PHOTO: Cherie Morgan Photography
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SEPTEMBER 29th, 2017
PENTICTON, B.C. – The West Kelowna Warriors fought hard but eventually fell by a 2-1 score to the 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 final 1:14 interesting but wasn’t enough to over the Vees in their home opening night.
The first period saw the Vees control the pace of play, outshooting the Warriors 13-3 in the opening frame of play but the score remained even at 0-0. Warriors netminder Nik Amundrud had a great first period, making 13 saves on all 13 shots he faced. Vees goaltender Adam Scheel didn’t see much action in the 1st, turning aside just 3 shots.
The 2nd period finally saw a goal being scored and it was the Vees that opened up the scoring at the 9:02 mark of the middle stanza 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 by a 1-0 score.
The Warriors directed a few more pucks in the direction of Scheel in the middle frame as they tallied 9 shots for a two-period total of 14 saves for the Vees goaltender through 40 minutes of play while Amundrud remained the Warriors best player, stopping 13 of the 14 shots he faced in the 2nd period and 26 of the 27 he saw total in the game.
In his first game, back from injury, the Vees Grant Cruikshank scored what would be the eventual game winning goal at the 13:30 mark of the 3rd period. The Warriors turned the puck over inside their own zone and Cruikshank was left alone in front, scoring five hole in 4-on-4 play that gave Penticton a 2-0 lead.
West Kelowna made things interesting late in the game as they got a power play with under two minutes left in regulation time. The Warriors won the offensive zone face-off, with the net empty, and Chase Dubois rifled a shot on the glove side of Scheel for his 2nd goal of the season on the power play to cut the deficit to one goal at the 18:46 mark.
The Warriors pulled Amundrud once more but could not find the equalizer in the final moments of action with the Vees coming away with a 2-1 win.
Nik Amundrud was the highlight in the game for the Warriors, making 31 saves on 33 shots in his 3rd defeat of the season while Adam Scheel stopped 21 of the 22 shots for his 3rd win of the season.
FINAL SCORE: 2-1 Vees
FINAL SHOTS ON GOAL: 33-22 Vees
Warriors PP: 1/5
Warriors PK: 5/5
3 Stars:
1) Grant Cruikshank (1-0-1)
2) Ryan O’Connell (0-0-0)
3) Adam Scheel (21 saves on 22 shots)
Fortis Energy Player of the Game: Jackson Keane (0-0-0)
ATTENDANCE: 3,675
The Warriors (4-3-0-0) return home to Royal LePage Place for the first time since September 16th when they take on the Chilliwack Chiefs (1-4-1-0) in a rematch of the 2016 BCHL Final. Puck drop is slated for 7:00 PM with tickets available at the Warriors office or by calling (250) 769-7051.
