A round-up of junior hockey results from the Okanagan and area.
WESTERN HOCKEY LEAGUE
The Kelowna Rockets’ perfect streak against the Kamloops Blazers this season continued on Wednesday night.
At Prospera Place, the Rockets lit the lamp six times in what was the sixth meeting between the two B.C. Division rivals this season, and the second time in as many nights.
Kelowna is now 6-0 against Kamloops, and the gap between the division-leading Blazers and second-place Rockets is now just six points. On Tuesday, the Rockets edged out a 2-1 overtime win in Kamloops.
In Wednesday’s win, it was a committee scoring effort for Kelowna (15-9-0-3), with six players reaching the scoresheet: Andrew Cristall, Mark Liwiski, Jake Poole, Steel Quiring, Gabriel Szturc and Tyson Feist.
Poole and Liwiski finished the night with a goal and assist each, while defenceman Caden Price had two assists for the Rockets, who led 1-0 and 2-1 at the period breaks before scoring three times in the first 10 minutes of the third.
Nick McCarry, at 19:56 of the second to make it 2-1, and Daylan Kuefler, at 16:47 of the third to make it 5-2, replied for Kamloops (19-9-1-0).
Talyn Boyko stopped 35 of 37 shots for the Rockets, with Dylan Ernst making 37 saves on 43 shots for the Blazers.
Kelowna was 1-for-5 on the power play while Kamloops was 1-for-4.
The Rockets, winners of four straight games, have Thursday and Friday off, but host the Victoria Royals (11-13-4-0) on New Year’s Day, then visit the Vancouver Giants (14-15-1-0) on Sunday, Jan. 2.
Kelowna is 3-1 against fifth-place Victoria this season, but is 1-3 against Vancouver.
In related news, the WHL announced on Thursday that it was pausing team activities for the Swift Current Broncos due to four players either having tested positive for COVID-19 or exhibiting symptoms.
The league believes the exposures happened outside the team environment.
The league postponed two of Swift Current’s games, Dec. 30 against Winnipeg and Dec. 31 against Regina, but said no other WHL teams are impacted at this time.
Wednesday’s Results
- Everett 4, Prince George 2
- Victoria 3, Vancouver 0
- Red Deer 8, Prince Albert 6
- Winnipeg 4, Regina 2
- Portland at Tri-City, ppd.
Thursday’s Games (all times Pacific)
- Edmonton at Brandon, 5 p.m.
- Prince Albert at Saskatoon, 5 p.m.
- Winnipeg at Swift Current, 5 p.m.
- Calgary at Medicine Hat, 6 p.m.
- Seattle at Spokane, 7:05 p.m.
- Vancouver at Victoria, 7:05 p.m.
Friday’s Games
- Red Deer at Moose Jaw, 5 p.m.
- Regina at Swift Current, 5 p.m.
- Seattle at Portland, 5 p.m.
- Kamloops at Prince George, 5 p.m.
- Spokane at Tri-City, 7:05 p.m.
Saturday’s Games
- Lethbridge at Calgary, 1 p.m.
- Moose Jaw at Regina, 2 p.m.
- Portland at Everett, 4:05 p.m.
- Victoria at Kelowna, 4:05 p.m.
- Edmonton at Saskatoon, 5 p.m.
- Winnipeg at Medicine Hat, 6 p.m.
- Prince George at Kamloops, 7 p.m.
- Tri-City at Spokane, 7:05 p.m.
Sunday’s Games
- Medicine Hat at Calgary, 12 p.m.
- Swift Current at Lethbridge, 3 p.m.
- Kelowna at Vancouver, 4 p.m.
- Edmonton at Prince Albert, 4 p.m.
B.C. HOCKEY LEAGUE
At Royal LePage Place, the host Warriors scored their second consecutive victory over one of the league’s top teams on Wednesday night.
Chase Dafoe, with two goals, Felix Trudeau and Elan Bar-Lev-Wise scored for West Kelowna (17-9-0-0-0), which led 2-1 after the first period, then scored twice more in the third to take a 4-2 lead. The game was tied 2-2 after the second.
