Warriors 6 - Eagles 4

West Kelowna found themselves down 2-1 on Friday night in Surrey, but responded with 4 in the 2nd period as they took a 6-4 victory over the Eagles.

Aidan Doak's 1st career BCHL start maybe didn't begin the way he wanted it, but the Warriors used their skill and speed in the middle period to take over the hockey game.

Connor Sodergren picked up his 3rd goal in as many games as he tied the game at 1 in the 1st period. It was the veteran presence of West Kelowna that came to play in the 2nd period, as Kristian Blumenschein wrapped one around after a couple nice moves on the side boards.

A pair of power-play goals gave the Warriors a 4-2 lead, as Rylan Yaremko potted a rebound and Kylar Hope beat Forbes Ploszaj as well. It was Brett Mennear who made it 5-2 on a beautiful pass from Lane Gilliss, his first BCHL point.

Speaking of 1sts, it was (finally!) Reed Gunville who picked up his first BCHL goal and his 18th point of the season. Another first would happen after the Eagles scored twice more, as Doak picked up his 1st BCHL win.

Game Thoughts:

• West Kelowna didn't have the greatest of starts and its tough to pinpoint why. It has been a bit of a common theme in games for the Warriors this season to date, but the 2nd always seems to make sure you forget the 1st. That happened again Friday.
• The Warriors scored 4 in the 2nd period and have now out-scored their opponents by 19 goals in the 2nd this season. The shots have favoured the Warriors as well, out-shooting the opposition by 119 shots.
• Reed Gunville has finally scored, and now has a goal to go with his 17 assists. Good start to the year for the Prince Albert native, and we'll see if he can build on that moving forward. Some fun on the bench after that goal, as Gunville got the silent treatment coming back onto the bench before being mobbed.
• Aidan Doak gets his first BCHL win, as the Revelstoke Grizzlies goaltender makes 18 saves on the night.

Nov 27th @ Surrey PREVIEW

The West Kelowna Warriors are back in Canada to take on the Surrey Eagles on the Olympic Ice of the South Surrey Arena.

The Warriors knocked off the Wenatchee Wild last night, hanging on for a 4-3 victory as the Wild pressed late.

Kylar Hope's shorthanded goal was the difference, as he made it 4-1 halfway through the 2nd period. Hope has had a stellar month of November, posting 4 goals and 10 assists in 8 games.

Keelan Williams picked up the victory in goal, while the Warriors out-shot the Wild 37-26 in the game.

Tonight's game in Surrey is the 2nd of 3 on this Mainland Division swing for the Warriors. Last season, the Warriors fell to the Eagles in this building, after a ferry delay lead to a 2.5 hour delay in the start time. West Kelowna fought back from down 3-0 early but ultimately fell by a 5-4 margin.

The Eagles are coming off a victory on Wednesday, when they defeated the Merritt Centennials 11-8 at the Nicola Valley Arena. The 11-goal outburst pushed the Eagles Goals For number to 65. Before Wednesday, they had averaged just 2.16 goals per game.

Former Warrior Forbes Ploszaj has gone 0-6 since joining the Eagles, with a 4.53 GAA and .878 SV %.  Since the trade, Daniel Davidson is 1-3 with a 10.24 GAA, being pulled from 3 of his last 4 starts. It is unknown as to who is starting as of this writing.

In goal for the Warriors will be Aidan Doak from the Revelstoke Grizzlies, making his BCHL debut. Doak has had good numbers so far this season, posting a 6-4-1 record with a 1.88 GAA and .937 Sv %. The Warriors will look to play good defense in front of the 19-year-old from Newmarket, Ontario.

Puck drops at 7 pm tonight, pre-game show at 6:40 on www.mixlr.com/bchlwarriors

Warriors 4 - Wild 3

The West Kelowna Warriors scored twice in the first period, took a 4-1 lead with 1 each in the 2nd and 3rd, holding off a late rally for a 3-1 win over Wenatchee on Thanksgiving South of the Border.

After a lengthy pre-game in a hot building, the Warriors got goals from Tanner Campbell and Connor Sodergren to build their lead. Each goal was a product of a nice pass, as Quin Foreman set-up Campbell, and Jared Marino fooled Chase Perry by dropping a puck out front when he looked like he was going behind the goal as Sodergren finished it.

Matt Baker made it 2-1 when the puck found his stick on a scramble in front of Keelan Williams. The Warriors were on their heels a bit early in the frame, but only allowed the one goal.

The first penalty came over halfway through the 2nd, as the Warriors had a 5 on 3 advantage. With the 1st penalty just expired, Jonathan Desbiens made it 3-1 beating a diving Perry.

In the 3rd, it would be the penalty kill that extended the lead, as Brett Mennear set up Kylar Hope on a 2 on 1 Shorthanded to make it 4-1.

A redirection and a one-timer from the slot in the last few minutes made it a 1-goal game, as the Wild put up a fight to tie the game in the final minute.

Williams made a couple of big saves and a couple good Warrior blocks were the key to holding off the Wild in the final minute.

