A round-up of junior hockey results from the Okanagan and area.
WESTERN HOCKEY LEAGUE
At Spokane, the Rockets kicked off a busy weekend in Washington state with a three-goal road win over the Chiefs on Friday night.
Mark Liwiski, with two goals, Nolan Flamand and Pavel Novak scored for Kelowna (23-10-1-3), which led 2-1 after 40 minutes following a scoreless first period.
Bear Hughes, who made it 2-1 at 15:37 of the second, replied for Spokane (12-24-3-1), which was outshot 39-25.
Talyn Boyko made 24 saves for the Rockets, with Mason Beaupit stopping 35 shots for the Chiefs.
Kelowna was 0-for-3 on the power play, while Spokane was 0-for-4.
The Rockets are back in action on Saturday night, as they visit the Tri-City Americans (12-24-4-0). On Sunday, they close out their three-game road trip with an afternoon game against the Western Conference-leading Everett Silvertips (31-7-2-2).
Including Friday’s victory, Kelowna has reeled off seven straight wins, having outscored their opponents 36-13 during that stretch. In their past 10 games, the Rockets are 8-1-1-0.
Tri-City is 3-7 in its past 10, while Everett is 8-1-0-1.
In related news, the Spokane Chiefs retired Tyler Johnson’s No. 9 jersey on Friday night.
From Spokane, Johnson had a fantastic career with the Chiefs, tallying 128 goals and 282 points in 266 games from 2007-11.
In 2008, he helped Spokane win the Memorial Cup, earning MVP honours in the final.
He also helped the U.S. win the gold medal at the 2010 World Junior Hockey Championship before going on to play in the NHL.
The five-foot-eight forward, who currently plays for the Chicago Blackhawks, has registered 162 goals and 364 points in 597 NHL games, nearly all of them with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
“This is an unbelievable day,” said Johnson in a Friday afternoon press conference. “I always dreamed of playing for Spokane when I was growing up. It was the best four years of my life. I never thought I’d be able to join Ray Whitney with a retired jersey.”
Friday’s results
- Everett 4, Victoria 2
- Seattle 7, Prince George 2
- Portland 6, Tri-City 0
- Kamloops 3, Vancouver 2
- Lethbridge 5, Regina 4
- Red Deer 2, Prince Albert 1
- Saskatoon 6, Edmonton 1
- Moose Jaw 3, Swift Current 1
- Medicine Hat at Brandon, ppd.
Saturday’s games (all times PT)
- Edmonton at Prince Albert, 5 p.m.
- Red Deer at Saskatoon, 5 p.m.
- Lethbridge at Swift Current, 5 p.m.
- Prince George at Everett, 6 p.m.
- Moose Jaw at Medicine Hat, 6 p.m.
- Vancouver at Seattle, 6:05 p.m.
- Kelowna at Tri-City, 6:05 p.m.
- Portland at Spokane, 7:05 p.m.
- Kamloops at Victoria, 7:05 p.m.
- Moose Jaw at Brandon, ppd.
- Medicine Hat at Winnipeg, ppd.
Sunday’s games (all times PT)
- Regina at Calgary, 1 p.m.
- Seattle at Vancouver, 4 p.m.
- Kelowna at Everett, 4:05 p.m.
- Kamloops at Victoria, 4:05 p.m.
- Medicine Hat at Winnipeg, ppd.
B.C. HOCKEY LEAGUE
At Salmon Arm, Simon Tassy’s power-play goal early in the third period stood up as the game-winner on Friday night.
Noah Serdachny, who opened the scoring at 18:03 of the first, also scored for Salmon Arm (27-5-2-1-0), which led 2-0 after Tassy scored 56 seconds into the third.
Brady Hunter, at 7:18 of the third to draw the visiting Smoke Eaters within one, replied for Trail (16-17-1-1-0).
Liam Vanderkooi stopped 32 of 33 shots for the league-leading Silverbacks. For the Smoke Eaters, Owen Albers turned aside 27 of 28 shots.
Salmon Arm was 1-for-4 on the power play while Trail was 0-for-5.
