A round-up of results from junior hockey teams in the Okanagan.
WESTERN HOCKEY LEAGUE
Kelowna 4, Spokane 3 (SO)
At Spokane, Kelowna went 2-for-2 in the shootout while James Porter stopped both Spokane attempts as the Rockets held off the Chiefs.
Porter finished with 40 saves as Kelowna, which led 3-1 heading into the third, got outshot 43-30. Leif Mattson, who opened the scoring at 5:26 of the first, Nolan Foote, at 11:30 of the second, and Alex Swetlikoff, at 17:58, scored for the Rockets (25-29-4-1).
Scoring in the shootout for Kelowna were Lassi Thomson and Foote.
Bailey Brkin made 27 saves for the Chiefs, who scored twice in the third to force overtime. Riley Woods, with a power-play marker at 7:32 of the first to make it 1-1, Luke Toporowski, at 14:36 of the third, and Luc Smith, at 19:33, replied for Spokane (30-19-2-5).
The Rockets were 2-for-6 on the power play while the Chiefs were 2-for-5. The attendance was 8,332.
Foote’s goal, scored on the power play, was his team-leading 30th of the season. Kyle Topping, who was held scoreless on Friday, leads the team in scoring with 21 goals and 41 assists for 62 points. Mattson (21g, 37a) is second with 58 points, with Foote (30g, 22a) third with 52 points.
In WHL action for Saturday, Feb. 23, the Rockets will host Kamloops (22-28-4-2). Game time at Prospera Place is 7:05 p.m. On Friday, the Blazers lost 2-1 to Prince George.
The Rockets are 3-3-1-0 against the Blazers this season. Conversely, Kamloops is 4-2-1-0 against Kelowna. Five points separate third-place Kelowna (55) from fourth-place Kamloops (50) in B.C. Division standings.
- Friday, Sept. 21, Kelowna 1 at Kamloops 4
- Saturday, Sept. 22, Kamloops 3 at Kelowna 1
- Friday, Dec. 28, Kelowna 2 at Kamloops 3 (OT)
- Saturday, Dec. 29, Kamloops 1 at Kelowna 2
- Saturday, Jan. 5, Kelowna 3 at Kamloops 4
- Saturday, Feb. 2, Kamloops 1, Kelowna 2 (OT)
- Saturday, Feb. 9, Kelowna 4 at Kamloops 1
B.C. HOCKEY LEAGUE
Penticton 5, Salmon Arm 2
At Salmon Arm, the Vees rallied from a 2-1 deficit by scoring four unanswered goals in the third period to beat the Silverbacks.
David Silye, with two goals and an assist, Massimo Rizzo, David Silye and Jack Barnes scored for Penticton (36-16-3-2), which trailed 2-1 after the second period following a scoreless first. Lukas Sillinger tallied three assists for Penticton.
The Vees outshot the Silverbacks 42-36.
Nick Unruh, with two goals, replied for Salmon Arm (27-25-4-1). Unruh opened the scoring at 1:03 of the second, then made it 2-1 on the power play at 19:21. His second goal came five minutes after Rizzo made it 1-1 at 13:33.
Jack LaFontaine made 34 saves for the Vees, with Ethan Langenegger stopping 37 shots for the Silverbacks.
Penticton was 2-for-4 on the power play while Salmon Arm was 2-for-3. The attendance was 975.
West Kelowna 4, Trail 3 (OT)
At West Kelowna, Lucas Cullen scored twice, including the winner in overtime, as the Warriors beat the Smoke Eaters in a back-and-forth game.
Mike Hardman and Garrett Worth also scored for West Kelowna (28-28-0-1), which held leads of 1-0, 2-0, 2-1 and 3-2.
Carter Jones, Mack Byers and Braeden Tuck, who levelled the score at 3-3 at 6:13 of the third, replied for Trail (22-24-8-3).
Donovan Buskey stopped 39 of 43 shots for the Smoke Eaters, with Connor Hopkins turning aside 36 of 39 shots for the Warriors.
Trail was 0-for-1 on the power play, with West Kelowna going 2-for-5. The attendance was 923.
In BCHL action for Saturday, Feb. 23, Salmon Arm visits Penticton, Vernon (26-21-7-3) is in Merritt (35-15-4-3) and West Kelowna travels to Trail.
KOOTENAY INTERNATIONAL JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE
Kelowna 3, Revelstoke 2 (OT)
At Kelowna, Devin Sutton scored twice, including the game winner in overtime, as the Chiefs edged the Grizzlies in a wild showdown between two of the league’s top three teams.
