Warriors split weekend set; fall to Vees, then blank Chiefs
The West Kelowna Warriors fought hard, but eventually fell 2-1 to the host Penticton Vees on Friday night at the South Okanagan Events Centre.
Nik Amundrud made 31 saves and kept the Warriors in the game while a late Chase Dubois goal made the Ànal two minutes interesting, but it wasn’t enough to defeat the Vees in their home opener.
The Àrst period saw the Vees control the pace of play, outshooting the Warriors 13-3, but the score remained even at 0-0. Warriors goalie Nik Amundrud had a great Àrst period, stopping all 13 shots he faced. Vees goalie Adam Scheel didn’t see much action, turning aside just three shots.
In the second period, the Vees opened the scoring at 9:02 on a rebound. Dakota Boutin got his own rebound after a pass from behind the net and slid it underneath the pad of Amundrud to put the Vees ahead 1-0.
The Warriors directed more pucks at Scheel in the second, tallying nine shots for a two-period total of 14. Meanwhile, Amundrud remained the Warriors’ best player, stopping 13 of 14 shots he faced in the second and 26 of 27 through two periods.
In his first game back from injury, Penticton’s Grant Cruikshank scored what would be the eventual game winner at 13:30 of the third period. The Warriors turned the puck over inside their own zone and Cruikshank was left alone in front, scoring Àve hole in 4-on-4 play that gave Penticton a 2-0 lead.
West Kelowna made things interesting late in the game with a power play with under two minutes left in regulation. The Warriors won the offensive zone face-off, and, with the net empty, Chase Dubois riÁed a shot glove side on Scheel at 18:46 to cut the deÀcit to one goal. The goal was Dubois’ second of the season.
The Warriors pulled Amundrud once more, but they could not Ànd the equalizer in the Ànal moments of action with the Vees coming away with a 2-1 win.
Amundrud was the highlight for the Warriors, making 31 saves on 33 shots in what was his third loss of the season. Scheel stopped 21 of the 22 shots for his third win of the season. Final shots on goal: 33-22 Vees. Power play: Warriors, 1-for-5; Penticton, 0-for-5. 3 Stars: 1. Grant Cruikshank (1g) 2. Ryan O’Connell (0 pts) 3. Adam Scheel (21 saves on 22 shots)
Fortis Energy Player of the Game: Jackson Keane (0 pts.) Attendance: 3,675
Warriors 6, Chiefs 0
On Saturday night, the Warriors found an offensive surge that propelled them to a 6-0 shutout victory over the visiting Chilliwack Chiefs at Royal LePage Place.
Cavin Tilsley had a three-point night while Jake Harrison, Michael Ryan and Tyler Jutting each had multi-point games with Cole Demers picking up his Àrst career BCHL shutout with 22 saves in the victory.
The Warriors opened the scoring in the Àrst period with what turned out to be the eventual game winner at 8:27 while playing shorthanded. Tilsley earned his Àrst goal of the night, and Àrst of the season, by racing down right wing on a shorthanded breakaway, then beating Chilliwack netminder Mathieu Caron on the blocker side.
West Kelowna made it 2-0 at 9:50 of the second courtesy of a gorgeous stretch pass from Michael Ryan inside of his own zone to an all-alone RJ Murphy at the Chiefs’ blue line during a Warriors power play. Murphy then backhanded the puck on an odd man break to Willie Reim, who beat Caron over the blocker side for his second goal of the season.
Just before the period expired, with 22 seconds remaining, Peter Tomaras raced through the neutral zone and broke in on a 2-on-1 rush. He kept the puck and shot it under the blocker of Caron for a 3-0 Warriors lead. It was Tomaras’ Àrst goal of the season. The Warriors scored three times in the 3rd during a span of 1:12. The Àrst came at 12:20 on the power play. Chase Stevenson and Dubois moved the puck well and got it to an open Ryan at the right point, who snapped a shot over the glove of Caron for a 4-0 lead.
Jake Harrison followed that up just 30 seconds later at 12:50 after receiving a nifty spino-rama pass from Wyatt Head from the right corner. Harrison got the puck at the left point and fired a wrist shot over Caron for a 5-0 Warriors advantage.
Tilsley scored his second goal of the game just 42 seconds later at 13:32 for a 6-0 lead.
Jared Marino rushed down right wing, feeding a pass for Harrison just above the right face-off circle. Harrison then passed to the middle for Tilsley, who made no mistake in scoring through Caron’s pads.
Demers Ànally got his 1st BCHL shutout with a 22-save performance and his third win of the season.
Chilliwack’s Daniel Chenard left the game just 7:47 in after being injured. Caron turned 22 saves on 28 shots in relief in what was his second loss of the season.
Shots on goal: 30-22 Warriors Power play: Warriors, 2-for-7; Chilliwack, 0-for-4. 3 Stars: 1. Cavin Tilsley (2g, 1a) 2. Cole Demers (22 save shutout) 3. Michael Ryan (1g, 1a) Fortis Energy Player of the Game: Jake Harrison (1g, 1a) Attendance: 843. The Warriors (5-3-0-0) head out on the road to take on the Mainland Division’s Coquitlam Express (0-6-1-0) for the second time this season at the Poirier Sports and Leisure Complex tonight. Puck drop is slated for 7 p.m. with the pre-game festivities getting underway at 6:45 p.m. on the Warriors Internet Network and HockeyTV.com