The West Kelowna Warriors (26-17-5-0) look to get back in the win column and face-off against the Coastal Conference’s Coquitlam Express (24-17-4-3) in the teams’ lone meeting on Saturday night at Royal LePage Place.
REGULAR SEASON SCHEDULE vs. COQUITLAM
Saturday, March 11th @ Royal LePage Place (7:00 PM)
The Warriors will look to rebound following a 7-4 loss to the Prince George Spruce Kings on Friday night at Royal LePage Place. West Kelowna came back from an early 3-0 deficit and got two goals in the game from Rylee Hlusiak while Brennan Nelson and Jake Bernadet added singles in the losing effort. Cayden Hamming pushed aside 21 of the 27 shots thrown his way in his 4th loss of the season before Angelo Zol came on in relief, making 5 saves on 6 shots.
Saturday night will mark the first meeting for the Warriors against the Express since January 3rd, 2020 when Coquitlam came to West Kelowna and earned a 4-3 victory. No current Warriors player was on the roster at that time and everyone in the West Kelowna lineup will be playing Coquitlam for the first time in their careers. The Warriors last victory over the Express came on January 23rd, 2018 at RLP in a 5-0 victory, a span of three head-to-head matchups.
Warriors Leading Scorers:
Jaiden Moriello (23-24-47)
Ben MacDonald (21-23-44)
Rylee Hlusiak (18-24-42)
Isaiah Norlin (4-35-39)
Brennan Nelson (11-23-34)
Warriors forward Rylee Hlusiak extended his season-high point streak to seven games with a pair of markers in Friday night’s loss to Prince George. The Sacred Heart University commit has registered 6 goals and 2 assists for 8 points over the 7-game span while lighting the lamp very effectively over the last handful of games. The Barrie, Ontario native has posted goals in five of his last six contests, bringing his season total to 18.
West Kelowna will play their second to last game against the Coastal Conference on Saturday as they host the Express for the first time since 2020. The Warriors have posted a 6-2-0-0 record against the other Conference this season while they have outscored their opposition by a 30-17 margin over that span. West Kelowna has one more game remaining against the Coastal Conference this season, taking place a week from now on Saturday, March 18th against the Nanaimo Clippers at Royal LePage Place.
The Coquitlam Express come into Saturday night’s game following a 5-2 setback to the Trail Smoke Eaters on Friday night at Cominco Arena. Evan Brown and Mirko Buttazzoni found the back of the net for Coquitlam while Adam Manji turned aside 25 of the 27 shots thrown his way before leaving the game due to injury before affiliate player Emmett Dixon made 16 saves on 18 shots in his first career loss.
Express Leading Scorers:
Mateo Dixon (22-23-45)
Tyler Kopff (19-26-45)
Mirko Buttazzoni (19-21-40)
Gavin Giesbrecht (17-14-31)
Jason Gallucci (4-26-30)
Playing in his 102nd BCHL game tonight, Express forward Tyler Kopff has been regularly counted on for his offence over his time in Coquitlam and for good reason as the Ridgewood, New Jersey native has registered 40 goals and 46 assists for 86 points over his previous 101 games in the league and carries a three-game point streak into the game. The Brown University commit has posted 2 goals and 2 assists for 4 points over that span of time and has also registered points in five of his last six games.
Coming to the Express at the beginning of November, forward Evan Brown has added another layer of offence as he has contributed 4 goals and 18 assists for 22 points in his 33 games played since joining the club from the United States Hockey League (USHL). The Little Silver, New Jersey native has goals in back-to-back games for his team, riding a three-game point streak with 2 goals and an assist during that span.
The Warriors and Express play their only game of the season series on Saturday night at Royal LePage Place. Puck drop is slated for 7:00 PM with tickets available for purchase at the Warriors website as well as in-person at the Box Office ahead of puck drop.
