The West Kelowna Warriors took their Home Opener in a 6-4 win that saw them come back from 3 goals down in the 1st period.
It was an even start to the hockey game as the first 6 minutes or so saw the Warriors have a couple of key opportunities in front of Anthony Pupplo, but both Brett Mennear and Kylar Hope could not find the net.
The Centennials had a great chance with Nick Fidanza in all alone, but Daniel Mannella was equal to the task.
Shortly after, the Centennials got their first goal on a nice shot from the slot by Tyler Ward. Off the next faceoff, Cole Arcuri walked in over the line and sent a backdoor pass to Zach Zorn for the 2nd Merritt goal in just 7 seconds. The Cents added another on the power-play when Nick Jermain tapped in another backdoor pass on what was a very pretty 3-way passing play.
The Warriors regrouped a bit after the 3rd goal, and Paul Lovsin got West Kelowna on the board with a goal at 19:55. Lovsin's 1st BCHL goal was his 25th Junior A goal, after spending 2 seasons (and winning 2 championships) with the AJHL's Spruce Grove Saints.
The biggest turning point of the game came at the 1st period buzzer, as Ryan Forbes of the Cents jumped Kyle Marino of the Warriors. Marino, who had his sore right hand taped up, could not oblige in the fight, and tried to avoid it. Forbes rained punches down and ended up with 7 minutes in penalties which put the Warriors on the power-play to begin the 2nd.
West Kelowna scored 3 times on the man-advantage, with goals from Marino, Brett Mennear, and the 1st BCHL goal from 16-year-old Jake Harrison. Just 49 seconds after the Warriors made it 4-3, Jake Tesarowski got into the 1st goal act with a nice finish on an odd-man rush.
From that point, the Centennials looked frustrated, as the Warriors continued to control the play, leading them to a 24-4 shots on goal margin. It would finish 41-20 in favour of West Kelowna.
The teams traded goals in the 3rd as Henry Cleghorn made it 5-4, but Rylan Yaremko sealed it at 16:16.
3 Stars
1st -Kyle Marino (West Kelowna, 1 G, 1 A)
2nd - Cole Arcuri (Merritt, 2 A)
3rd - Jake Harrison (West Kelowna, 1 G, 1 A)
Goalies
W - Daniel Mannella - 4 Goals Against, 16 saves
L - Anthony Pupplo - 6 Goals Against, 35 saves
Game Thoughts:
Nerves didn't really seem to be a factor early on, until the midway mark of the 1st when a turnover lead to the opening goal, and a bad faceoff pinch lead to the 2nd right after. The Warriors leadership group stepped up with their physical play and energy, while the penalty kill would kill off 2 of 3 in the opening frame.
The Lovsin goal (right after a couple Kyle Marino hits) really got the LOUD (1152 Warriors fans) back in the game with 5 seconds to go in the 1st. With the Forbes 7 minutes at the buzzer, the crowd you could tell was anticipating a big start to the 2nd.
The Warriors did not disappoint, I think partly due to the fact they didn't know they had 7 minutes to work with. The referees sent both teams to the dressing room after the incident at the buzzer, and nobody knew the extent of the penalties until then.
3 big power-play goals on that 7 minute advantage gave the Warriors a lead they wouldn't relinquish. Good work by the units who scored in 3 different ways. Big positives to see the 1st BCHL goals from Jake Harrison and Jake Tesarowski. Liam Blackburn had some good thoughts on those two as well, which you can see HERE.
The one Merritt player that stood out tonight was Gavin Gould. The Warriors would see #16 every single time the whistle blew, as he had run ins with numerous players throughout the night. Much like Rhett Willcox last year (now in Trail), Gould has the ability to get under the oppositions skin, but I don't think that the Warriors got sucked in tonight. The discipline in those situations will be key moving forward.
What's Next:
The Warriors and the Cents battle once more on Saturday night in Merritt. This should be another test for the Warriors, as they will go through the Centennials Home Opener ceremony, before many players play for the first time on the smaller surface of Nicola Valley Arena.
Rylan Ferster doesn't believe that the bad blood and high emotions will carry over to Saturday, but with young hockey players early in the season, you just never know. Looking around the league tonight there were some incidents that included instigating, a possible eye-gouging, and a couple check from behinds. Hopefully these incidents calm down as the season progresses.
