Friday 23 January 2015

Jan 23rd Recap

The West Kelowna Warriors began their island swing with a 5-1 loss to Alberni Valley on Friday night at the Alberni Valley Multiplex.

The Bulldogs got 3 first period goals on shots and seemed to sail from there although the Warriors got better as the game progressed firing 28 shots in the last 2 periods, but Billy Christopoulos stood tall.

Those goals in the first were created by Bulldogs pressure, as Mitch Makin buried his own rebound for the 1-0 lead. It was a bang bang play but Makin was able to come off the half-wall for the opportunities.

The 2nd goal looked a bit of a defensive breakdown from my angle as Taylor Derynck was able to walk into a one-timer at the top of the circles and he hammered it home to the top shelf. 

Just 39 seconds after that one Scott Clark got his first of two by walking out from behind the net and putting a backhander past Desautels.

The 2nd period had the Warriors with an extended power-play opportunity after back to back penalties to the Bulldogs. They would generate 8 consecutive shots but Christopoulos only had one tough save when Tanner Campbell had a short side shot get stopped by the shoulder.

The Warriora trailed 4-0 after 40 but began the 3rd on a mission to get back in n the game. They would hit an early crossbar and get stopped in tight a couple times as well.

With a power-play upcoming with 6:40 to go, Rylan Ferster pulled Desautels for the extra attacker, and with Kyle Marino in front, Jason Cotton was able to make it 4-1. 

Immediately following that goal, Andrew Johnson had a glorious opportunity to make it 4-2 but the puck just didn't go in for him. Liam Blackburn then hit a post late as well, as the Warriors couldn't catch a break.

The Bulldogs would seal the deal within empty net goal as Eric Margo got the puck coming off the bench and slid it home.

The Warriors seemed to have a legitimate gripe as the player Margo was replacing hadn't gotten off the ice, but the officials said it was a good change so it's a good goal.

overall the Warriors were bit in their own zone in the opening frame and had a 3-goal deficit to overcome. If they had potted a goal on the power-play in the middle of period 2, I liked their chances of making it closer down the stretch. Twenty minutes just isn't enough time to come back down 4 goals against a hard working and aggressive team like the Bulldogs.

The trip continues tomorrow morning as the Warriors will catch the Comox ferry and arrive in Powell River for their game tomorrow night against the Kings. Puck drops at 7:15. 

Check the blog tomorrow for the preview.

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