A round-up of results from junior hockey teams in the Okanagan.
WESTERN HOCKEY LEAGUE
Kelowna 2, Victoria 0
Roman Basran was perfect for Kelowna on Friday night, stopping every shot he faced, as the Rockets blanked the visiting Victoria Royals.
Basran, the game’s first star, turned aside all 16 Victoria shots as Kelowna beat the Royals for the fourth time in five meetings this season. Lane Zablocki and Nolan Foote, with goals in the third period, scored for Kelowna (14-15-2-0). Griffen Outhouse, the game’s second star, made 30 saves for Victoria (13-12-0-0).
Zablocki scored at 8:31 to make it 1-0, with Foote sealing the game at 19:00 with an empty-net goal on the power play. Foote’s marker was his team-leading 19th goal of the season.
The Rockets now have the weekend off. Up next is the team’s annual pre-Christmas prairie road trip. Kelowna will leave the Okanagan on Monday and visit Cranbrook on Tuesday to play the Kootenay Ice, followed by games in Lethbridge on Wednesday, Calgary on Friday and Medicine Hat on Saturday. The team will then break for the holidays.
WATCH BELOW: The NHL announced that Seattle will get an NHL franchise. Ted Chernecki reports on what that could mean for B.C. hockey fans.
Notably, Tuesday’s game at Western Financial Place in Cranbrook could be the Rockets’ last trip to that city. Speculation is rampant that the Ice will be moving to Winnipeg, though neither the team nor the WHL has confirmed anything. The Ice are currently owned by a Winnipeg business owner, Greg Fettes, who purchased the franchise from the Chynoweth family in 2017.
This isn’t the first time news that news of Kootenay relocating has surfaced. Earlier this decade, the possibility of the Ice moving to Nanaimo, B.C., also percolated, though nothing ever came of that.
B.C. HOCKEY LEAGUE
Wenatchee 5, Vees 2
At Wenatchee, the host Wild limited Penticton to just 18 shots, yet had to rally in the third period in a come-from-behind victory over the Vees on Friday night.
Cristophe Tellier, Nathan Iannone, Matt Dorsey and Matt Gosiewski, with two, scored for Wenatchee (20-10-2-0), which trailed 2-0 after the first period and second as well. All of Wenatchee’s goals were scored in the final 10 minutes of the third period/ Tellier scored at 10:52 to get Wenatchee on the board, with Iannone levelling the score at 2-2 at 14:40. Dorsey then made it 3-2 for the Wild at 15:23, with Gosiewski adding a pair of empty-net markers at 18:56 and 19:53 to seal the win.
Cole Shepard and Jack Barnes, at 14:14 and 15:33 of the first period, respectively, scored for Penticton (20-9-1-2). The Vees lead the Interior Division with 43 points, but are only one point up on second-place Wenatchee. Merritt (20-11-1-1) is also tied for second with 42 points, but has played one more game than Wenatchee or Penticton.
Austin Park, who started and made two saves on four shots, and Cal Sandquist, who went 14-for-14 in relief, were in net for Wenatchee. Derek Krall stopped 20 of 23 shots for Pentcton. The Vees were 0-for-5 on the power play while the Wild were 0-for-3. The attendance was 2,959.
Salmon Arm 3, Powell River 2
At Powell River, Noah Wakeford scored twice for Salmon Arm as the Silverbacks edged the Kings.
Justin Wilson also scored for Salmon Arm (15-12-3-0), which led 1-0 after the first period and 3-0 after 40 minutes. Wakeford made it 1-0 at 15:43 of the first, then 2-0 just 58 seconds into the second. Wilson made it 3-0 at 13:28. Josh Coblenz and Neal Samanski, with goals in the third, replied for Powell River (18-13-1-0).
Ethan Langenegger stopped 33 of 35 shots for Salmon Arm while Matteo Paler-Chow took the loss for Powell River, stopping 22 of 25 shots. Salmon Arm was 2-for-6 on the power play while Powell River was 1-for-5. The attendance was 876.
