Saturday 30 April 2016

WCC Game 1 Recap

It was a great start to the Western Canada Cup tournament for the West Kelowna Warriors as they opened up with a 3-0 victory over the host Estevan Bruins on Saturday night at Affinity Place.

There was a good quick opening ceremony prior to tonight's game, with all the teams on the ice and a couple of very short speeches that lead to puck drop around 7:07 after the ceremonial face-off.


An interesting rule didn't catch the Warriors on this opening day, but there were five warm-up violations handed out on Saturday, for players who touched the red line with their skate during the pre-game warmup. Melfort (3), Portage, and Estevan were all caught on opening day and received 10-minute misconducts to start the game. I don't expect it to be an issue moving forward, but Brooks has yet to play so tomorrow afternoon may be interesting.

Kyle Marino set the tone on the first shift, hammering Darcy DeRoose and getting the Warriors bench into the game. There was definite physical play in the opening period, but it didn't feel like anything more than normal. The Bruins didn't seem like they were rusty in the opening ten minutes, but there were moments throughout the game where you could tell they weren't on their game having not played in over a month.

Matthew Greenfield was back in between the pipes for the Warriors and he was sharp early on, making a couple nice saves including a big glove save before the media time out. He would make 12 saves in the frame as it ended up 0-0. The Warriors out-shot the Bruins 13-12.

West Kelowna would get on the board in the first five minutes of the second period, as the fourth line got into the act, as Prince Albert, Saskatchewan's Reed Gunville got the Warriors on the board going upstairs on Daniel Wapple to make it 1-0. 

Just 1:03 later, Nick Rutigliano would get the puck towards the goal, while Brett Mennear went to his backhand to beat Wapple and make it 2-0.

West Kelowna would start to get into penalty trouble after going up a pair of goals, taking their fourth and fifth minors of the game. The PK was solid though and killed them off, and wouldn't get to take the third period off either.

Mennear scored his second of the night with a beautiful deflection between the circles, slowing the puck up and beating Wapple as he slid to his left to stop the point shot. For the second time on the night, Rutigliano and Jonathan Desbiens would grab the assists on a Mennear goal.

The Warriors finished the game shorthanded after Matthew Greenfield got jumped on with Rylan Yaremko getting involved and taking four minutes in penalties as the Bruins escaped somehow with nothing. Garrett Forster was given a 10-minute misconduct late for going after Lynnden Pastachak for a potentially dangerous hit as Forster avoided contact with the knee of Pastachak. 

The Warriors PK finished 9/9, while the PP went 0/2.

Game Thoughts:
  • It was a Bentley Falcon night as the three Warrior commits to the Falcons combined for six points on the two Brett Mennear goals as Nick Rutigliano and Jonathan Desbiens picked up the assists. Once again, Rutigliano had a solid night on the back end, and I think the entire defense deserves a pat on the back. There were shot blocks and box outs and rebounds cleared throughout the night that they need to be commended for. 
  • Overall it was a team effort, and a solid win to start the tournament. While I don't think the Warriors were clicking on all cylinders, they got production and good chances from up and down the lineup, and came together on the defensive side of the puck to get in lanes. When things did break down, Matthew Greenfield was there and was solid.
  • Special Teams were good, but what is with the discrepancy in the numbers? It's nothing new to West Kelowna (25-15 vs Penticton), but to be shorthanded nine times in a game while only getting two power plays seems off. We'll see what happens against Brooks and hopefully it balances out over the course of the week.
  • The Warriors are the only team all week that will experience the quick turn-around between games, playing an afternoon game after a night game. The Brooks Bandits are the opponents Sunday at 2:00 PM Local (1 PM in BC) and they had Saturday off so it presents a unique challenge to West Kelowna. Should be fun to watch.
You can listen live at www.mixlr.com/bchlwarriors or watch at Kelly O'Bryan's or on www.fasthockey.com.

The internet issues that plagued the audio-only broadcast should be 100% FIXED Sunday, and all goal highlights should be up on Facebook/Twitter soon after they happen as has been done the latter half of the season. Give WIN another shot, we've got the solution working with the organizing committee here in Estevan. 


WCC Game 1 vs Estevan

After two days of practice and a morning skate, it's time for the puck to drop on the 2016 Crescent Point Energy Western Canada Cup with a pair of games today at Affinity Place. The Portage Terriers (MJHL) take on the Melfort Mustangs (SJHL) at 2 PM local time, before your Warriors kick off the tournament at 7 PM local (6 PM West Kelowna time) against the HOST Estevan Bruins.

