A roundup of junior hockey results from the Okanagan and area.
WESTERN HOCKEY LEAGUE
VICTORIA 4, KELOWNA 2
After falling behind the 8-ball early, the Kelowna Rockets wrapped up their 2023 exhibition schedule with a loss to the Victoria Royals on Saturday night.
Just 33 seconds into the contest, 15-year-old Royals defenseman Keaton Verhoeff deposited his first of the preseason. Less than two minutes later, Grand Forks, B.C. native and former Kelowna Chief Alex Edwards found the back of the net for Victoria once again – taking the wind out of the home crowd at Prospera Place.
After making an adjustment in the crease by replacing starting netminder Nathan Kam for Jake Pilon at the start of the second period, the Rockets would soon find life, as Max Graham cut the deficit in half, scoring his second of the preseason.
Late in the middle frame however, Victoria would restore the two-goal advantage. The Rockets would respond early into the final period on the powerplay, but the Royals sealed the deal on a late game powerplay marker of their own, winning 4-2 over Kelowna.
The Rockets will open up the regular-season schedule against the Portland Winterhawks on Saturday, September 23.
B.C. HOCKEY LEAGUE
West Kelowna 3, Vernon 1
Moving over to the BCHL, it was the West Kelowna Warriors who continued their red-hot trajectory, after defeating the Vernon Vipers.
With the win, the Warriors wrapped up their preseason schedule with a perfect 4 and 0 record. A big reason for Saturday’s victory was the play of netminder Rorke Applebee, who turned aside 26 shots, including 12 saves in the third period.
The Warriors received goals from Johannes Løkkeberg and Jack Pridham in the opening frame, to take a 2-0 lead going into the second. In the middle frame, Vipers forward Connor Elliott gave the hone team life, but it was short lived. Just over five minutes later, the Warriors would add an insurance marker courtesy of Landen Hilditch.
The Warriors open their regular season next Friday at home against Penticton, while the Vipers start their regular season on the road next Friday against Salmon Arm.
Penticton 5, Chilliwack 3
The Penticton Vees have remained perfect throughout exhibition, after earning their third-straight victory against, this time against visiting the Chilliwack Chiefs.
Both teams exchanged goals before the 10-minute mark of the first period, but it was the Chiefs who would finish the first period with the lead, thanks to Mateo Mrsic’s first goal of the preseason.
In the second, the Vees put up two tallies including their second short-handed goal of the game, and the team never looked back. The powerplay would also play a factor in the final stanza, after Penticton scored twice on the man advantage en route to a 5-3 win.
Merritt 4, Salmon Arm 1
The Salmon Arm Silverbacks struggles continue this preseason, after falling to the Merritt Centennials.
Neither team was able to light the red lamp in the opening period, thanks to some solid goaltending from both Ryan Grout of the Silverbacks, and Andrew Ballantyne of the Cents, as they each stopped 10 shots.
In the second period, it was a different story. The Cents opened up the flood gates, scoring three goals including one on the powerplay.
Merritt would add another goal to make it 4-0 in the third, but just when it looked like Ballantyne wasn’t going to let anything get past him, the Silverbacks broke his shutout bid with just :51 seconds remaining in the contest. Nonetheless, it was the Cents who prevailed 4-1.
With the loss, the Silverbacks record drops to (1-3-0-0), while Saturday’s win for the Centennials marks their first in exhibition, and they too now have a record of (1-3-0-0). None of that matters now however, as the preseason is officially over, and both clubs will start with a clean slate.
The Silverbacks open up the regular season campaign against Vernon next Friday, while Merritt will do battle against the Prince Rupert Kings to kick off their regular season, also next Friday.
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