PHOTO: Darren Francis/Fotoshotz
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FEBRUARY 11th, 2018
CHILLIWACK, B.C. – The West Kelowna Warriors dropped the final game of their three-game weekend as they fell by a 7-4 score to the Chilliwack Chiefs on Sunday evening at Prospera Centre.
An early power play helped the Warriors get on the scoreboard first in the opening period at the 4:53 mark as the captain Jared Marino hit a milestone mark. Chase Dubois worked the puck from the left face-off circle to the goal line for Parm Dhaliwal as he came out to the front of the goal and passed backdoor for Marino, who fired in his 20th goal of the season over the glove side of Chiefs netminder Daniel Chenard for a 1-0 Warriors advantage.
The Chiefs tied the game at the 9:44 mark of the opening period as PJ Marrocco found the back of the net after a blocked shot. Marrocco had his first shot from the left circle blocked but Ryan Bowen got the puck back to Marrocco as he wristed a shot past the glove side of Warriors goaltender Nik Amundrud to tie the game at 1-1.
The Warriors regained their lead at the 13:28 mark of the period with Willie Reim finding the back of the net for the second straight game. RJ Murphy wheeled up to the high slot where he let go of a wrist shot that was redirected behind Chenard off the stick of Reim for his 11th goal of the season and gave the Warriors a 2-1 lead heading into the 2nd period.
Just as it was on Saturday night, the 2nd period caused problems for the Warriors as the Chiefs scored three times in the middle stanza beginning at the 7:54 mark on a nicely developed play by Will Calverley. The Chiefs captain drove wide on the left wing and centered a pass for a streaking Corey Andonovski as he tipped the puck through the legs of Amundrud going to the goal and tied the game once more.
Chilliwack gained their first lead of the game at the 10:03 mark of the 2nd period as Ryan Bowen tried to spin past a Warrior defender on the left side before letting the puck slide below the goal line where Tommy Lee pushed it free to the net. Amundrud thought he had the puck covered under his blocker but the Chiefs poked it free and Calverley beat him upstairs for a 3-2 Chiefs lead.
Ryan Bowen provided Chilliwack’s third goal of the period extended the Chiefs lead to 4-2 at the 13:13 mark of the 2nd frame on a power play. A puck shot from the blue line bounced off of Marrocco to an open Ryan Bowen at the blocker side with no chance for Amundrud to get over and make a save to increase the lead to 4-2 in favour of Chilliwack.
The Warriors did not take long to respond as just 23 seconds later, Chase Dubois tallied his 19th goal of the season to get the Warriors within a goal. Ryan Steele started the play in the neutral zone, working the puck ahead for Parm Dhaliwal as he flipped a pass on his backhand for a streaking Dubois, who chipped the puck over the blocker shoulder at the 13:36 mark to cut the deficit to 4-3.
The Warriors tied the game early into the 3rd period as Matt Kowalski scored his second goal of the weekend and 7th of the season. Wyatt Head spotted Kowalski from the left point with a gorgeous pass and Kowalski made no mistake with a shot through the five-hole of Chenard at the 5:22 mark to tie the score.
Another power play resulted in the Chiefs 5th, and what would be game-winning goal as Will Calverley added his second of the game on a scramble to the glove side of Amundrud as he batted in a loose puck to give Chilliwack a 5-4 lead.
Calverley completed the hat-trick at the 17:04 mark of the final period on a blocked shot as he raced down the loose puck and beat the defense before sliding the puck through the legs of Amundrud for a 6-4 lead before Anthony Vincent found the empty net with 9 seconds remaining in the game for a 7-4 final score.
Nik Amundrud turned aside 25 of the 31 shots he faced in the game in his 15th loss of the season while Daniel Chenard stopped 17 of the 21 shots thrown his way for his 8th win of the season.
FINAL SCORE: 7-4 Chiefs
FINAL SHOTS ON GOAL: 32-21 Chiefs
Warriors PP: 1/4
Warriors PK: 2/4
3 Stars:
1) Will Calverley (3-1-4)
2) PJ Marrocco (1-2-3)
3) Parm Dhaliwal (0-2-2)
Fortis Energy Player of the Game: Jared Turcotte (0-1-1)
ATTENDANCE: 1,893
West Kelowna is back on home ice on Saturday, February 17th when the Warriors host the Victoria Grizzlies on Pastor Don Richmond’s 9th annual Faith Night. With plenty of local churches filling the seats and great raffle prizes to be won, it’s one of the most exciting nights of the season. The Warriors will also be hosting their annual team awards immediately after the final buzzer. Tickets are 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 face-off.