Catch the action on WIN at www.mixlr.com/bchlwarriors starting with the pre-game show at 7:10. Also, check back around 3:30 pm for the Pre-Game stats pack right here on Battle Cries.
Saturday, 12 September 2015
Thursday, 10 September 2015
Home Opener Preview vs. Merritt
The West Kelowna Warriors will open their 10th season in the Okanagan, and their 9th in West Kelowna as they tangle with the Merritt Centennials on Friday night at Royal Lepage Place.
Each team in this division is tough to play against on every single night. The teams that can remain within striking distance by January 10th, make the final 6 weeks very intense. Another reason to think it's the hardest division? The 6 Interior teams combined went 81-34-3-12 against the other two divisions last season.
The Warriors, are coming off a season which saw them finish
4th in the Interior Division on the last day of the campaign, before
bowing out to the eventual Fred Page Cup and Western Canada Cup champion
Penticton Vees.
ROSTER BREAKDOWN
This year’s edition of the Warriors features 9 returning
players, plus 4 others acquired in off-season trades.
Among those additions are 20-year-old goaltender Daniel
Mannella, coming off a season in the OJHL where he finished with a 2.08 GAA and
a .927 Sv %.
West Kelowna also added 2-time AJHL Champion Paul Lovsin,
BCHL veteran Garrett Forster, and defenseman Tyler Anderson in deals.
The Warriors recruited the remaining of their roster, including Jake Harrison from West Kelowna (AP last year), Connor Sodergren and Quin Foreman from Massachusetts, and Kyle Uy from the Greater Vancouver Canadians of the BCMML. West Kelowna also added a pair of Saskatchewan natives in Reed Gunville and Jake Tesarowski. Forbes Ploszaj is the other goaltender, from the Colorado Rampage U18 program.
TEAM TOUGH
Toughness and grit are two key elements to this years squad, with the ability to score goals sprinkled all throughout the lineup. Rylan Ferster will expect nothing less than being the hardest working team in the BCHL, or at the very least....tied for 1st. The Warriors were not afraid to drop the gloves in the pre-season, but don't expect that to carry over to games that count. If the players need to stick up for their teammates though, they definitely will have no problem doing that.
THE INTERIOR
For those unfamiliar, the Warriors and Centennials both play in what many regard to be the toughest division in Junior Hockey. Last season, that claim was pretty much proven, as the Salmon Arm Silverbacks missed the playoffs by a single point. Their 65 points would have put them in 2nd in the Mainland Division, or 3rd on the Island.
Each team in this division is tough to play against on every single night. The teams that can remain within striking distance by January 10th, make the final 6 weeks very intense. Another reason to think it's the hardest division? The 6 Interior teams combined went 81-34-3-12 against the other two divisions last season.
WHAT TO EXPECT
Every teams goal is the same: Win the RBC Cup. Only 1 team is able to accomplish their goal in a season and it's a grind to get their. This Warriors team is going to be tough to play against, and they'll need to be in this division. If West Kelowna can get balanced scoring, plus have Jonathan Desbiens and Liam Blackburn build on impressive seasons last year, they're going to be dangerous offensively. If Daniel Mannella puts up numbers like he did in the OJHL, the Warriors will be in a great position to win hockey games night in and night out.
Every teams goal is the same: Win the RBC Cup. Only 1 team is able to accomplish their goal in a season and it's a grind to get their. This Warriors team is going to be tough to play against, and they'll need to be in this division. If West Kelowna can get balanced scoring, plus have Jonathan Desbiens and Liam Blackburn build on impressive seasons last year, they're going to be dangerous offensively. If Daniel Mannella puts up numbers like he did in the OJHL, the Warriors will be in a great position to win hockey games night in and night out.
Health is maybe the biggest factor, and perhaps the Warriors are in for some good karma this year, as AP's ruled the roster last season, including 12 games started by an AP goaltender. While it was bizarre, the Warriors got good performances from those netminders, and Stephen Heslop stood on his head in the playoffs as well.
Whatever ends up happening this season, strap yourselves in and get ready for one crazy ride. Junior A Hockey is one of the most entertaining levels of hockey on the planet, and when Royal Lepage Place gets rocking, it's an amazing atmosphere.
SEE YOU AT THE RINK!
