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GAME RECAP: Steele, Amundrud Shine As Warriors Shutout Express

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

JANUARY 23rd, 2017

WEST KELOWNA, B.C. – The West Kelowna Warriors got back in the win column as Ryan Steele collected his first career BCHL hat trick and Nik Amundrud stopped 21 shots for his first BCHL shutout in a 5-0 win against the Coquitlam Express on Tuesday night at Royal LePage Place.

The Warriors came out with plenty of gusto and got the feet moving early on and were rewarded with the game’s first goal as Ryan Steele opened the scoring at the 2:24 mark of the 1st frame.

A scrum on the right-wing side resulted in Chase Dubois finding the puck in skates and chipping it to himself off the boards as he skated into the Express zone. Dubois stopped just inside the blue line and centered a pass for Steele coming through the slot as the Warrior forward outwaited Express netminder Brock Hamm on the blocker side and found the back of the net for his 9th goal of the season and a 1-0 Warriors advantage.

That was the only tally of the opening period as the Warriors came out and played a strong 20 minutes to start off as they fired 11 shots on goal with Hamm making 10 saves while Nik Amundrud stood tall in the Warriors net with 7 saves on all 7 shots he faced in the opening frame of play.

Steele continued his strong night with a power play goal at the 2:29 mark of the 2nd period with his second goal of the night. Dubois fed Steele in the slot from the left face-off circle as he shot from the hash marks past the blocker side of Hamm for his 10th goal of the season and a 2-0 Warriors lead early in the 2nd frame.

The Warriors forward completed his natural hat trick with a goal at the 15:14 mark of the middle stanza on another power play marker from the identical spot. Steele got a pass from Dubois once more and slipped it by Hamm on the blocker side again for his first career BCHL hat trick and his 11th goal of the season extended the Warriors lead to 3-0.

The hat trick was the Warriors second of the season after Matt Kowalski opened the season with three goals in Trail in September. Nik Amundrud continued his strong play on the night with 16 saves on 16 shots while Brock Hamm turned aside 20 of the 23 shots he faced through 40 minutes of play.

The Warriors defensive play continued to highlight the night as they did not give many scoring chances to the Express and converted for the third time on the power play after a Jake Toor cross check to the back of Dubois forced the Express to the penalty kill.

Dubois extracted his revenge as he followed up on the rebound of a Jared Marino rush down the left side as the puck came off the left pad of Hamm as Dubois chipped it by for his 16th goal of the season and a 4-0 Warriors lead.

The Warriors iced the game at the 16:45 mark of the final period as Michael Lombardi found the back of the empty net from centre ice for his 13th goal of the season and secured a 5-0 Warriors victory.

Nik Amundrud earned his first career BCHL shutout with 21 saves on 21 shots and his 12th win of the season. Brock Hamm stopped 30 of the 34 shots he faced in the defeat which was his 8th of the season.

FINAL SCORE: 5-0 Warriors

FINAL SHOTS ON GOAL: 35-21 Warriors

Warriors PP: 3/6

Warriors PK: 3/3

3 Stars:

1) Ryan Steele (3-0-3)

2) Nik Amundrud (21 saves on 21 shots)

3) Chase Dubois (1-3-4)

Fortis Energy Player of the Game: Stephen Kleysen (0-0-0)

ATTENDANCE: 621

The Warriors (23-21-1-1) continue their four-game home stand on Friday night as they host the Vernon Vipers (29-12-4-1) on Friday night at Royal LePage Place. Tickets are available online at wkw.goticketpro.com, at the Warriors office, by calling (250) 769-7051 or at the box office ahead of the opening face-off.