A round-up of results from junior hockey teams in the Okanagan.
B.C. HOCKEY LEAGUE
Prince George 3, Vernon 1
At Prince George, Ben Poisson tallied a goal and an assist for the home team as the Spruce Kings took a 1-0 lead in the battle for the Fred Page Cup.
Lucas Vanroboys and Ben Brar also scored for Prince George, which, after a scoreless first period, led 1-0 after 40 minutes. Jesse Lansdell, who made it 1-1 halfway through the third, replied for Vernon.
The best-of-seven series for the league championship resumes Saturday evening in Prince George with Game 2. Vernon will host Games 3 and 4 on Tuesday and Wednesday.
After Vanroboys opened the scoring at 4:32 of the second, Lansdell levelled the score at 9:53 of the third. The game wasn’t tied for long, though, with Brar scoring at 13:22 for the Spruce Kings. Poisson closed out the scoring into an empty net at 19:08.
Aidan Porter stopped 20 of 22 shots for Vernon, while Logan Neaton turned aside 23 of 24 shots for Prince George.
Both teams were 0-for-1 on the power play. The attendance at Rolling Mix Concrete Arena was 2,112.
2019 Cyclone Taylor Cup
At the junior B level, the annual provincial championship tournament is halfway through, and the standings are close.
The tournament, much like major junior’s Memorial Cup, features three league champions and a host team. The four teams are the Revelstoke Grizzlies (KIJHL champions), Victoria Cougars (VIJHL champions), North Van Wolfpack (PJHL champions) and Campbell River Storm (host team).
All games are taking place at the Rod Brind’Amour Arena in Campbell River.
Tournament play started Thursday with two games: Victoria defeating Revelstoke 4-1 and North Van dumping Campbell River 5-2.
On Friday, though, Revelstoke rebounded by defeating North Van 5-1, as did Campbell River, which beat Victoria 3-2 in overtime.
WATCH BELOW: Post-game comments from Winnipeg Jets coach Paul Maurice after 4-3 loss
So, after four games, all four teams have won and lost.
However, in this tournament, wins are worth three points. So, Victoria leads the pack with four points, while Revelstoke and North Van are tied for second with three points. Campbell River is fourth and last with two.
Today, though, is the final day of round-robin play and the standings could be jumbled. North Van will play Victoria at 2:30 p.m., with Revelstoke and Campbell River meeting at 7 p.m.
The two top teams will meet in Sunday’s gold-medal game at 3 p.m., with the third- and fourth-place teams playing earlier in the bronze-medal at 10 a.m.
For more on the Cyclone Taylor Cup, click here.