Warriors settle for split with Trail on opening weekend; Vipers get the sweep
The home Warriors didn’t fare quite as well as the road Warriors.
The West Kelowna Warriors came out flat in their BCHL home opener, dropping a 4-0 decision to the Trail Smoke Eaters in front of 1,266 fans on Saturday at Royal LePage Place. West Kelowna won 4-3 in Trail on Friday but could never get untracked after an early breakaway was denied by Smokies goalie Brandon Wells.
Levi Glasman, Andre Ghantous, Ross Armour and Braeden Tuck, with an empty-netter with four minutes to play, scored for Trail, which led 1-0 and 3-0 at the period breaks.
Wells made 21 saves to post his first BCHL win and shutout. Nik Amundrud made 23 saves on 26 shots before leaving in the third period with an apparent injury. Cole Demers played the final 4:47 and made two saves.
Ghantous, who had three points, Wells and Armour were the three stars. The Warriors host Merritt on Saturday at 7 p.m.
Vipers 6 Silverbacks 5: Jimmy Lambert scored the tying and winning goals in a 2:21 span midway through the third period, and added three assists as Vernon completed a home-and-home sweep over Salmon Arm in front of 2,139 fans at Kal Tire Place on Saturday. Brett Stapley scored twice and added two helpers and Tanner Wishnowski had a goal and two assists as the line combined for 12 points. Josh Prokop also scored for Vernon.
Lind’s ability to make an immediate impact was impressive to everybody in attendance — including Canucks general manager Jim Benning — and his effectiveness from the opening puck-drop took Cull a bit by surprise.
As mentioned, for many teenagers, this can be an overwhelming or intimidating experience, and these tournaments tend to be dominated by older prospects — like the 23-year-old Molino.
“I’ve been a part of these tournaments a lot and sometimes you get out there in those first games and you’re like ‘boy, this guy might have been in over his head tonight,’” Cull said, “but I didn’t feel that at all, about anybody.
“For those two young guys (Lind and Gadjovich), you might be a little bit concerned, but I thought they did a very good job. It was a really good effort.”
Lind’s initial success — which had him tied for the tournament lead in scoring after the opening night — can largely be credited to thinking the game at a high level.
“That’s always kind of been my best thing, is my hockey IQ,” Lind said, “but you can’t say enough about my linemates too — they got open and they were calling for the puck, which always makes my job a lot easier.”
Known in the WHL as a cerebral player with terrific awareness and playmaking skills, Lind led Kelowna in scoring with 87 points, including 30 goals, in 70 games last season.
Those assets — especially the hockey sense — should serve him well in transitioning from junior to pro in the coming seasons.
“If you can think the game and you’ve got that hockey IQ, then your anticipation skills are what’s so good,” said Cull, who will have to wait at least another year to coach Lind full-time since he’s not old enough to play in the AHL. “He’s already going to be in the right spots because he sees it, he anticipates where to be. That’s a huge part nowadays . . . it’s one thing to be fast or have a great shot, but to have that hockey IQ, that’s a great thing for him.
“Then he has real good control and puck protection,” Cull continued to rave, “so once he gets the puck, I thought he made some real good plays with it.”
Indeed, it was a noticeable improvement from Lind’s showing in an intrasquad game at Vancouver’s development camp in July, which was followed by an early audition for Canada’s world-junior team at an exhibition tournament in Plymouth, Mich., last month.
Friday’s debut at the Young Stars was the culmination of a whirlwind summer for Lind — that started in late June, with the NHL draft in Chicago — and it will be a night that he’ll remember forever.
“It was definitely cool. Just throwing on the Canucks’ jersey was probably the best part,” said Lind, further endearing himself to Vancouver’s fan base by noting the Canucks were among his favourite teams growing up in Shaunavon, Sask. “Kind of any Canadian team, but the Canucks were winning lots of the time when I was young, so in the playoffs I’d usually cheer for them.”
Earlier Friday, Dillon Dube didn’t reach the scoresheet for the Calgary Flames in their opener — a 4-2 loss to the rival Edmonton Oilers — but he also stood out in defeat.
Dube’s maturation was evident from his first Young Stars’ experience last fall, displaying increased confidence with the puck and creating several offensive chances that weren’t converted.
“There were obviously some bounces that didn’t go our way, that happened throughout the third period, but we’ll be a lot sharper next game,” said Dube, who skated on an all-WHL line with Matthew Phillips, a foe-turned-friend from the Victoria Royals, and Brett Pollock, now a second-year pro formerly of the Edmonton Oil Kings. “Overall, we did some good things and, for myself, I felt good out there.”
Dube and Lind are both expected to return to Kelowna for what will likely be their final WHL season — and they will probably be paired together on the Rockets’ top line — but, first, they had to line up opposite each other in Penticton, with the Canucks facing the Flames in Sunday’s lone game.
“When we were younger, he was always one of the better guys coming out of Saskatchewan, so he was always on those (summer hockey) teams,” said Dube, who was born in Golden but raised mostly in Airdrie, Alta., just outside Calgary.
Dube was the Rockets’ first-round pick (21st overall) in the 2013 bantam draft, with Lind also getting selected by Kelowna in the fourth round (87th) that year.
“We’ve known each other for a long time, so it’ll be weird going at it again now that we’re really good buddies.”
Not that it wasn’t weird or awkward teaming up with Phillips.
“If he wasn’t on Victoria, I don’t think it’d be as bad, but they are our top rivals,” Dube said with a laugh. “But we’ve played together in spring hockey (in Calgary), so we’re pretty familiar with each other. Being together throughout the summer and all this time here (in Penticton), we’re more so buddies.
“Now when we play each other, I don’t know if we’ll be trying to run each other as much anymore,” Dube added, “but it’s obviously going to be competitive when we go head-to-head.”