PHOTO: Randy Emery/Trail Smoke Eaters
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JANUARY 19th, 2018
TRAIL, B.C. – The West Kelowna Warriors used a pair of goals from Parm Dhaliwal as well as a 29-save performance from Nik Amundrud to earn their 22nd victory of the season in a 2-1 win against the Trail Smoke Eaters on Friday night at the Cominco Arena.
The Warriors started the game off with great jump as they were all over the Smoke Eaters in the early going of period number one, drawing a power play just 19 seconds into the game and outshooting Trail by a 9-3 margin at the midway point of the opening frame before scoring the opening goal at the 12:53 mark of the 1st frame.
For the first time in 10 games, the Warriors were first to find the scoresheet and broke out of an 0/17 drought on the power play as Parm Dhaliwal did the honours. Just 10 seconds into the man advantage, Dhaliwal got a pass from Chase Dubois in the left-wing face-off circle and sniped home his 8th goal of the season over the blocker shoulder of Smoke Eaters netminder Adam Marcoux for a 1-0 Warriors lead.
That would be all the scoring the opening twenty minutes as West Kelowna came out hard with a strong push to open the game. Nik Amundrud turned aside all of the 8 shots he faced in the opening frame while Adam Marcoux was the busier of the two goaltenders with 13 saves on 14 shots.
The 2nd period saw a similar script to the 1st frame with the Warriors started the period with some more good pressure but the Smoke Eaters countering with chances as well before Dhaliwal found the back of the net once more at the 12:54 mark to double the Warriors lead.
Dubois started the play by racing down the right-wing side and passing to the slot for Jared Marino, which just missed his stick as the puck rattled behind the goal. Dhaliwal found the loose puck on the blocker side and slipped to the front of the net to slide it underneath of Marcoux for his second of the game and a 2-0 Warriors lead.
The Dhaliwal marker stood as the lone goal in the 2nd period as the Warriors continued to outshoot the Smoke Eaters by a 23-19 margin over 40 minutes. Nik Amundrud stopped all 11 shots he faced in the second frame and each of the 19 he saw through two periods with Adam Marcoux turning aside 21 of the 23 shots he had faced after 40 minutes.
The Smoke Eaters pressed in the 3rd period and got within a goal at the 11:50 mark of the final regulation period and came on a Smokies power play. Andre Ghantous got a pass in the left face-off circle from Connor Jones and fired it past Amundrud on the blocker side after some crisp passing and the Warriors lead was cut to 2-1.
Trail pushed down the stretch to try and tie the game but Amundrud and the Warriors defense stood tall after the Smoke Eaters pulled Marcoux with just over two minutes remaining in the game with West Kelowna hanging on to pick up a 2-1 victory
Nik Amundrud looked very good in the Warriors net, turning aside 29 of the 30 shots he faced for his 11th win of the season while Adam Marcoux stopped 28 of the 30 shots thrown his way in the Trail goal crease in his 24th loss of the season.
FINAL SCORE: 2-1 Warriors
FINAL SHOTS ON GOAL: 30-30
Warriors PP: 1/2
Warriors PK: 2/3
3 Stars:
1) Parm Dhaliwal (2-0-2)
2) Nik Amundrud (29 saves on 30 shots)
3) Adam Marcoux (28 saves on 30 shots)
Fortis Energy Player of the Game: Andre Ghantous (1-0-1)
ATTENDANCE: 2,347
The Warriors (22-20-1-1) return home as they look for back-to-back victories when they face-off against the Salmon Arm Silverbacks (17-23-1-3) on Saturday night at Royal LePage Place. Puck drop is slated for 7:00 PM with tickets available online at wkw.goticketpro.com, at the Warriors office, by calling (250) 769-7051 or at the box office one hour prior to the opening puck drop.
