A round-up of junior hockey results from the Okanagan and area.
WESTERN HOCKEY LEAGUE
KAMLOOPS vs SEATTLE
It’s down to the final four in the WHL, and the cream has risen to the top.
Only four teams managed to break the 100-point barrier during the regular season, and those four are all in action this weekend.
In the Western Conference final, Seattle (54-11-1-2, 111 points) will battle Kamloops (48-13-4-3, 103 points) in what should be a great series. Both teams swept their first two series, with each sporting a perfect 8-0 playoff records to date.
It’s also the second straight year the teams will meet in the Western Conference final. In the 2022 playoffs, Seattle edged the Blazers 4-3 and advanced to the league final, but lost 4-2 to the Edmonton Oil Kings.
In the Eastern Conference final, the Winnipeg Ice (57-10-1-0, 115 points) will play the Saskatoon Blades (48-15-4-1, 101 points). The Ice are 9-2 in this year’s playoffs while the Blades are 8-7.
Kamloops is hosting this year’s Memorial Cup, and the Blazers have loaded up for a national championship. However, the Thunderbirds are stacked as well, with their roster featuring 10 players who’ve been drafted by NHL teams.
The best-of-seven series starts Saturday night in Kent, Wash.
Notably, Seattle’s starting goalie, Thomas Milic, who led Canada to gold at the world juniors, has surrendered just nine goals in eight games. That translates into a goals-against average of 1.13.
His Kamloops counterpart, Dylan Ernst, has the second-best GAA in these playoffs at 1.80 (15 goals allowed).
In Friday’s action, the Winnipeg Ice blanked the Saskatoon Blades 3-0 to open the Eastern Conference final.
Ben Zloty and Zack Ostapchuk, with goals in the first period, and Carson Lambos, in the second, scored for Winnipeg, which outshot the Blades 28-16.
Daniel Hauser turned aside all 16 shots for the shutout. At the other end, Ethan Chadwick made 25 saves for the Blades.
Both teams were scoreless on the power play, with the Ice going 0-for-4 and the Blades at 0-for-1.
The game was played at Wayne Fleming Arena, a small rink located on the University of Manitoba campus. Friday’s attendance was 1,613, which was a sellout.
The Ice call that rink home, but the franchise has been trying to get a new arena built since relocating from Cranbrook in 2019.
When the team moved, Ice president Matt Cockell said: “We understand this will be disappointing news for Cranbrook. Unfortunately, our collective effort failed to achieve the results required to create confidence that the franchise could be viable in this market.”
During a press conference announcing the Ice were moving to Manitoba, team co-owner and entrepreneur Greg Fettes said the plan was to build a 4,500-seat arena in Winnipeg.
“We’re expecting it to be full,” said Fettes, adding the rink would require a significant investment. “We think it’s going to be full.”
WHL commissioner Ron Robison added that Wayne Fleming Arena was to be a temporary arena.
Fast forward four years, with no new rink in sight, and now questions are arising about how long can the franchise afford to call Winnipeg home with sub-par attendance figures.
B.C. HOCKEY LEAGUE
At Penticton, five Vees each tallied a goal and an assist in the opening game of the Interior Conference final on Friday night.
Dovar Tinling, Thomas Pichette, Bradly Nadeau, Aydar Suniev and Josh Nadeau scored for Penticton, which is now 9-0 in this spring’s playoffs.
Isaac Lambert had the only goal for Salmon Arm, which trailed 2-0 and 3-0 at the period breaks. His goal came at 1:29 of the third period to make it 3-1.
However, three minutes later, Suniev scored to make it 4-1, with Josh Nadeau rounding out the scoring at 12:39.
Luca Di Pasquo stopped 27 of 28 shots for the Vees, with Matthew Tovell making 29 saves on 34 shots.
Penticton was 2-for-4 on the power play while Salmon Arm was 0-for-6.
To advance to the Interior final, the Vees dispatched the Trail Smoke Eaters in four games, then swept the Wenatchee Wild.
To date, Penticton has outscored its opponents 51-13.
Meanwhile, the Silverbacks are 8-2 and have outscored their opponents 39-26.
The series resumes Saturday night at the South Okanagan Events Centre, then shifts to Salmon Arm for Game 3 and 4 on May 2-3.
In other BCHL action, the Alberni Valley Bulldogs outgunned the Chilliwack Chiefs 9-5 to take a 1-0 lead in the Coastal Conference final.