Saturday, 5 September 2015
Sept 4th - Pre-season @ Salmon Arm
The West Kelowna Warriors found that shooting the puck in the right places is the key to scoring goals. Sounds blatantly obvious, but that's what the Warriors did well on Friday night in Salmon Arm on their way to a 10-3 win over the Silverbacks.
West Kelowna had Liam Blackburn make his pre-season debut, while Jared Marino and Tanner Campbell were the scratches.
The 1st period of the hockey game was innocent enough, as the Warriors opened the scoring early in the period on a beautiful rush goal from Kristian Blumenschein. It was a perfect pass on a 3 on 2 from Brett Mennear that allowed Blumenschein the opportunity, and he snapped a beautiful shot past Zach Dyment.
The Silverbacks tied the game up just after that on the power-play, which was the key to the Salmon Arm attack on the night, as all of their goals came with the extra skater.
West Kelowna jumped back out ahead 2-1 when Garrett Forster snapped one over the shoulder and upstairs on Dyment. Shots were basically even, 11-10 for the 'Backs as Forbes Ploszaj played well in the opening frame.
Ploszaj was good the remainder of the night, but that 2nd period was probably the best. Salmon Arm out-shot the Warriors 22-10 on the scoreboard in the middle 20, although those numbers were maybe inflated a little bit on scrambles. The key story line of that period however, was the fact that West Kelowna got a pair of goals from Kylar Hope, a power-play goals from Jonathan Desbiens and Rylan Yaremko. 4 goals on 10 shots in the period, as Dyment's night game to an end allowing 6 goals on 20 shots.
West Kelowna poured it on in the 3rd, as Paul Lovsin had a hat-trick, almost a natural one but Desbiens scored in the middle of that to break it up against Daniel Toews in the Salmon Arm net. The Silverbacks added one late to make it 10-3.
Special Teams was another key tonight, with the Silverbacks 3 for 7, and the Warriors 3 for 8 on the night. The staff was joking following the game that they may need to work on the PP now, as it's fallen to a paltry 48% in the pre-season. 12 goals on the man advantage for this club in 5 games, and 13 at even strength are the numbers.
Points wise on the night you look at the goal summary and see a lot of Junior A veterans numbers listed. 2 for Desbiens and Hope, 3 for Lovsin and there's 7 of the 10 on the night. Goals by Blumenschein, Yaremko, and Forster add to that, making it 10 for 10 by veteran players.
Rough Stuff:
The Game featured 3 fights tonight, including 2 rookies for the Warriors standing up and chucking them. Reed Gunville fought Josh Laframboise in the 2nd period at center ice, it seems to settle an old Saskatchewan Midget League score, as the Beardy Blackhawks (Gunville) and Battlefords Stars (Laframboise) traded a couple solid punches.
The 2nd fight was a carry over from a 1st period incident involving Kyle Uy. After a hit on the side wall, both Uy and the Silverbacks Brett Stewart got tied up with gloves being dropped, and Yaremko jumping in as well. All would receive roughing/unsportsmanlike penalties, but you could tell Uy wasn't done.
In the 2nd after the Gunville fight, Uy challenged Stewart at the blueline and dropped his mitts, as did Stewart and after a couple punches the fight ended with the linesman jumping in. Although it didn't end, as both tried to get some punches around the linesman, with Stewart slamming Uy's lost helmet to the ice after a couple extra shots. Stewart would pick up an aggressor on the fight, and Uy would be dinged with the instigator.
The final fight of the game/period was Kyle Marino's 2nd of the pre-season. After Marcus Mitchell took a run at Kylar Hope, Marino stuck up for his teammate by getting his gloves off and landing 3 or 4 solid shots to the face of Mitchell. Both would be tossed, and after the intermission (fight came at 20:00), the refs agreed that there was a Charging call to be made on Mitchell as well. That's where Lovsin's 1st goal came from, the early PP in the 3rd.
Warriors Thoughts:
West Kelowna had Liam Blackburn make his pre-season debut, while Jared Marino and Tanner Campbell were the scratches.
The 1st period of the hockey game was innocent enough, as the Warriors opened the scoring early in the period on a beautiful rush goal from Kristian Blumenschein. It was a perfect pass on a 3 on 2 from Brett Mennear that allowed Blumenschein the opportunity, and he snapped a beautiful shot past Zach Dyment.