Game Thoughts:

-West Kelowna played a great road period to start the game, in less than ideal circumstances. The Town Toyota Center was very warm for tonight's game and speaking with players afterwards, there was definitely some extra swear and extra deep breaths needed. Add in the fact that te Warriors stood on the ice/bench for 11 minutes while the Wild were waiting to be introduced, were introduced, and pre-game ceremonies concluded.

-Shorthanded goals have been a recurring theme in the last month, and it's been Kylar Hope and Brett Mennear doing most of the damage. Hope put the perfect shot under the bar and it turned out to be the game winner.

-Keelan Williams made a couple big saves in the first period, and Chase Perry had a few big ones as well. I thought it was evenly goaltended throughout the night but Perry kept it close for quite awhile. Williams key saves in the final minutes stand out as the "game saver" variety.

-Getting the 2 points is a great start to the road trip, and the Warriors will need focus on the task at hand in Surrey on Friday night. West Kelowna lost last year in Surrey after a rough day of travel, so will hope for smooth roads on the way tomorrow. 

Nov 26th @ Wenatchee PREVIEW

The West Kelowna Warriors make their 1st trip south of the border today as they visit the Wild at the Town Toyota Center tonight at 7:05 PM.

The Warriors were the first team to defeat the Wild in BCHL action, with a 4-1 victory at Royal Lepage Place back on October 3rd.

It is Thanksgiving here in the "Apple Capital of the World", and the Warriors will be playing in a high energy atmosphere, where the Wild have the largest average attendance so far this season at 2850.

The Wild are lead by speedster Brendan Harris (7 G, 20 A) and goaltender Chase Perry. The numbers from Perry have actually declined from the start of the year, but he still sports a very good 2.27 GAA and a .903 Sv%. Garrett Nieto has done well as the backup, going 4-1 with a 2.01 GAA and a .919 Sv%.

The Warriors went 2-1 last week as they defeated Prince George and Vernon, before falling 10-5 to Alberni Valley on Saturday night. The Saturday defeat definitely hurt, as West Kelowna found themselves down 7-1 at one point. It was just one of those nights, and Rylan Ferster felt that his team competed from start to finish and he didn't have a problem with the effort level.



Stats Pack:

Wenatchee – 16-6-2-2 HOME – 7-1-1-1 ROAD – 9-5-1-1 Top Scorers Brendan Harris (7 G, 20 A) Mike Coyne (6 G, 18 A) Kyle Stephan (10 G, 12 A) GF – 93 GA – 59 PP – 14th – 24 for 138 (17.4%) PK – 2nd – 89 for 102 (87.3%)	West Kelowna – 14-9-0-2 HOME – 10-5-0-1 ROAD – 4-4-0-1 Top Scorers Liam Blackburn (10 G, 20 A) Jonathan Desbiens (15 G, 11 A) Kylar Hope (9 G, 14 A) GF – 90 GA – 86 PP – 4th – 27 for 115 (23.5%) PK – 11th – 105 for 134 (78.4%) Next Game – Friday November 27th @ Surrey – 7 PM South Surrey Arena
Head-to-Head Lifetime – West Kelowna is 1-0 All-Time vs. Wenatchee. This is the 1st meeting in Wenatchee for the Warriors and Wild

Nov 21st vs Alberni PREVIEW

The West Kelowna Warriors entertain the Alberni Valley Bulldogs at 7 PM tonight, Royal Lepage Place as they look to extend their win streak to 3 games. The Bulldogs are coming off a big loss in Salmon Arm, where they fell 10-1 to the Silverbacks.

West Kelowna will look to shut down Chris Schutz and Josh Adkins who have 20 of the 63 goals this season for Alberni Valley, while Liam Blackburn looks to build on his 2 assist night last night, which pushed his point total to 30.

The Warriors did not beat the Bulldogs last season, but in Junior Hockey, those stats really don't matter. Expect a very hungry Bulldog team who is currently last in the Island Division, but they also have 5 games in hand on Victoria, so that landscape can change with a decent run.

It will be Keelan Williams in goal for the Warriors, while AP Brady Lenardon will back him up, from the Kelowna Chiefs. For the Bulldogs, Brody Claeys will get the nod. He allowed 4 goals in a relief appearance last night in Salmon Arm.

Special Teams will be interesting to watch tonight, as the Bulldogs rank #2 on the PP, and the Warriors are 4th. Both teams have similar PK numbers as well, so we may be in for some man-advantage markers.

Parent's weekend finishes up tonight, as the Warriors look to make it a 3-game week sweep with a victory.