Dylan Kent also scored for Kelowna (43-2-1-0-2), which clinched the KIJHL regular-season title with the win. The Chiefs have just one game left on their schedule, tonight at home against the Princeton Posse (18-25-1-0-4).
“Everybody was super excited,” said Chiefs general manager Grant Sheridan. “Hard to believe it took to the second-last game to clinch, but we did it, we got there.”
Sheridan added that Revelstoke is a tough team, and “there’s a real good chance, if things go according to plan, we could run into them in the third round (of the playoffs).”
Carter Anderson, with two goals, replied for Revelstoke (41-6-0-0-1). Anderson opened the scoring in the final minute of the first period, then made it 2-2 with the only goal in the third at 12:05.
Liam McGarva stopped 34 of 37 shots for the Grizzlies, with Braeden Mitchell stopping 33 of 35 shots for the Chiefs.
Revelstoke was 2-for-8 on the power play while Kelowna was 0-for-7. The attendance was 550.
In KIJHL standings, the Chiefs lead the way with 89 points, with the Kimberley Dynamiters (42-4-1-0-1) second with 86 points. Revelstoke is third with 83 points.
“It’s always great to finish on top,” said Sheridan. “But more importantly, we get home-ice (advantage), as long as we can keep going.”
Sicamous 2, Kamloops 1
At Sicamous, Aaron Plessis scored what stood up as the game-winning goal midway through the third period as the Eagles calmed the Storm.
Nicholas Cossa, who made it 1-1 at 5:51 of the second period, also scored for Sicamous (17-23-3-0-5). Lucas Gaudet, who opened the scoring at 3:36 of the first, replied for Kamloops (19-26-0-1-2).
Ethan Paulin-Hatch stopped 28 of 30 shots for the Storm, with Koltin Dodge stopping 33 of 34 shots for the Eagles.
Kamloops was 1-for-5 on the power play, while Sicamous was 0-for-3. The attendance was not available.
100 Mile House 7, Chase 1
At 100 Mile House, Darian Long rolled up seven points, with one goal and six assists, as the Wranglers ran roughshod over the Heat.
Garrett Hilton, with a hat trick, Cody Barnes, Nic Flinton, and Kolby Page also scored for 100 Mile House (25-19-1-0-3), which led 3-0 and 5-0 at the period breaks. Evan Vinterlik replied for Chase (13-31-2-0-2).
Geoff Drought stopped 45 of 52 shots for the Heat, with Jakob Gullmes stopping 30 of 31 shots for the Wranglers.
Chase had no power plays while 100 Mile House was 1-for-4. The attendance was 587.
Princeton 5, Osoyoos 0
At Princeton, Jaysen MacLean was perfect between the pipes, stopping all 23 shots, as the Posse blanked the Coyotes.
Quin Garrison, with two goals, Justin Fodchuk, Brendan Adams and Achille Casali scored for Princeton (18-25-1-0-4), which led 3-0 after the first and second periods. Garrison scored twice in the third.
Daniel Paul stopped 33 of 38 shots for Osoyoos (17-28-2-0-1).
Osoyoos was 0-for-6 on the power play while Princeton was 1-for-9. The attendance was 275.
Grand Forks 4, Nelson 1
At Nelson, Evan Gorman scored twice as the Border Bruins knocked off the Leafs.
Jake Huculak and Josh Garlough-Bell also scored for Grand Forks (21-25-1-0-2), which led 1-0 after the first period and 3-1 after the second. Kalem Hanlon, midway through the third period to make it 3-1, replied for Nelson (34-11-2-1-0).
Caiden Kreitz stopped 36 of 40 shots for the Leafs, with Ross King stopping 42 of 43 shots for the Border Bruins.
Nelson was 0-for-4 on the power play while Grand Forks was 2-for-11. The attendance was not available.
Summerland 6, North Okanagan 1
At Summerland, Cody Swan tallied a hat trick, scoring once in each period, as the Steam pasted the Knights.
Dawson Jenner, Ty Banser and Lane French also scored for Summerland (24-20-2-0-2), which led 1-0 and 3-1 at the period breaks. Owen Spannier replied for North Okanagan (16-31-0-1-0).
Bobby Milligan stopped 30 of 36 shots for the Knights, with Jared Breitkreuz stopping 24 of 25 shots for the Steam.
North Okanagan was 0-for-3 on the power play while Summerland was 0-for-1. The attendance was 163.
In KIJHL action for Saturday, Feb. 23, Sicamous visits Revelstoke, North Okanagan is in Chase, Osoyoos hosts Summerland and Princeton treks to Kelowna.