The Silverbacks tied the game up just after that on the power-play, which was the key to the Salmon Arm attack on the night, as all of their goals came with the extra skater.
West Kelowna jumped back out ahead 2-1 when Garrett Forster snapped one over the shoulder and upstairs on Dyment. Shots were basically even, 11-10 for the 'Backs as Forbes Ploszaj played well in the opening frame.
Ploszaj was good the remainder of the night, but that 2nd period was probably the best. Salmon Arm out-shot the Warriors 22-10 on the scoreboard in the middle 20, although those numbers were maybe inflated a little bit on scrambles. The key story line of that period however, was the fact that West Kelowna got a pair of goals from Kylar Hope, a power-play goals from Jonathan Desbiens and Rylan Yaremko. 4 goals on 10 shots in the period, as Dyment's night game to an end allowing 6 goals on 20 shots.
West Kelowna poured it on in the 3rd, as Paul Lovsin had a hat-trick, almost a natural one but Desbiens scored in the middle of that to break it up against Daniel Toews in the Salmon Arm net. The Silverbacks added one late to make it 10-3.
Special Teams was another key tonight, with the Silverbacks 3 for 7, and the Warriors 3 for 8 on the night. The staff was joking following the game that they may need to work on the PP now, as it's fallen to a paltry 48% in the pre-season. 12 goals on the man advantage for this club in 5 games, and 13 at even strength are the numbers.
Points wise on the night you look at the goal summary and see a lot of Junior A veterans numbers listed. 2 for Desbiens and Hope, 3 for Lovsin and there's 7 of the 10 on the night. Goals by Blumenschein, Yaremko, and Forster add to that, making it 10 for 10 by veteran players.
Rough Stuff:
The Game featured 3 fights tonight, including 2 rookies for the Warriors standing up and chucking them. Reed Gunville fought Josh Laframboise in the 2nd period at center ice, it seems to settle an old Saskatchewan Midget League score, as the Beardy Blackhawks (Gunville) and Battlefords Stars (Laframboise) traded a couple solid punches.
The 2nd fight was a carry over from a 1st period incident involving Kyle Uy. After a hit on the side wall, both Uy and the Silverbacks Brett Stewart got tied up with gloves being dropped, and Yaremko jumping in as well. All would receive roughing/unsportsmanlike penalties, but you could tell Uy wasn't done.
In the 2nd after the Gunville fight, Uy challenged Stewart at the blueline and dropped his mitts, as did Stewart and after a couple punches the fight ended with the linesman jumping in. Although it didn't end, as both tried to get some punches around the linesman, with Stewart slamming Uy's lost helmet to the ice after a couple extra shots. Stewart would pick up an aggressor on the fight, and Uy would be dinged with the instigator.
The final fight of the game/period was Kyle Marino's 2nd of the pre-season. After Marcus Mitchell took a run at Kylar Hope, Marino stuck up for his teammate by getting his gloves off and landing 3 or 4 solid shots to the face of Mitchell. Both would be tossed, and after the intermission (fight came at 20:00), the refs agreed that there was a Charging call to be made on Mitchell as well. That's where Lovsin's 1st goal came from, the early PP in the 3rd.
Warriors Thoughts:
- I thought West Kelowna was the better of the two hockey teams tonight and the score somewhat backs that up, but its the little things as well. The Warriors were physical throughout the hockey game, while the Silverbacks dished it back, they did look tentative at times.
- Forbes Ploszaj was solid. He made a couple great saves in tight on good hands guys like Taro Hirose in the 3rd, and a couple other big pad stops in the middle frame. 40 save night for him, and ultimately I don't think you can blame him for any of the goals. Salmon Arm scored a tic-tac-toe goal, a "bounce it off my stick in front" goal, and a goal off the shin pad of Lovsin. So no, not Forbes fault, he was good.
- Special Teams again was good, although the penalty kill allows 3. I felt tonight that the power-play just had their way with the Silverbacks at times, although Rylan Ferster rolled 3 lines through PP minutes and a couple of the chances struggled.
- This team can hit, fight (don't get too used to it), and score goals. The one thing that was said tonight that I agreed with even though I haven't spent too much time around them yet, is this team is meshing already. I had the opportunity to work for the Kelowna Falcons this summer, and that was the biggest key to their best season yet, was the way everybody had each others backs. You're in a battle fighting for ice time and for some kids, a job on this team this year, and yet they're fully supportive of each other. It will be interesting to watch this chemistry unfold, and if it stays in a positive trend, this team is going to be fun to follow.