Merritt 5, West Kelowna 4
At West Kelowna, Merritt handily outshot their hosts but needed two goals in the third to defeat the Warriors.
Matthew Kopperud, with two goals, Vincent Guy, Brendan Schneider and Brett Roloson scored for Merritt (20-11-1-1), which led 3-2 after the first period yet trailed 4-3 after 40 minutes. Schneider, at 6:22, and Roloson, at 15:58 scored in the third for the Cents. Chase Dubois, with two goals, Mike Hardman and Parm Dhaliwal replied for West Kelowna (18-14-0-1).
Austin Roden stopped 20 of 24 shots for Merritt while Brock Baier (4 saves, 7 shots) and Connor Hopkins (32 saves, 34 shots) split goaltending duties for West Kelowna. The Centennials were 1-for-7 on the power play while the Warriors were 2-for-7. The attendance was 744.
Tonight in the BCHL, Wenatchee visits Penticton, West Kelowna travels to Vernon (11-11-6-3), Merritt hosts Nanaimo (12-17-0-0) and Salmon Arm is in Victoria (21-10-0-1).
KOOTENAY INTERNATIONAL JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE
Kelowna 4, Castlegar 2
At Castlegar, Shane Zilka stopped 38 of 40 shots for Kelowna as the Chiefs downed the Rebels for their league-leading 23rd win of the season.
Lane Paddison, Juanre Naude, Devin Sutton and Zach Erhardt scored for Kelowna (23-1-1-0-2), which led 2-1 after the first period and 3-2 after 40 minutes. Jordan Adams, with two goals, replied for Castlegar (7-17-1-0-2) while Cedric Lesieur stopped 36 of 40 shots for the Rebels.
The Chiefs were 1-for-1 on the power play while the Rebels were 1-for-1. The attendance was not available.
Revelstoke 9, Princeton 1
At Revelstoke, the Grizzlies rang up 65 shots and scored five times in the second in corralling the Posse.
Cody Flann, with two goals, Jon Vandermolen, Nathan Bailer, Ethan Rideout, Raymond Speerbrecker, Cash Sawchyn, Kaeden Patrick and Jaden Hay scored for Revelstoke (21-3-0-0-0). Ethan Schmor replied for Princeton (9-16-1-0-2).
Jaysen MacLean stopped 57 shots for Princeton while Noah Desouza turned aside 33 of 34 shots for Revelstoke. The Posse were 0-for-1 on the power play while the Grizzlies were 2-for-4. The attendance was 701.
Summerland 3, Chase 2
At Summerland, Mitchell Gove scored twice for the Steam in a one-goal win over the Heat.
Ty Banser also scored for Summerland (16-10-1-0-2), which led 1-0 after the first period and 3-1 after two periods. Evan Hughes and Cam Watson replied for Chase (5-19-2-0-0). Geoff Drought stopped 25 of 29 shots for the Heat while Jared Breitkreuz stopped 26 of 28 shots for the Steam.
Chase was 2-for-8 on the power play while Summerland was 1-for-6. The attendance was 123.
100 Mile House 6, North Okanagan 2
At Armstrong, 100 Mile House beat the Knights by scoring four times in the third period to break a 2-2 tie.
Kolby Page, with two goals, Julien Dewey, Garrett Hilton, Darian Long and Nico Hemming scored for 100 Mile House (13-10-1-0-3). Tyler Olsen and Kevin-Thomas Walters replied for North Okanagan (8-18-0-1-0).
Austin Madge stopped 39 of 45 shots for the Knights while Jakob Gullmes stopped 22 of 24 shots for the Wranglers. 100 Mile House was 1-for-3 on the power play while North Okanagan was 0-for-2. The attendance was 151.
In KIJHL action tonight, Princeton visits Sicamous (9-13-2-0-2), Kelowna hosts 100 Mile House at Rutland Arena, North Okanagan is in Summerland and Chase treks to Osoyoos (11-13-2-0-0).
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