All the tournament action is available on Fast Hockey at www.fasthockey.com, just search Western Canada Cup. If you buy a month subscription, you'll get the rest of the Warriors games at your fingertips this season! There is also the regular audio-only broadcast at www.mixlr.com/bchlwarriors, and if you match up the video and audio, you'll have Kyle Anderson with all the play by play. Fast Hockey play by play is provided by the host committee.

Game Preview:
The Warriors take on a team that is hungry to get things going, and to get their tournament off on the right foot in front of their home crowd. At the time of writing, over 1000 tickets had been pre-sold for the game tonight, which is right around the season and playoff average for Estevan this season. The Bruins lead the SJHL in average attendance in 2015/2016.

The Bruins are playing their first game since the end of March, when they fell in 6 games to the Nipawin Hawks. It was Braden Oleksyn who lead the way in the playoffs, finishing with eight points, including three goals. Owen LaClare had four goals and an assist as well, while Daniel Wapple went 2-4 with a 2.51 GAA and a .912 Sv%.

Looking at the regular season numbers, the Warriors will need to be wary of Darcy DeRoose, who lead the team in goals (28) and points (48). In goal, Daniel Wapple is a former WHL goaltender who played for Moose Jaw, Medicine Hat, Regina, and Vancouver over four seasons, in which he played in 134 games. With the Bruins this season, Wapple went 11-4 with a 3.14 GAA and a .901 Sv%.

On the Warriors side of things, Kylar Hope will look to continue his hot hand in the postseason, having scored 15 times in 24 playoff games, and leading the team in points with 24. Liam Blackburn (7+16) and Jonathan Desbeins (15+5) round out the Top 3 in scoring. Matthew Greenfield played 23 of the Warriors 24 playoff games, with a 14-8 record and a 2.25 GAA with a .932 Sv%. Keelan Williams picked up the victory in Game 6 of the Fred Page Cup Finals with a great performance.

Comparing Special Teams for tonights game, the Bruins were 15.9% on the man advantage in the regular season, while West Kelowna capitalized at a 24.6% success rate. The Warriors PP will look to take advantage of the 78.3% Penalty Kill % of the Bruins this season. Estevan struggled in the first round against Nipawin, allowing six goals in 24 times shorthanded. The Warriors had a 86.3% success rate on the PK, but were also shorthanded 102 times in 24 games.

Head Coach/GM Rylan Ferster has experience in these short tournaments from being part of Team Canada West and the World Junior A Challenge in the past, and mentioned today the importance of special teams. The Warriors will also need to come out flying and with intensity to try and take the crowd out of it. All players practiced this week and skated this morning, with a couple of game time decisions to be had. The Bruins are expected to come out strong having not played in a month. Expect the physicality to be there from the puck drop.

Pre-Game show starts 20 minutes prior to puck drop tonight, 5:40 West Kelowna time. Kelly O'Bryan's is the place to watch the games so head on down and catch the action. It's going to be a fun week!

Friday 29 April 2016

Western Canada Cup PREVIEW

It's been six days since the West Kelowna Warriors captured their first ever Fred Page Cup as BCHL Championship, and it's been a busy stretch of time for the hockey club. It all started on Monday night as over 200 Warriors fans came out to the Royal LePage Place courtyard and honoured the BCHL Champs with loud cheers and some great eats, and got their chance at a meet and greet and grabbing autographs from all the players.

After a practice on Tuesday, the boys loaded up the bus (basically as full as it could be loaded) for the 1500+ kilometre trek to Estevan, Saskatchewan. After an overnight stop in Medicine Hat on Wednesday night, the Warriors arrived at their hotel around 4:30 PM and began to settle in. A bus-legs skate got the Warriors back on the ice at the secondary sheet at Affinity Place.



The Warriors first official practice took place Today at 1:00 pm, as the full team hit the ice for an up-tempo practice. It was good to see the boys on the Affinity Place ice, although conditions were apparently a little rough. Talking with a member of the host organization, staff from the Brandt Centre in Regina and Rexall Place in Edmonton will be in Estevan tonight to manage the ice for the entire week of the Western Canada Cup.


The entire staff here in Estevan has been phenomenal from the moment we checked in to the hotel, to all the times we've been at the rink as well. We had to apologize though earlier today for causing the rink staff a little more work at the end of practice. 