The Warriors and the Silverbacks play their final exhibition game Saturday night at Royal Lepage Place. Tickets are just $5 at the door. You can also watch live at FastHockey just visit www.bchl.fasthockey.com and sign up, or you can tune into the audio-only broadcast on WIN, at www,mixlr.com/bchlwarriors. Final tune-up before things start for real September 11th at home to Merritt.
Wednesday, 2 September 2015
Pre-Season Warriors @ Vees
West Kelowna and Penticton renewed their rivalry in pre-season play Wednesday in Penticton, where the Vees came away with a 4-3 win.
Two things that start with S come to mind when recapping this one, as both Special Teams and Spirited Play were factors. Overall, the Vees would get a pair of power-play goals in 11 opportunities, while the Warriors went 2-4.
Some big hits early on had the attention of both teams, as the physical play was apparent from the opening shift on, and the after whistle scrums were a regular occurance.
The one that stands out for everyone happened late in the 1st period, after the Warriors went hard to the goal. Paul Lovsin would pick himself up and back away, only to find Vees goaltender Brendan Barry getting his gloves off and coming at him. After a short fight, both the goaltender Barry for the Vees and the Warriors Lovsin would be ejected.
There would be no other Game Misconduct penalties the rest of the night, but there were numerous 10's handed out late. The Warriors found themselves short handed 7 straight times after the Vees got a Too Many Men penalty in the 2nd.
Looking at the Offensive side of things for West Kelowna, Kylar Hope and Quin Foreman had the PP markers, while Reed Gunville got the Warriors within 1 late in the 3rd.
The line combinations kept changing in the final 40 minutes, but Hope found himself in the middle of the action more often than not. I was also impressed by Foreman and Kyle Marino for different reasons, as Foreman had a couple good opportunities and Marino was physical all night long.
Another number that jumped out at me was the 6 of Rylan Yaremko. As a returning guy you expect big things, and he played with an edge all night long. He would get 2+10 late after Jonathan Desbiens was taken heavily into the end boards.
Final Thoughts:
The Warriors played a physical game that was sometimes just over the line. I saw good character moments for this group tonight as numerous players stood up for one another, and came to their teammates aid when needed.
Thoughts on the Vees:
Penticton always recruits well and seems to have another good squad. Tyson Jost is always going to have a target on his back this season after his Ivan Hnlinka selection and Gold, but handled his captain duties and had a PP marker tonight. The Warriors only saw 1 period of Brendan Barry and got a goal from behind the net on him, but getting to see Anthony Brodeur has to be a good teaching tool as well. Brodeur does not give up many rebounds, which means the Warriors need more traffic, much like they did when they faced Hunter Miska last year.
Next Up:
Warriors are in Salmon Arm Friday at 7 pm. Game will be broadcast on W.I.N starting at 6:50 with the pre-game. Visit www.mixlr.com/bchlwarriors to tune in.
The first FastHockey broadcast of the season is Saturday, September 5th when the Warriors host the Silverbacks. Sign up for the video/audio feed at www.bchl.fasthockey.com
Thursday, 20 August 2015
Off-Season RECAP
With the West Kelowna Warriors set to open up Main Camp on Monday morning at Royal Lepage Place, let's take a look back at the off-season for the Warriors. Since dropping Game #5 of the 1st Round to the BCHL Playoffs, there have been multiple changes to the roster and personnel.
Brent Gough has left the Warriors to coach in the Arizona Bobcat AAA program down in the USA, however remains as the Director of Player Personnel. Shae Naka will return as the assistant coach to Rylan Ferster, after helping out last year while with the Pursuit of Excellence Academy.
The Warriors have 9 players returning from last years team, including new 20 year olds Kylar Hope and Kyle Marino.
Rylan Ferster was busy in the off-season making several trades to acquire multiple players and future considerations.
Trade Summary:
Brent Gough has left the Warriors to coach in the Arizona Bobcat AAA program down in the USA, however remains as the Director of Player Personnel. Shae Naka will return as the assistant coach to Rylan Ferster, after helping out last year while with the Pursuit of Excellence Academy.
The Warriors have 9 players returning from last years team, including new 20 year olds Kylar Hope and Kyle Marino.
