Arm 2
At Salmon Arm, Nick Granowicz scored twice for Merritt, including what stood up as the game-winning goal midway through the second period, as the Centennials edged the Silverbacks on Friday night.
Christian Sabin also scored for Merritt (16-9-0-1), which regained its lead atop the Interior Division. The Centennials now have 33 points, two more than Penticton (14-7-1-2, 31 pts.), which was idle on Friday, and West Kelowna (15-10-0-1, 31 pts.).
Sabin made it 1-0 at 7:17 of the first, with Granowicz making it 2-0 at 11:26 of the second. Granowicz also rounded out the scoring three minutes later at 13:59, a shorthanded marker. Replying for Salmon Arm (13-9-1-0, 27 pts.) were Trevor Adams, at 11:50 of the second, and Tyson Gayfer, just seconds later at 12:15 to make it 2-2.
Austin Roden made 24 saves for Merritt while Matthew Armitage stopped 30 shots in taking the loss. Merritt was 0-for-5 on the power play while Salmon Arm was 2-for-4. The attendance was 1,177.
Vernon 6, West Kelowna 3
At West Kelowna, Josh Latta and Brendan Kim scored twice for the Vipers as Vernon earned its ninth win of the season.
Matt Kowalski and Garrett Worth also scored for Vernon (9-8-6-2, 26 pts.), which is sixth in Interior Division standings. The Vipers led 3-2 after the first period and 5-2 after 40 minutes.
Replying for West Kelowna (15-10-0-1, 31 pts.) were Cavin Tilsley, who opened the scoring just 56 seconds into the game, Willie Reim, at 17:07 of the first to make it 2-2, and Bennett Nolin, who closed out the scoring at 11:44 of the third with a shorthanded marker.
Aidan Porter stopped 34 of 37 shots for Vernon. For West Kelowna, Brock Baier, with 12 saves on 17 shots, and Connor Hopkins, with 16 saves on 17 shots in relief, split netminding duties. Vernon was 0-for-4 on the power play while West Kelowna was 0-for-5. The attendance was 919.
In BCHL action tonight, Victoria (16-7-0-1) is in Penticton, Salmon Arm (13-9-1-0) welcomes Wenatchee (13-10-2-0) and Trail (10-10-4-2) is in Merritt.
KOOTENAY INTERNATIONAL JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE
Kelowna 3, Kamloops 0
At Rutland Arena, the host Chiefs skated to their second shutout win of the season as Kelowna held the Storm scoreless.
Myles Mattila, who opened the scoring in the second period and closed in in the third into an empty net, and Devin Sutton scored for Kelowna (19-0-1-0-2). After a scoreless first, Mattila made it 1-0 at 2:16 of the second. In the third, Sutton scored at 2:45 to make it 2-0, with Mattila rounding out the scoring at 19:43.
Shane Zilka stopped all 28 shots he faced for Kelowna, while Ethan Paulin-Hatch had a much busier evening for Kamloops (7-12-0-1-0), facing 49 shots and stopping 47. Kelowna was 0-for-5 on the power play while Kamloops was 0-for-4. The attendance was 385.
In Okanagan Division standings, the Chiefs are running away from the pack, having piled up 41 points out of a maximum 44 in 22 games. Summerland is second with 28 points while Osoyoos and Princeton are tied for third with 17.
Spokane 2, North Okanagan 1
At Spokane, Alex Enegren netted the game winner midway through the second period as the Braves overcame stellar goaltending to defeat the Knights.
Bear Hughes also scored for Spokane (10-8-0-0-2), which fired 67 shots at North Okanagan, but only scored twice on Knights goaltender Austin Madge. Hughes scored late in the first to tie the game at 1-1. Cole Haberlack replied for North Okanagan (6-15-0-1-0).
Campbell Arnold stopped 38 of 39 shots for Spokane. Madge, by comparison, faced 28 more shots than Campbell in his 65-save outing. North Okanagan was 0-for-2 on the power play while Spokane was 0-for-3. The attendance was 200.
Summerland 4, Sicamous 1
At Summerland, it was scoring by committee for the Steam in a three-goal win over the Eagles.
Cody Swan, Morey Babakaiff and Tyson Conroy, with goals in the first period, and Everett Scherger, in the third, scored for Summerland (13-9-1-0-1). Colby Sherlock, midway through the second, replied for Sicamous (7-12-2-0-2).
Eric Scherger stopped 27 of 28 shots for Summerland while Cole Steinke turned aside 20 of 24 shots for Sicamous. The Eagles were 0-for-6 on the power play while the Steam were 0-for-4. The attendance was 115.
In KIJHL action tonight, Chase (4-14-2-0-0) visits Kelowna, Osoyoos (8-11-1-0-0) is in Princeton (8-11-0-0-1) and Summerland hosts Kimberley (18-3-0-0-0).
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