Owen Simpson, who opened the scoring just 45 seconds into the game, Luc Wilson, with a power-play goal in the second period, and Josh Nadeau, who closed out the scoring at 17:13 in the third period with a penalty shot to make it 4-3, replied for Penticton (20-4-0-1-0).
Johnny Derrick stopped 32 saves for the Warriors, who were outshot 35-21. Carter Serhyenko made 17 saves for the Vees, who entered the game with the league’s top record with 41 points, but are now tied with Salmon Arm.
Penticton was 1-for-7 on the power play while West Kelowna was 1-for-6.
On Dec. 18, just before the BCHL went on its annual Christmas break, the Warriors dumped the visiting Vees 5-2.
Wednesday’s game was also the second of four consecutive meetings between the two Okanagan rivals.
The two teams play again on Dec. 31, in Penticton, and Jan. 1, in West Kelowna.
At Merritt, the Silverbacks earned their 20th victory of the season with a two-goal victory over the one-win Centennials.
Lucas Matta, Brandon Santa Juana, Simon Tassy and Daniel Panetta scored for Salmon Arm (20-4-1-0-0), which led 3-1 after the first period following a scoreless first.
Davide Patella, with two goals, replied for Merritt (1-21-1-0-0), which was outshot 36-30.
Liam Vanderkooi stopped 28 shots for the Silverbacks, with Colton Phillips-Watts making 32 saves for the Centennials.
Salmon Arm was 1-for-1 on the power play while Merritt was 1-for-5.
With the win, the Silverbacks jumped into a two-way tie for first place in the Interior Division with the Vees. Both teams have 41 points.
The two leaders clashed on Dec. 10 in Penticton, with the Silverbacks winning 4-3 in a shootout. Notably, though, the Vees outshot Salmon Arm 43-21 in that contest.
The two teams will meet twice next month: Saturday, Jan. 8 in Salmon Arm and Wednesday, Jan. 12 in Penticton.
Wednesday’s Results
- Cowichan Valley 3, Alberni Valley 2
- Chilliwack 8, Langley 3
Thursday’s Game (all times Pacific)
- Prince George at Wenatchee, 6 p.m.
Friday’s Games
- Trail at Cranbrook, 6 p.m.
- West Kelowna at Penticton, 7 p.m.
- Prince George at Wenatchee, 7:05 p.m.
Saturday’s Games
- Salmon Arm at Vernon, 2 p.m.
- Cranbrook at Trail, 5 p.m.
- Alberni Valley at Cowichan Valley, 7 p.m.
- Powell River at Victoria, 7 p.m.
- Penticton at West Kelowna, 7 p.m.
- Chilliwack at Langley, 7:15 p.m.
Sunday’s Games
- Powell River at Cowichan Valley, 2 p.m.
- Cranbrook at Merritt, 2 p.m.
- Nanaimo at Coquitlam, 3 p.m.
- Vernon at Salmon Arm, 4 p.m.
- Chilliwack at Surrey, 4 p.m.
KOOTENAY INTERNATIONAL JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE
Wednesday’s Results
- Kimberley 7, Fernie 3
- Osoyoos 3, Kelowna 2 (OT)
- Creston Valley at Golden, ppd.
- Chase at 100 Mile House, ppd.
- Grand Forks at Beaver Valley, ppd.
Thursday’s Games (all times Pacific)
- 100 Mile House at Chase, ppd.
- Nelson at Beaver Valley, 7 p.m.
Friday’s Games
- Beaver Valley at Nelson, 2 p.m.
- Fernie at Creston Valley, 6:30 p.m.
- Golden at Columbia Valley, 6:30 p.m.
- Kelowna at Revelstoke, 7 p.m.
Saturday’s Games
- Castlegar at Grand Forks, 3 p.m.
- North Okanagan at Osoyoos, 3:05 p.m.
Sunday’s Games
- Sicamous at 100 Mile House, 1 p.m.
- Osoyoos at Princeton, 2 p.m.
- Revelstoke at Chase, 4 p.m.