Catch all the action at www.bchl.fasthockey.com, or tune in to the audio-only at www.mixlr.com/bchlwarriors

Stats Pack:

Alberni Valley – 9-12-1-1 HOME – 6-5-0-1 ROAD – 3-7-1-0 Top Scorers Josh Adkins (9 G, 12 A) Jordan Sandhu (3 G, 17 A) Chris Schutz (11 G, 7 A) GF – 63 GA – 87 PP – 2nd – 24.3% (27 for 111) PK – 13th – 76.9% (93 for 121)	West Kelowna – 14-8-0-2 HOME – 10-4-0-1 ROAD – 4-4-0-1 Top Scorers Liam Blackburn (10 G, 20 A) Jonathan Desbiens (14 G, 10 A) Kylar Hope (9 G, 12 A) GF – 85 GA – 76 PP – 4th – 25 for 106 (23.6%) PK – 11th – 103 for 129 (79.8%) Next Game – Thursday November 26th @ Wenatchee – 7 PM Town Toyota Center
Head-to-Head Lifetime – West Kelowna is 5-5-3-3 All-Time vs Alberni Valley The Warriors are 3-3-1-1 on home ice vs the Bulldogs Last Season Head to Head – The Warriors went 0-2 against Alberni Valley in 2014/2015.

Warriors 4 - Vernon 1

West Kelowna took down the Vernon Vipers by a 4-1 margin on Friday night to kick off Parents Weekend.

A scoreless first period saw lots of physical play, as these two teams renewed their rivalry from last season, and from the October 23rd matchup. There were no penalties called until the last five minutes, when the Vipers were assessed the first minor. Andrew Shortridge was the story early, making key saves as West Kelowna had the better opportunities, out-shooting the Vipers 13-5.

West Kelowna continued to get shots on goal to start the 2nd, when Quin Foreman shot a loose puck past Shortridge. Then, at 11:51, Jonathan Desbiens scored his 13th with a beautiful shot underneath the crossbar over the glove. There were big saves in the period from Shortridge, including a massive glove save on Tanner Campbell in tight.

Foreman's 2nd of the game was the product of a beautiful pass down-low from Liam Blackburn, as he went across the crease onto the stick of Foreman as he hammered one past Shortridge. The Vipers didn't get on the board until a power play in the 3rd period, as Riley Brandt was able to beat Keelan Williams with a slap-shot while the Warriors were changing.

The 2nd of the night for Desbiens was also a pretty goal, as he changed the angle with a quick move in tight and went upstairs with the shot. The rest of the night was uneventful as the Warriors finished with a 45-24 margin in shots.

Game Thoughts: 

• After the first 5 minutes I thought the Warriors took over the hockey game. The puck possession was there throughout the night, and they out-chanced Vernon 25-6 in the game. If it wasn't for Andrew Shortridge, and I referenced it on the broadcast, it could have been 7 or 8 for the Warriors. Shortridge once again played as advertised, and you cannot blame him on any of the goals.
• The Warriors only dished out 18 hits in the hockey game, but I felt they were more physical than that. It would be interesting to see what the Vipers had recorded for hits.
• Quin Foreman. He was good tonight. Liam Blackburn told me on Wednesday night that he likes playing with Foreman because of his big body and he seems to win puck battles. Warriors fans have watched Foreman blossom from a 4th line type guy early on, to a Top-6 forward after the Paul Lovsin trade. Look for Campbell-Blackburn-Foreman to continue together.
• Kylar Hope could have easily been a star last night, but picked up his 6th Fortis BC Energy Player of the Game honours last night. 2 Assists for Hope makes it his most productive BCHL season, and that is only game 24. He has 10 points in the last 5 games.

Nov 20th vs Vernon PREVIEW

The West Kelowna Warriors will take on the Vernon Vipers on Friday night in West Kelowna, as the two teams meet for the 2nd time.

The Warriors are coming off a win in Prince George, while the Vipers won their last two, over Wenatchee and Merritt.

West Kelowna found themselves down 2-0 against Vernon on October 23rd, but came back and took a 3-2 victory at Kal Tire Place.

For the Warriors, Kylar Hope has been red-hot as of late, with 8 points in his last 4 games. He has also had a +4 rating in those contests.

Keelan Williams draws back into the crease for West Kelowna, as he will go up against Andrew Shortridge in the Vipers net. Williams will look to bounce back after 2 losses last week.

Stats Pack:

Vernon – 12-12-0-1 HOME – 7-6-0-1 ROAD – 5-6-0-0 Top Scorers Liam Finlay (10 G, 15 A) Odeen Tufto (9 G, 16 A) Riley Brandt (10 G, 11 A) GF – 83 GA – 79 PP – 12th – 25 for 135 (18.5%) PK – 9th – 98 for 122 (80.3%)	West Kelowna – 13-8-0-2 HOME – 9-4-0-1 ROAD – 3-4-0-1 Top Scorers Liam Blackburn (10 G, 18 A) Jonathan Desbiens (12 G, 10 A) Kylar Hope (9 G, 10 A) GF – 81 GA – 75 PP – 2nd – 25 for 102 (24.5%) PK – 10th – 102 for 127 (80.3%) Next Game – Saturday Nov 21st – vs. Alberni Valley – 7 PM Royal Lepage Place
Head-to-Head Lifetime – West Kelowna is 29-24-2-6 All-Time vs Vernon The Warriors are 18-9-0-2 on home ice against the Vipers This Season Head to Head: Warriors are 1-0 October 23rd – West Kelowna defeated Vernon 3-2 in Vernon.