A roundup of junior hockey results from the Okanagan and area.
WESTERN HOCKEY LEAGUE
KELOWNA at KAMLOOPS
One week after playing each other, the Kelowna Rockets and Kamloops Blazers will meet again.
On Saturday, Kelowna (6-7-1-0) will travel two hours north to visit Kamloops (7-4-2-1). Game time at Sandman Centre between the two B.C. Division rivals is 7 p.m.
The two clubs met last Saturday in Kelowna, with the Rockets defeating the Blazers 3-1 despite getting outshot 45-24. In the second period, the shot clock was 19-3 for the Blazers, with the third being nearly identical at 19-6.
Kelowna goalie Talyn Boyko, who stopped 44 shots, was the game’s first star, with the second and third stars going to his teammates, Andrew Cristall (two goals) and Adam Kydd (one assist).
In B.C. Division standings, the Blazers are in second with 17 points, while the Rockets are fourth out of five with 13 points. Prince George (9-8-0-0) leads the pack with 18 points, though the Cougars have played three more games than both Kamloops and Kelowna.
Last season, the Blazers won the division title with a record of 48-17-3-0 and 99 points, with the Rockets (42-20-1-5) with 90 points. But in head-to-head meetings, Kelowna owned the series, winning eight of 12 games (8-4-0-2).
And with Kamloops hosting the 2023 Memorial Cup next spring, the Blazers are facing additional pressure of needing to have a great season.
Through eight home games this season, the average attendance in Kamloops is 4,578, and the season – a number that should climb as the season goes on if the team manages to meet expectations.
Take, for example, when Kelowna hosted the 2004 Memorial Cup.
That season, the Rockets had a mediocre start, going 4-5-1 in their first 10 games. But in late October, the team found its footing and started piling up victories, winning 23 of their next 29 games. At the Christmas break, Kelowna had a record of 27-10-2.
Attendance-wise – Kelowna plays in a rink with a maximum seating capacity of 6,007 — during their first 12 games that season, there were six games with attendances under 6,000.
Once the wins started rolling in, though, the Rockets were a hot ticket and it was sell-out city and standing-room only, with many games recording attendances in the 6,200 and 6,300 range.
The largest crowd that season was 6,447 on March 13, a 3-2 win over Vancouver.
Notably, though, 20 years ago, on Dec. 29, 2002, a massive crowd of 6,507 watched the Rockets beat the Blazers 4-1. Cam Paddock, with back-to-back power-play goals late in the first period, scored twice for Kelowna, which went 3-for-5 with the extra man. Ryan Cuthbert and Jesse Ferguson each had two assists in that game.
Friday’s results
- Brandon 3, Red Deer 2
- Moose Jaw 5, Medicine Hat 4
- Prince Albert 4, Edmonton 2
- Seattle 7, Spokane 2
- Swift Current 5, Regina 4
- Everett 4, Tri-City 3
- Portland 5, Victoria 1
Saturday’s games (all times PT)
- Medicine Hat at Moose Jaw, 5 p.m.
- Red Deer at Regina, 5 p.m.
- Edmonton at Saskatoon, 5 p.m.
- Swift Current at Lethbridge, 6 p.m.
- Vancouver at Prince George, 6 p.m.
- Calgary at Seattle, 6:05 p.m.
- Portland at Victoria, 6:05 p.m.
- Brandon at Winnipeg, 6:35 p.m.
- Tri-City at Spokane, 7:05 p.m.
Sunday’s games
- Vancouver at Prince George, 2 p.m.
- Regina at Saskatoon, 2 p.m.
- Calgary at Everett, 4:05 p.m.
B.C. HOCKEY LEAGUE
At Penticton, it was scoring by committee on Friday night for the Vees, who stretched their perfect season start to an impressive 17 wins.
Beanie Richter, Ben Brunette, Jackson Nieuwendyk, Callum Arnott, Ryan Hopkins and Ethan Mann scored for Penticton (17-0-0-0-0), which led 3-1 after 40 minutes, then iced the game with three goals in the first 10 minutes of the third.
Seiya Tanaka-Campbell, who made it 1-1 near the end of the first period, and Lee Parks, who closed out the scoring at 17:29 of the third, replied for Vernon (7-8-0-2-0).
Hank Levy stopped 13 shots for the Vees, while Roan Clark turned aside 37 shots for the Vipers, who were outshot 43-15.
Both teams were 1-for-3 on the power play.
The attendance for Friday’s game at the SOEC was 3,382. It was also Penticton’s ninth home win of the season.
At Salmon Arm, the Silverbacks rallied with three unanswered goals to defeat the Kings on Friday night.
Nathan Mackie, Maddux Martin, Brandon Santa Juana, Owen Beckner, Ethan Ullrick and William Lavigne scored for Salmon Arm (10-5-0-1-0), which led 3-1 after the first period but trailed 5-3 midway through the second.
However, after Powell River lit the lamp four times in the second to take the lead, Salmon Arm replied by scoring three times during the final nine minutes of the frame. The third period was scoreless.
Casey Aman, Parker Lalonde, Karter McNarland, Maxim Potvin and Anthony Lucarelli replied for Powell River (4-11-1-1-0), which was outshot 39-28.
Carter Richardson stopped 23 shots for the Silverbacks, with Kyle Metson turning aside 33 shots for the Kings.
Salmon Arm was 1-for-2 on the power play while Powell River was 2-for-3.
Friday’s results
- Prince George 7, Merritt 5
- Chilliwack 6, Coquitlam 5
- Surrey 4 Cowichan Valley 3 (OT)
- Nanaimo 4, Alberni Valley 1
- Wenatchee 6, Victoria 0
Saturday’s games
- Powell River at Chilliwack, 6 p.m.
- Merritt at Vernon, 6 p.m.
- Victoria at Cranbrook, 6 p.m.
- West Kelowna at Wenatchee, 6:05 p.m.
- Nanaimo at Alberni Valley, 7 p.m.
- Surrey at Cowichan Valley, 7 p.m.
- Penticton at Trail, 7 p.m.
- Coquitlam at Langley, 7:15 p.m.
Sunday’s game
- Salmon Arm at Trail, 3 p.m.
KOOTENAY INTERNATIONAL JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE
Friday’s results
- Sicamous 4, 100 Mile House 1
- Kimberley 6, Grand Forks 0
- Revelstoke 7, Kelowna 2
- Princeton 3, Osoyoos 0
- Kamloops 1, Columbia Valley 1 (game suspended with 1:05 left in the third period; ammonia alarm in the rink.)
Saturday’s games
- Kimberley at Columbia Valley, 6 p.m.
- Kamloops at Creston Valley, 6:30 p.m.
- Beaver Valley at Fernie, 6:30 p.m.
- Grand Forks at Golden, 6:30 p.m.
- Princeton at 100 Mile House, 7 p.m.
- Revelstoke at Kelowna, 7 p.m.
- North Okanagan at Castlegar, 7 p.m.
- Summerland at Nelson, 7 p.m.
- Sicamous at Osoyoos, 7:35 p.m.
Sunday’s games
- Summerland at Castlegar, 2 p.m.
- Grand Forks at Fernie, 4 p.m.
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