The West Kelowna Warriors couldn’t beat Andrew Shortridge for 40 minutes, but scored twice on him in the third, and two into an empty net as they knocked off the Vernon Vipers 4-1 on Tuesday morning.
In a very rare 11 AM start, the Warriors welcomed a crowd of 1700+ to Royal Lepage Place, which included over 1200 school kids for Anti-Bullying Awareness.
The kids made a ton of noise, but didn’t have much to actually cheer for in the first two periods, as Vernon came out hard and scored the opening goal at 7:40 of the first period.
Physical play dominated the next two periods, as the Warriors struggled with some passes and tough shots that kept missing the net.
West Kelowna got on the board just 44 seconds into the third period, as Jonathan Desbiens tied Trevor Bailey for the single-season Warriors goal record with his 41st. Moments after taking a hard fall into the boards, Desbiens got his own rebound and made a nifty move to beat Shortridge.
It would be the fourth line that put West Kelowna ahead at 14:19, as Reed Gunville gave the Warriors the lead as he one-timed a loose puck in the slot. Just before that, Quin Foreman hit the crossbar on an attempt in tight.
Two empty-net goals sparked fireworks in the final minute, as Brett Mennear took a high-stick just after Garrett Forster made it 3-1, sending Kyle Marino after a Viper. The teams would be evened up after a Viper bench-minor all on the same stoppage.
Foreman scored the other empty netter taking a slash in the process, as the Warriors won their 35th game of the season. Matthew Greenfield made 27 saves.
These two teams meet twice more this week as the Warriors visit Vernon for an 11 AM start on Wednesday. They’ll meet again Friday at Royal LePage Place, back at a normal start time of 7 PM.