So now that we've gotten what we've been up to out of the way, it's time to start looking at what's ahead. West Kelowna will open up their tournament against the host Estevan Bruins, who have not played a game since March 27th when they dropped Game 6 to the Nipawin Hawks. The Battle Cries Blog will have Game Day Previews and Post-Game Recaps for each and every game. First though, is the overall Preview of the event including a breakdown here of some different stats and how they got here.

Team Records - W/L/OTL/SOL:
Brooks Bandits (AJHL) - 49-9-2-0 (1st overall AJHL)
Estevan Bruins (HOST) - 36-17-3-2 (2nd Sherwood Division, 4th overall SJHL)
Melfort Mustangs (SJHL) - 39-14-3-2 (1st Sherwood Division, 2nd overall SJHL)
Portage Terriers (MJHL) - 52-6-2 (1st overall MJHL)
West Kelowna (BCHL) - 38-17-2 + 1 tie (2nd Interior Division, 3rd overall BCHL)

Playoff Series
Brooks Bandits
First Round Bye
Win over Canmore 4-0
Win over Camrose 4-0
Win over Spruce Grove 4-1 (AJHL GAS DRIVE CUP CHAMPIONS)

Estevan Bruins
Lost to Nipawin 4-2

Melfort Mustangs
Win over La Ronge 4-0
Win over Nipawin 4-3
Win over Flin Flon 4-2 (SJHL CANALTA CUP CHAMPIONS)

Portage Terriers
Win over Selkirk 4-0
Win over Winnipeg 4-0
Win over Steinbach 4-1 (MJHL TURNBULL CUP CHAMPIONS)

West Kelowna Warriors
Win over Salmon Arm 4-2
Win over Penticton 4-2
3-3 Record in 3rd round double round-robin, advanced to League Final
Win over Chilliwack 4-2 (BCHL FRED PAGE CUP CHAMPIONS)

Roster Breakdown:
There are a few interesting stats to look at when it comes to breaking down team rosters. Here is a look at the Average Age, Height, and Weight of the teams in the tournament. Keep in mind that Saskatchewan and Manitoba are allowed to have 9 players born in 1995 in their lineups.


TEAM AGE
ESTEVAN 19.63
MELFORT 19.52
WEST KELOWNA 19.38
BROOKS 18.96
PORTAGE 18.24


TEAM HEIGHT
WEST KELOWNA 72.6
PORTAGE 72.6
MELFORT 71.8
BROOKS 71.4
ESTEVAN 70.6

TEAM WEIGHT
WEST KELOWNA 191.8
PORTAGE 186.9
ESTEVAN 183.3
BROOKS 182.7
MELFORT 181.2

NOTES: Height is in Inches, Weight in pounds. Height/Weight includes all skaters on WCC roster. Age includes all players on roster current age, divided by number of players. The Warriors top the Height and Weight category, and are the third-oldest team in the tournament, despite being only allowed to have six 20-year-old players on their roster.

SPECIAL TEAMS
REGULAR SEASON

PPGF
ADV
PP%
SHGA
PPGA
TSH
PK%
SHGF
Brooks
78
341
22.9%
6
46
298
84.6%
12
Estevan
39
246
15.9%
8
55
253
78.3%
10
Melfort
54
296
18.2%
4
45
308
85.4%
10
Portage
57
232
24.6%
1
27
241
88.8%
4
West Kelowna
67
272
24.6%
11
49
291
83.2%
14


POSTSEASON

PPGF
PPO
PP%
SHGA
PPGA
PKO
PK%
SHGF
Brooks
19
77
24.7%
0
4
58
93.1%
2
Estevan
7
33
21.2%
1
6
24
75.0%
0
Melfort
18
92
19.6%
2
20
78
74.4%
1
Portage
11
55
20.0%
0
9
63
85.7%
4
West Kelowna
21
81
25.9%
0
14
102
86.3%
4

The Warriors enter the tournament with the best Postseason power play, and the second-ranked penalty kill. 

How to follow:
All the Warriors games will be broadcast on WIN at www.mixlr.com/bchlwarriors, starting with the pre-game show 20 minutes prior to puck drop. For tomorrow night, that's 6:40 local time, or 5:40 back in West Kelowna.
All the games of the tournament are also broadcast on Fast Hockey, but commentary will be provided by the local committee, and not by Kyle Anderson. Your best bet if you're watching, is to have the game on Fast Hockey, and the Audio from WIN, and hope that the delay isn't too bad, or that viewers can sync them together.

Check back tomorrow for the Game 1 Preview.