Rylan Ferster was busy in the off-season making several trades to acquire multiple players and future considerations.
Trade Summary:
|
Date
|
Acquired
|
For
|
|
June 18th, 2015
|
Daniel Mannella (G) from Oakville (OJHL)
|
Scott Patton (G)
|
|
June 23rd, 2015
|
Tyler Anderson (D) from Kindersley (SJHL)
|
Josh Bly (F) and Futures
|
|
June 30th, 2015
|
Garrett Forster (F) and Futures from Victoria (BCHL)
|
Braydon Gelsinger (F)
|
|
July 9th, 2015
|
Luke Harrison (F) BCHL-CHL List Rights from PG (BCHL)
|
Mac Ferner (D) to Vernon (BCHL) (3-team deal involved PG
and Vernon including defenseman Mitch Meek to PG)
|
|
July 30th, 2015
|
Paul Lovsin (F) from Spruce Grove (AJHL)
|
Future Considerations
|
|
August 11th, 2015
|
Future Considerations from Vernon (BCHL)
|
Hunter Zandee (F)
|
With the deals, the Warriors will have 13 players signed heading into training camp on Monday.
The Warriors will hold a 4-day camp, which will see them play the Penticton Vees on Wednesday August 26th at Royal Lepage Place. The game, which is likely to see rookie-laden lineups, starts at 7:00 pm and tickets are just $5.
For more information on the camp schedule, visit www.westkelownawarriors.ca
Wednesday, 11 March 2015
Wrapping it up
It's hard to decide what exactly to write about on a season-ending posting, especially when you're just another team eliminated in the 1st round. There were so many story lines that played out throughout this season, perhaps a record number of players donning the Warriors jersey (including AP's), and a goaltender injury bug never before seen at the Junior A level.
I could talk about how this season was disappointing and ended to soon, which it did. Every team wants to win their last game of the playoffs but only will get to do that, in Portage la Prairie, MB, on May 17th. Junior Hockey is such a tough sport, there is only one season every year, and the number of teams across the country make the journey just that much harder.
After the last 5 games against the Vees, its hard to even reflect on the regular season because you want to talk about how great the first 4 games of the series were, essentially all in OT, as the 4th game won in the final 3 minutes. It had that feeling that eventually the Warriors were bound to get a bounce and tie the series up, or even could have lead 2-0 or 2-1 in the series as well. It just wasn't meant to be.
Each and every guy that pulled on the Warriors sweater this year played his heart out when they were in the lineup. Every player had a role to play and didn't give up, especially in that final stretch to make the playoffs. Did West Kelowna have any business playing for the playoffs into the final weekend after Affiliate goaltenders made 11 starts? Absolutely they did because the way that Stephen Heslop played in the playoffs was typical to the way he played in the regular season. He gave the Warriors a chance to win every single night, going 2-2-0-2 in the regular season, and 0-2-0-1 in the playoffs. Those don't look like fabulous numbers, but getting the Warriors to overtime in some of those games was an accomplishment in itself. If anyone said to me that the Warriors would need to win their last 5 games, and 4 of them without 3 of their 20 year old players including the starting goalie and captain, and your leading scorer, I'd say there was no chance. The difference is these kids believed there was. Scott Patton played solid and everyone stepped up offensively to get into the post-season, even if we needed a little help from our rivals.
When looking back at the regular season as a whole, it's tough to single out any specific moments. There was an 11-game streak of getting at least a single point from late October - Mid November, then there was a streak of games where the Warriors used 5 different AP goaltenders in games, which ended up netting them 5 wins and 7 losses, including the first BCHL Shutouts for 2 of them in Stephen Heslop and Jordan Reynolds.
The final record of 29-21-0-8 for 66 points is the 7th best point total for the club since they came into the league in 2006/2007. There were other milestones though, and personal/franchise bests achieved this season.
Milestones:
Jason Cotton:
Liam Blackburn:
Jordan Masters:
I could talk about how this season was disappointing and ended to soon, which it did. Every team wants to win their last game of the playoffs but only will get to do that, in Portage la Prairie, MB, on May 17th. Junior Hockey is such a tough sport, there is only one season every year, and the number of teams across the country make the journey just that much harder.
