A roundup of results involving junior hockey teams from the Okanagan and area.
WESTERN HOCKEY LEAGUE
Kelowna Rockets captain named to Canada’s roster
Nolan Foote will be wearing red and white during the holiday season.
On Saturday, Hockey Canada announced its final roster for the upcoming IIHF 2020 World Junior Hockey Championship, and Foote was among the 23 players. The roster includes three goalies, seven defencemen and 13 forwards.
A left-winger listed at 6-foot-4 and 200 pounds, Foote leads Kelowna in scoring with 25 goals and 18 assists for 33 points. He was selected by Tampa Bay in the first round, 27th overall, in the NHL’s 2019 entry draft.
In 194 regular-season games with the Rockets, Foote has 83 goals and 88 assists for 171 points, along with 167 penalty minutes.
Hockey Canada made its roster announcement following six days of pre-tournament training in Vienna, Austria, and Brno, Czech Republic.
The tournament will take place in Ostrava and Trinec, Czech Republic, with action starting on Boxing Day, including Canada playing the U.S. that day at 10 a.m. PT.
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Canada’s roster includes five returning players from the 2019 tournament in Vancouver and Victoria, where Finland won gold and Canada crashed out in the quarter-finals, placing sixth. The five are: forwards Barrett Hayton, Alexis Lafreniere and Joe Veleno plus defencemen Jared McIsaac and Ty Smith.
The WHL is on its annual Christmas break. Action will resume Friday, Dec. 27.
B.C. HOCKEY LEAGUE
Penticton 4, Powell River 0
At Penticton, Yaniv Perets posted a 19-save shutout as the Vees blanked the visiting Kings on Friday night.
Tristan Amonte, Lukas Sillinger, Danny Wright and David Silye scored for Penticton (27-10-1-0), which led 1-0 and 2-0 at the period breaks.
Derek Krall stopped 29 of 33 shots for Powell River (18-17-2-0), which had just three shots in the first period.
Penticton was 0-for-2 on the power play while Powell River was 0-for-1.
Merritt 6, West Kelowna 2
At West Kelowna, Christian Buono scored twice for Merritt as the Centennials downed the Warriors despite being outshot.
Rylan Van Unen, Ben Ward, Wyatt Marlow and Matt Osadick also scored for Merritt (10-22-1-3), which led 3-2 and 4-2 at the breaks. Buono’s two markers came in the third period, including an empty-netter at 19:47.
Cartier Wilkie and Spencer Hora replied for West Kelowna (6-23-5-2), which outshot Merritt 40-34.
Ryan Winter stopped 38 shots for the Centennials. For the Warriors, starter Brock Baier made 25 saves on 27 shots, with Johnny Derrick going 3-for-6 in relief over the game’s last nine minutes.
Merritt was 2-for-6 on the power play while West Kelowna was 1-for-8.
Saturday’s Games
- Cowichan Valley (22-12-3-1) at Penticton (27-10-1-0), 6 p.m.
- West Kelowna (6-23-5-2) at Merritt (10-22-1-3), 7 p.m.
KOOTENAY INTERNATIONAL JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE
Friday’s Results
- North Okanagan 6, Kelowna 5
- Sicamous 3, Chase 2
- Creston Valley 4, Grand Forks 2
- Kamloops 4, Summerland 1
- Princeton at 100 Mile House: Rescheduled
Saturday’s Games
- Kelowna (21-8-1-0-0) at Chase (20-9-0-0-2), 7 p.m.
- Princeton (14-12-1-0-3) at Kamloops (12-18-0-0-1), 7 p.m.
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