Saturday night round-up of junior hockey results from the Okanagan and area.
WESTERN HOCKEY LEAGUE
The Kelowna Rockets took home their first regular season win with a 5-1 victory over the Prince George Cougars Saturday night.
At Prince George, the Rockets scored four unanswered goals through two periods of action but the Cougars broke Rockets’ starter Jari Kykkanen’s shutout bid during a third period power play. But the Rockets restored the four-goal lead later on.
Kelowna outshot Prince George again 38 to 33.
The two teams won’t face until November 9, when the Cougars visit Kelowna. Meanwhile, the Rockets will be back in action on Wednesday, hosting the Victoria Royals.
B.C. HOCKEY LEAGUE
The Penticton Vees kicked off October with a 10-3 win over the West Kelowna Warriors Saturday night. The Vees sit undefeated in their first four games and atop of the Interior Division standings.
Penticton started strong with a 3-0 lead in the first seven minutes of the game, before West Kelowna scored their first goal after 20 minutes. Penticton scored three more times before finishing strong in the third period with another four goals.
Penticton has outscored their opponents 30-6 in four games.
Up next, Penticton will go up against the Meritt Centennials on Friday at the South Okanagan Events Centre.
The Vernon Vipers bounced back on Saturday with a 5-1 win over the Prince George Spruce Kings, despite a pair of injuries that sent two players to the hospital.
The Vipers jumped on the Spruce Kings early with their first goal. During the midway mark, Vernon took back to back penalties. Late in the frame, the Vipers scored once again to make it 2-0 after first period.
Vernon continued strong into the second period bringing it to 4-0, but things got out of hand in the third.
Kurt Gurkan was hit up high, but no penalty called. Shortly after, Prince George’s Colton Cameron was assessed a 5-minute major for a blow to the head and a game misconduct following a hit on Julian Facchinelli. Facchinelli left the game and did not return.
Later on, Will Blackburn was injured along the boards and was transported to hospital. According to the team, results from his CT scans have come back negative and he will be rejoining the team for the trip home.
“We are extremely grateful to our Athletic Therapist Yasmine Jutt and the medical professionals for taking such great care of Will,” said Vipers’ head coach and general manager Jason McKee.
“We’d also like to thank the Spruce Kings organization for their help in a very tough situation.”
Meanwhile, Vipers will host the Salmon Arm Silverbacks on Friday.
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