After the last 5 games against the Vees, its hard to even reflect on the regular season because you want to talk about how great the first 4 games of the series were, essentially all in OT, as the 4th game won in the final 3 minutes. It had that feeling that eventually the Warriors were bound to get a bounce and tie the series up, or even could have lead 2-0 or 2-1 in the series as well. It just wasn't meant to be.
Each and every guy that pulled on the Warriors sweater this year played his heart out when they were in the lineup. Every player had a role to play and didn't give up, especially in that final stretch to make the playoffs. Did West Kelowna have any business playing for the playoffs into the final weekend after Affiliate goaltenders made 11 starts? Absolutely they did because the way that Stephen Heslop played in the playoffs was typical to the way he played in the regular season. He gave the Warriors a chance to win every single night, going 2-2-0-2 in the regular season, and 0-2-0-1 in the playoffs. Those don't look like fabulous numbers, but getting the Warriors to overtime in some of those games was an accomplishment in itself. If anyone said to me that the Warriors would need to win their last 5 games, and 4 of them without 3 of their 20 year old players including the starting goalie and captain, and your leading scorer, I'd say there was no chance. The difference is these kids believed there was. Scott Patton played solid and everyone stepped up offensively to get into the post-season, even if we needed a little help from our rivals.
When looking back at the regular season as a whole, it's tough to single out any specific moments. There was an 11-game streak of getting at least a single point from late October - Mid November, then there was a streak of games where the Warriors used 5 different AP goaltenders in games, which ended up netting them 5 wins and 7 losses, including the first BCHL Shutouts for 2 of them in Stephen Heslop and Jordan Reynolds.
The final record of 29-21-0-8 for 66 points is the 7th best point total for the club since they came into the league in 2006/2007. There were other milestones though, and personal/franchise bests achieved this season.
Milestones:
Jason Cotton:
- Fastest Player to 100 points as a Warrior, he did it in 87 Games.
- Moved into #8 All-Time in Warriors scoring.
- Scored his 50th BCHL goal for the Warriors, 7th player to score 50 in WK jersey.
Liam Blackburn:
- Warriors Single Season leader in assists with 51
- 4th Best Single Season with 73 Points
- Moved into #9 All-time in Warriors scoring
Jordan Masters:
- Moved into #24 All-time in Warriors scoring, 71 points in 72 games.
Andrew Johnson
- Played his 300th Junior Hockey game, finished with 309 Career games between WHL and WK.
There is more to this game than winning, especially where we fit in at the Junior hockey level, and the Warriors once again were successful on the schooling front, having multiple players commit to NCAA hockey.
NCAA Commitments:
Liam Blackburn - University of New Hampshire
Jordan Masters - Arizona State University
Jonathan Desbiens - Bentley University
Brett Mennear - Bentley University
Jason Cotton will begin his NCAA career at Northeastern next season.
Final Words:
The players on this team were always fun to be around, the jokes on the bus, shutting down Tiggs on his countless requests for Gran Torino are definite memories. You'll never have the same group ever again, that's kind of weird, but its junior hockey. To the 20's - Andy, Jordan, Andrew, Tyler, Braeden, and Bennett; good luck with your future, and never hesitate to stay in contact. I'll always have room for an intermission interview.
There are so many people in this organization to thank and I really hope that I will have an opportunity to be back next year and improve on the broadcasts, increase the player interviews, and give more insights on the blog.
From the top I need to thank Mark Cheyne for giving me this opportunity, and thank him for his love of Junior Hockey as he continues as the owner of the West Kelowna Warriors.
Thank you to Rylan Ferster, Brent Gough, and Mike Bois for making road trips fun. It never felt like work and I immediately felt like I fit in.
To the office and game day staff you are what makes it easy to come to the rink knowing that everything outside of the broadcast will be taken care of. Sure it wasn't my job to worry about the events/game day ops side of things, but I was told for 4 years at school to always care. Kim Potter, Alex Draper, Steve Francis, Wayne Moore, Kris Patzer. The ones you see doing everything all the time. AND Nicole Ellis, she'd do anything for this hockey club and always made sure I got some more water if I asked.
Sheldon and Cheryl Bank were always fun to have up in the booth, doing the boxscores and the stats as well. Sheldon always made sure I had good things to say about the officiating. Jason Woodford and your team, you guys were excellent. I was told that you guys do fabulous work and you proved it every single night. Thank you Crosswood Productions.