At Merritt, Luc Wilson scored twice for Penticton as the Vees outgunned the Centennials.
Casey McDonald, Jackson Nieuwendyk and Adam Eisele also scored for Penticton (27-6-0-2-0), which outshot Merritt 55-26.
Davide Patella, Ben Ward and Jackson Krill replied for Merritt (2-31-1-1-0), which trailed 3-2 heading into the third period.
Carter Serhyenko stopped 23 shots for the Vees, with Jackson Baker making 50 saves for the Cents.
Penticton was 0-for-5 on the power play while Merritt was 0-for-3.
WEST KELOWNA 3, PRINCE GEORGE 2
At West Kelowna, Elan Bar-Lev-Wise scored the only goal in the shootout as the Warriors edged the Spruce Kings on Friday night.
Christophe Farmer and Chase Dafoe scored in regulation time for West Kelowna (23-13-0-0-0), which led 2-1 after 40 minutes following a scoreless first period.
Ben LeFranc and Luc Laylin, with the game-tying goal on the power play at 16:01 of the third, replied for Prince George (20-9-3-5-0).
In goal, Johnny Derrick stopped 29 of 31 shots for the Warriors. For the Spruce Kings, starter Jordan Fairlie lasted just 26 minutes after giving up two goals on eight shots. Aaron Trotter went 14-for-14 in relief, though he was tagged for the shootout loss.
West Kelowna went 1-for-2 in the shootout while Prince George was 0-for-3.
The Warriors also went 0-for-2 on the power play, with Prince George going 1-for-6.
At Cranbrook, the Vipers went 2-for-2 in the shootout in earning a close win over the Bucks Friday night.
Anthony Cliché and Griffen Barr, with the game-tying goal early in the third, scored for Vernon (15-14-3-3-0) in regulation time. Zack Tonelli and Talon Zakall scored in the shootout.
Noah Quinn and Tyson Dyck replied for Cranbrook (19-15-2-1-0), which led 1-0 after the first period and 2-1 after 40 minutes.
Roan Clarke stopped 35 of 37 shots for the Vipers, with Nathan Airey turning aside 31 of 33 shots for the Bucks.
Vernon was 0-for-2 on the power play while Cranbrook was 1-for-5.
Friday’s results
- Chilliwack 6, Nanaimo 2
- Coquitlam 3, Victoria 1
- Powell River 5, Cowichan Valley 4
- Langley 1, Surrey 0
Saturday’s games (all times PT)
- Vernon at Cranbrook, 6 p.m.
- Trail at Penticton, 6 p.m.
- Powell River at Alberni Valley, 7 p.m.
- Victoria at Chilliwack, 7 p.m.
- Prince George at Merritt, 7 p.m.
- Nanaimo at Surrey, 7 p.m.
- Salmon Arm at West Kelowna, 7 p.m.
- Coquitlam at Langley, 7:15 p.m.
Sunday’s games (all times PT)
- Victoria at Langley, 2:30 p.m.
- Nanaimo at Surrey, 4 p.m.
KOOTENAY INTERNATIONAL JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE
Friday’s results
- Kimberley 3, Creston Valley 2
- Nelson 5, Fernie 1
- Columbia Valley 4, Golden 1
- Chase 7, 100 Mile House 2
- Kelowna 4, North Okanagan 3
- Castlegar 4, Grand Forks 3
- Princeton 1, Summerland 0 (SO)
- Revelstoke 3, Kamloops 0
Saturday’s games (all times PT)
- Grand Forks at Kimberley, 6 p.m.
- Fernie at Golden, 6:30 p.m.
- Castlegar at Creston Valley, 6:30 p.m.
- Beaver Valley at Nelson, 7 p.m.
- North Okanagan at Revelstoke, 7 p.m.
- Chase at 100 Mile House, 7 p.m.
- Princeton at Kelowna, 7 p.m.
- Osoyoos at Summerland, 7:30 p.m.
- Kamloops at Sicamous, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday’s games (all times PT)
- Golden at Columbia Valley, 1:30 p.m.
- Grand Forks at Fernie, 3 p.m.
- Summerland at Kelowna, 7 p.m.