A round-up of junior hockey results from the Okanagan area:
WESTERN HOCKEY LEAGUE
KELOWNA 5, VICTORIA 0
Jari Kykkanen had an easy night between the pipes on Saturday night, stopping all 15 shots he faced, as the Kelowna Rockets blanked the visiting Victoria Royals.
Colton Dach, Jake Lee, Andrew Cristall, Pavel Novak and Elias Carmichael scored for Kelowna (37-19-1-5), allowing the team to lead 2-0 and 3-0 at the period breaks, en route to its third shutout win of the season.
Tyler Palmer stopped 33 of 38 shots for Victoria (22-36-5-1), which was also shut out in its last game 3-0 against Prince George on March 26.
The Rockets were 1-for-3 on the power play, while the Royals were 0-for-4.
Cristall’s goal gave Kelowna a 3-0 lead midway through the second and was his 24th goal of the season. He finished the night with two points, including an assist, giving the rookie 59 points (24 goals, 35 assists) on the season.
That moved him into second place in franchise rookie scoring as he steamed past Nick Merkley for most points in a season by a 16-year-old.
The franchise leader for most points by a rookie in a season is Shane McColgan, who had 69 points (25 goals, 44 assists) in 71 games during the 2009-10 season.
Merkley had 58 points (25 goals, 33 assists) in 66 games during the 2013-14 season.
Cristall has played in 56 games so far, and the Rockets still have several more remaining.
Saturday’s results
- Portland 5, Seattle 4
- Everett 2, Tri-City 1
- Spokane 5, Vancouver 2
- Moose Jaw 3, Winnipeg 1
- Prince Albert 6, Regina 1
- Red Deer 4, Edmonton 3
- Brandon 2, Saskatoon 1
- Lethbridge 6, Medicine Hat 1
Sunday’s games (all times in PT)
- Swift Current at Calgary, 1 p.m.
- Kamloops at Prince George, 2 p.m.
- Red Deer at Edmonton, 3 p.m.
- Spokane at Vancouver, 4 p.m.
B.C. HOCKEY LEAGUE
PLAYOFFS
WEST KELOWNA 5, VERNON 3
At Royal LePage Place, Tyler Cristall scored twice for West Kelowna on Saturday night as the Warriors evened their first-round series against the Vernon Vipers.
John Evans, Marcus Joughin and Nick Roukounakis also scored for West Kelowna, which led 2-1 and 4-1 at the period breaks, and 5-1 just five minutes into the third.
Reagan Milburn scored two goals and Seiya Tanaka-Campbell replied for Vernon, which opened the series with a 5-2 victory in Game 1 on Friday.
Johnny Derrick stopped 26 of 29 shots for West Kelowna, with Roan Clarke turning aside 25 of 30 shots for Vernon.
The Warriors were 2-for-2 on the power play while the Vipers were 1-for-4.
Games 3 and 4 are set for Vernon on Monday and Wednesday.
SALMON ARM 6, WENATCHEE 3
At Salmon Arm, the Silverbacks erased a 2-0 deficit by scoring six of the game’s next seven goals en route to a three-goal win over the Wild on Saturday night.
Noah Serdachny had two goals while Daniel Panetta, Nathan Mackie, Zach Smith and Simon Tassy also scored for Salmon Arm, which leads the first-round series 1-0.
Quinn Emerson opened the scoring at 9:06 of the first, while Cade Littler made it 2-0 at 7:09 of the second and Ean Somoza at 17:14 of the second scored to make it 3-3, replying for Wenatchee.
Before the second period ended, though, Salmon Arm restored its lead, with Smith firing home a shot from the slot on the power play. And in the third, Serdachny made it 5-3 at 7:13, with Tassy closing out the scoring at 16:17.
Owen Say stopped 20 of 23 shots for the Silverbacks, with Tyler Shea making 33 saves on 39 shots for the Wild.
Both teams were 2-for-4 on the power play.
The series resumes Sunday with Game 2 in Salmon Arm. Wenatchee will be hosting Games 3 and 4 on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Saturday’s results
- Alberni Valley 3, Cowichan Valley 1 (Alberni Valley leads series 2-0)
- Coquitlam 5, Chilliwack 2 (Series tied 1-1)
- Nanaimo 7, Surrey 4 (Nanaimo leads series 2-0)
- Prince George 4, Cranbrook 1 (Prince George leads series 2-0)
- Victoria 8, Langley 3 (Series tied 1-1)
Sunday’s game (all times in PT)
- Wenatchee at Salmon Arm, 5 p.m.