Thanks to WDCR for hosting all of our games on the internet and 95.1 FM. It was good to have an alternative listening method for fans who didn't wish to pay to watch the games on Fast Hockey.
To the volunteers, you are the glue that holds everything together. Every one of you that I had the opportunity of meeting with and talking to, it was a pleasure. Thanks for being there, see you next season.
Finally the fans. You were amazing in the playoffs and great throughout the season. I don't know if its the way the building is built, or how my microphone picked up the sound, but that is one of the loudest buildings in the BCHL when you all get going. I'm going to miss that all summer, and hope i'm back to hear it again. Who knows, maybe we'll fill it up one day.
Monday, 9 March 2015
Preview - Game 5 - Vees Warriors
The West Kelowna Warriors will take on the Penticton Vees tonight in Game 5 of their 1st round series, which the Vees lead by a 3-1 margin.
Each game in this series has been intense and gone down to the last shot. In fact, each winning team has scored on their last shot of the game. Even Penticton in their 3-2 win in Game 4 was on the final shot they registered with 2:14 remaining.
With the Warriors playoff lives on the line, look for their best effort tonight at the SOEC. They say the 4th game is the hardest to win because of the way the opposition plays in those elimination games, and the Warriors will need to play like a desperate team in order to extend their season another night.
Goaltending has been the story in this series so far. Hunter Miska has been as advertised based on his stats from the regular season. He has a 3-1 record with a 2.07 GAA and a .939 SV% through the first 4 games. He has done a good job of finding pucks after they hit him, and was particularly strong late in the 3rd of Game 4.
For the Warriors, they got a pair of excellent efforts from Scott Patton to start the series, then Stephen Heslop steps up and his performances are nothing short of amazing either. Heslop, the 19-year old AP from the Princeton Posse is yes, 0-2, but has a 2.51 GAA and a .922 SV%. Not bad for a kid who hadn't played in 2 weeks since his team was eliminated in the KIJHL playoffs.
The Warriors will be needing to continue their physical play tonight and discipline will be a main factor in that. On the Special Teams side of things, Penticton has enjoyed 18 power-play opportunities and 29:58 on time on the man advantage. The Warriors 10 power-plays have lasted only 14:42. The Vees have scored once, and West Kelowna twice in the series.
The talk all season long was how tight the Interior division was, and all 8 games so far of these playoffs have been decided by 1-goal. With the Vernon sweep, expect their staff in attendance as they have 5 more days of waiting before Round 2 begins on Friday. Whoever they play, they're going to be hoping for a 7-game series, and from a Warriors perspective, that's their hope as well.
Each game in this series has been intense and gone down to the last shot. In fact, each winning team has scored on their last shot of the game. Even Penticton in their 3-2 win in Game 4 was on the final shot they registered with 2:14 remaining.
With the Warriors playoff lives on the line, look for their best effort tonight at the SOEC. They say the 4th game is the hardest to win because of the way the opposition plays in those elimination games, and the Warriors will need to play like a desperate team in order to extend their season another night.
Goaltending has been the story in this series so far. Hunter Miska has been as advertised based on his stats from the regular season. He has a 3-1 record with a 2.07 GAA and a .939 SV% through the first 4 games. He has done a good job of finding pucks after they hit him, and was particularly strong late in the 3rd of Game 4.
For the Warriors, they got a pair of excellent efforts from Scott Patton to start the series, then Stephen Heslop steps up and his performances are nothing short of amazing either. Heslop, the 19-year old AP from the Princeton Posse is yes, 0-2, but has a 2.51 GAA and a .922 SV%. Not bad for a kid who hadn't played in 2 weeks since his team was eliminated in the KIJHL playoffs.
The Warriors will be needing to continue their physical play tonight and discipline will be a main factor in that. On the Special Teams side of things, Penticton has enjoyed 18 power-play opportunities and 29:58 on time on the man advantage. The Warriors 10 power-plays have lasted only 14:42. The Vees have scored once, and West Kelowna twice in the series.
The talk all season long was how tight the Interior division was, and all 8 games so far of these playoffs have been decided by 1-goal. With the Vernon sweep, expect their staff in attendance as they have 5 more days of waiting before Round 2 begins on Friday. Whoever they play, they're going to be hoping for a 7-game series, and from a Warriors perspective, that's their hope as well.
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