PHOTO: Darren Francis/Fotoshotz
The West Kelowna Warriors ran out of gas and let a two-goal lead slip in the 3rd period as they fell by a 3-2 score in overtime to the Chilliwack Chiefs on Sunday night at Prospera Centre.
The Warriors and Chiefs were held scoreless for much of the 1st period as both goaltenders kept things close but it was the Warriors who broke through in the final minute of the opening frame for the game’s first goal. A left point shot from Michael Ryan found it’s way to the goal mouth and Connor Sodergren was denied on first effort but buried his own rebound on the blocker side of Chiefs netminder Mark Sinclair for his 21st goal of the season and gave the Warriors a 1-0 lead with just 39 seconds remaining in the opening period.
The goaltending was on point in the 1st period as Warriors starter Gabriel Morency made 12 first period saves while his counterpart in the Chiefs net in Sinclair stopped 10 of the 11 opening period shots he faced.
The 2nd period saw the Warriors get a terrific chance to get up by a two-goal advantage but Chase Dubois’ right circle shot was denied by Sinclair on a rebound to keep the game a one-goal lead for the visiting Warriors.
Gabriel Morency continued his strong play into the 2nd frame as he made 14 saves in the middle stanza, and 26 through 40 minutes of action, to keep the Chiefs off the scoreboard. Mark Sinclair turned aside all eight shots he faced in the frame, and 18 of the 19 he saw through two periods, to keep the score at 1-0 for West Kelowna through two periods of play.
The 3rd period saw some scoring and was started off by the Warriors at the 10:29 mark of the 3rd period as Chase Dubois wrapped the puck around on the blocker side of Sinclair as it popped up in the air and behind the goaltender for his 13th goal of the season and the power play marker got the Warriors ahead by a 2-0 margin.
The Chiefs chipped away at the lead at the 11:58 mark of the 3rd period with a power play goal of their own as Connor McCarthy beat Morency to the blocker side to cut the deficit to one at 2-1 in favour of the Warriors.
The Chiefs pressed hard in the 3rd period with 19 shots on goal and tied the game with just 45 seconds remaining in regulation as Jake Smith was fed with a pass from Kohen Olischefski and beat Morency just past his blocker to tie the game and force overtime at 2-2.
In the extra frame, the puck was passed ahead on the right wing for Jordan Kawaguchi and the Chilliwack captain cut to the middle of the slot and beat Morency with a wrister past his glove hand for the overtime winner and completing the comeback for the Chiefs as they took this game by a 3-2 final in overtime.
Gabriel Morency was outstanding in goal for the Warriors as he made 45 saves on 48 shots in the overtime defeat while Mark Sinclair stopped 22 of the 24 shots he faced in the Chiefs net for victory.
FINAL SCORE: 3-2 (OT) Chiefs
SHOTS ON GOAL: 48-24 Chiefs
PP: Warriors (1/4) Chiefs (1/2)
3 STARS:
1) Connor McCarthy (0-2-2)
2) Gabriel Morency (45 saves on 48 shots)
3) Jordan Kawaguchi (1-1-2)
ATTENDANCE: 2903
The Warriors (22-22-0-2) return to the Interior and get right back into action with a big divisional game against the Vernon Vipers (26-15-4-4) at Kal Tire Place in Vernon on Wednesday. Puck drop is slated for 7:00 PM with the pre-game show starting at 6:50 PM on the Warriors Internet Network and www.hockeytv.com. The Warriors return home to Royal LePage Place on Saturday, February 4th versus the Coquitlam Express.
