The West Kelowna Warriors open up their first three-game Island Division road trip of the season with their first meeting of the season against the Victoria Grizzlies on Friday night at The Q Centre.
Warriors vs. Grizzlies 2017/18 Schedule:
Friday, January 5th @ The Q Centre (7:00 PM)
Saturday, February 17th @ Royal LePage Place (7:00 PM)
The Warriors and Grizzlies have waited for 120 days to go by in the 2017/18 season in order to play the first game of their two-game season series. The teams each traded wins on their home ice last season with Victoria earning a 7-2 victory at The Q Centre on January 27th before the Warriors capped off the season set thanks to a Chase Stevenson overtime winner at Royal LePage Place on February 18th to even the season series up at one.
West Kelowna comes into Friday night’s affair looking tom start 2018 on the right foot after a year-ending home-and-home set against the Trail Smoke Eaters that resulted in a pair of losses. The Warriors dropped a 7-5 decision at home on Friday night before falling by a 6-3 final in Trail on Saturday. Cavin Tilsley, Michael Lombardi and Jared Marino tallied goals in the game for the Warriors while Nik Amundrud made 25 saves on 31 shots in his 12th loss of the season.
Warriors Leading Scorers:
Jared Marino (16-20-36)
Chase Dubois (14-16-30)
Michael Ryan (4-25-29)
Jake Harrison (7-18-25)
Michael Lombardi (11-13-24)
A pair of Warriors forwards kept their point streaks going in Saturday night’s 6-3 defeat in Trail as both captain Jared Marino and rookie Michael Lombardi found the back of the net. Marino extended his season-long to 8 games as he has collected 6 goals and 12 points in that span while Lombardi is quietly going about a very strong rookie year with 4 goals and 7 points in his last 5 games. The Barrington, Rhode Island native has vaulted up to being tied for 6th in the BCHL in rookie scoring this season with 11 goals and 24 points.
The Warriors are hoping their success outside of the Interior Division continues on for the three-game weekend on Vancouver Island. West Kelowna holds a record of 12-1-1-0 against teams outside of their own division this season and, in particular, are 3-0-1-0 against foes from the Island Division with a pair of victories against the Cowichan Valley Capitals and a single win over the Nanaimo Clippers along with a tie against the Powell River Kings. This marks the first of two Island trips the Warriors make this season with the second coming in early February that sees The Tribe head to Cowichan, Powell River and Chilliwack.
There is some good news and bad news on the Warriors injury front as two forwards return to the lineup with one being sidelined. For the first time since November 8th (a span of 16 games), Bennett Norlin will get back into the Warriors lineup. The Farmington, Minnesota native has registered 4 goals and 9 points in 21 games before missing a chunk of the season due to a lower body injury. Forward Lucas Cullen will also draw back in after missing last weekend with an injury while forward Willie Reim will not suit up for weekend after sustaining an injury on Saturday night in Trail.
The Victoria Grizzlies enter Friday night on a recent surge as they have won 7 straight games and sit in 2nd in the Island Division with a 20-14-2-3 record and 45 points. The Grizz are coming off their most recent victory on Wednesday night against the Cowichan Valley Capitals by a 4-2 score in Duncan. T.J. Friedmann scored twice for the Grizzlies while Shawn O’Malley and Ryan Nolan added singles in the 7th consecutive victory while Kurtis Chapman turned aside 36 of the 38 shots he faced in the contest for his 6th win of the season.
Grizzlies Leading Scorers:
Alex Newhook (16-28-44)
Jamie Rome (13-23-36)
Ethan Nother (16-14-30)
T.J. Friedmann (10-20-30)
Lucas Clark (8-22-30)
Victoria has a good mix of rookie players as well as BCHL veterans as they have 11 players returning from last year’s version of the club including captain and forward Lucas Clark, Justin Michaelian, Shawn O’Malley, Marty Westhaver, T.J. Friedmann, Jamie Rome, and Cameron Thompson along with defensemen Nico Somerville, Dayne Finnson, Carter Berger and Drayson Pears.
With all the veterans that have returned to the Grizzlies, it has been a 16-year-old rookie sensation that has stolen to the spotlight in BC’s capital. Alex Newhook has taken the BCHL by storm this season, leading the Grizzlies with 16 goals and 44 points in 33 games this season and sits tied for 4th in the BCHL in scoring. The St. Johns, Newfoundland native is the leading scorer amongst rookies this season in the league and is committed to the Boston College Eagles for the 2019/20 season.
The Grizzlies bolstered their play in the crease by acquiring 19-year-old goaltender Kurtis Chapman one month ago from the Alberta Junior Hockey League’s Calgary Mustangs and haven’t looked back. The Airdrie, Alberta native has not lost a game since his first contest on December 6th, posting 6 wins and a tie in that time. Chapman has posted a 2.83 GAA and a .921 SV% in his time in the BCHL and is a veteran of 52 games of Junior ‘A’ hockey in the AJHL and Manitoba Junior Hockey League and Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League as well as spending time in the Western Hockey League with the Regina Pats and Kootenay Ice.
The Warriors and Grizzlies are slated for puck drop at 7:00 PM on Friday night from The Q Centre in Victoria with the pre-game show getting underway at 6:45 PM on the Warriors Internet Network and HockeyTV.com with the Voice of the Warriors, Trevor Miller and Warriors Chaplain Pastor Don Richmond. The Warriors continue their Island road trip on Saturday night as they visit the Nanaimo Clippers at 6:00 PM.
West Kelowna returns home on Tuesday, January 16th to face-off against the Vernon Vipers in the 5th meeting of their 6-game season series and will be broadcasted live on Shaw TV Okanagan. Tickets are available online at wkw.goticketpro.com, at the Warriors office, by calling (250) 769-7051 or at the box office one hour ahead of the opening puck drop.
