The West Kelowna Warriors November struggles continue.
The Warriors fell to another team well below them in the standings on home ice Friday night in a 6-3 loss to the Mainland Division’s cellar dwelling Chilliwack Chiefs.
Despite directing 61 shots toward Chilliwack netminder Spencer Tremblay Warriors associate coach Brent Gough says the team didn't make life too difficult for the 19 year-old netminder.
"I think we needed to get to the greasy area a little bit more. I thought we made it a little too easy on him," says Gough.
"With 60 shots I don't think he had to work too, too hard to make those saves. Pucks hit him and we didn't make it tough on him tonight."
At the other end the Chiefs scored four goals on 15 shots on back-up netminder Cody Porter who was pulled in favour of Andy Desautels following Chilliwack's fourth goal midway through the second.
I don't think Cody played terrible but sometimes you've got to make that save when you need it. He's a young guy and he'll learn those things," says Gough.
"But they score four goals on 15 shots. I don't know if that can happen in junior hockey."
The Warriors were probably the better team on the night five-on-five but, as has been the case on many nights, they lost the special teams battle.
Chiliwack finished 3-6 on the power-play while the Warriors scored just once on eight chances.
That included three consecutive missed opportunities during the last half of the third period when a goal would have put them right back in the game and energized the crowd.
"We need to get our power-play going somehow and also figure out our PK. It was going good there for a few games in a row but now it's back to crap” Gough says. “We have to get back to the drawing board and figure that out for tomorrow."
Jason Cotton (with his team leading 13th), David Pope and Carl Hesler all scored for the Warriors who were trying to play catch-up all night long.
The Warriors were able to battle back on two occasions and tie the game 1-1 and 2-2, however, goals less than two minutes apart midway through the second gave the Chiefs a 4-2 lead and a bit of breathing room.
Hesler's 11th of the year from a mad scramble in front of Tremblay with 33 seconds left in the second pulled the Warriors to within one, however they were unable to take that momentum into the third period.
Chilliwack would re-establish the two-goal lead on a five-on-three power-play midway through the third then cap it off with a shorthanded empty-net goal with 1:07 left.
Austin Plevy had two goals for the Chiefs while Zach Diamantoni had a goal and two assists.
The loss drops the Warriors back into fifth in the Interior Division a point back of fourth-place Salmon Arm after the Silverbacks earned a single point in a 3-2 overtime loss in Langley.
Despite a dismal 2-5 November the Warriors remain just four points back of division co-leaders Vernon and Merritt. The Warriors also hold two games in hand on both.
West Kelowna will try to turn their fortunes around Saturday when they travel to Vernon where they hope for a better result than the 5-3 loss they suffered at Kal Tire Place two weeks ago.
Follow every move of the West Kelowna Warriors at The General’s Report.
