Road trips bear fruit for Okanagan teams
All three B.C. Hockey League teams based in the Okanagan went 1-1 in weekend games.
Rylee Hlusiak had a four-point night as the visiting West Kelowna Warriors hammered out a 6-2 win Friday over the host Langley Rivermen (11-24-2-2).
Hlusiak scored a hat-trick in the second period and added an assist as the Warriors mounted a comeback from a 1-0 deficit at the first intermission.
Ben MacDonald, with two, and Nic Porchetta also tallied for West Kelowna, who got a 24-stop performance from goalkeeper Cayden Hamming.
Hlusiak’s efforts earned him BCHL third-star honours for the week.
Hlusiak, 19, posted his first career BCHL hat trick against the Rivermen. The Toronto native started with a shorthanded goal before earning two more markers before the 10-minute mark of the second period.
Noah Leibl of the Victoria Grizzlies was the first star with Jason Stefanek of the Wenatchee Wild the second star.
CHILLIWACK 3, WEST KELOWNA 1
After mustering all kinds of firepower a day earlier, the West Kelowna Warriors’ big guns fell silent in a 3-1 loss Saturday to the host Chilliwack Chiefs.
Chilliwack (21-16-0-2) reeled off three goals in an 11-minute span of the second period to seal the win.
Jake Bernadet replied for the Warriors with just over one minute left in the contest, while Justin Katz took the loss with a 31save effort.
VICTORIA 4 PENTICTON 3 (SO) PENTICTON 1 SURREY 0
The Penticton Vees picked up a win and a shootout loss on the weekend to become the first Interior Conference team to clinch a playoff spot. Penticton has a 15-point lead atop second-place Cranbrook in the conference standings and a 12-point lead over the Nanaimo Clippers – the only other BCHL team to have clinched a playoff spot so far – in the overall league standings.
The Vees lost 4-3 in a shootout Saturday night against the host Victoria Grizzlies but still took a home a point for their efforts, which followed a 1-0 shutout win Friday night over the Surrey Eagles.
Goalie Luca Di Pasquo leads all BCHL goaltenders with a 1.65 goals-against average. He’s tied for second-most shutouts following the 21-stop effort Friday night in Surrey.
The game was a defensive chess match and remain scoreless until Bradly Nadeau finally lit the lamp with just over seven minutes to play in the final frame.
Di Pasquo was rewarded for his efforts with a night off on Saturday in Victoria, but he didn’t get much of a rest.
Hank Levy started for the Vees and surrendered two goals on the first four shots he faced and got the hook just before the eight-minute mark. Di Pasquo came on in relief and gave up just one goal near the midway point of the third period that sent the match to overtime. Extra time solved nothing, but a four-player shootout did.
VERNON 4, TRAIL 1
Four unanswered goals put the Vernon Vipers in the driver’s seat for a 4-1 win Friday night against the host Trail Smoke Eaters (16-18-2-3).
Dylan Compton, Isaac Tremblay, Lee Parks and Hank Cleaves all tallied for Vernon, which surrendered its only goal with under five minutes to play.
Ethan David stopped 35 of 36 shots to pick up the win in the Vipers’ crease. It was a chippy contest, with both clubs combining for eight minor penalties for roughing.
CRANBROOK 4, VERNON 2
Lee Parks got the Vernon Vipers on the board just over a minute in, but the lead was short-lived as his club fell 4-2 to the host Cranbrook Bucks (27-10-1-1) on Saturday.
The Bucks answered back just over a minute later and went on to build a 3-1 lead
heading into the second intermission. Isaac Tremblay scored the other Vipers goal.
Vernon (18-18-0-4) is back in action Saturday night to host the West Kelowna Warriors. —————
West Kelowna Warriors (22-13-4-0) return to the ice Friday in Salmon Arm (19-15-4-1) and Saturday in Vernon.
They visit Penticton on Feb. 17 to end a long spell of road games before coming home for five straight.
The Warriors will host Trail Feb. 18, Merritt on Feb. 20, Trail on Feb. 24, on Feb. 26 and Cranbrook on March 3 at Royal LePage Place.