Photo Credit:Tami Quan Photography
March 1st, 2019
WEST KELOWNA B.C. – The #6 West Kelowna Warriors head south of the border for game one with the #3 Wenatchee Wild Saturday night.
WARRIORS VS WILD REGULAR SEASON SCHEDULE:
Sept 15th @ WEST KELOWNA – 4-2 LOSS
Sept 26th @ WEST KELOWNA – 7pm 5-2 WIN
Oct 30th @ WEST KELOWNA – 7pm 6-2 WIN
Nov 2nd @ Wenatchee – 7:05pm 4-3 WIN
Nov 23rd @ Wenatchee – 7:05pm 6-3 LOSS
Nov 24th @ Wenatchee – 7:05pm 4-2 LOSS
WARRIORS VS WILD ROUND 1 SCHEDULE:
GAME 1 Saturday March 2nd @ Wenatchee 7:05pm
GAME 2 Sunday March 3rd @ Wenatchee 6:05pm
GAME 3 Tuesday March 5th @ West Kelowna 7:00pm
GAME 4 Wednesday March 6th @ West Kelowna 7:00pm
*GAME 5 Friday March 8th @ West Kelowna 7:00pm
*GAME 6 Sunday March 10th @ Wenatchee 8:05pm
*GAME 7 Monday March 11th @ Wenatchee 7:05pm
*if necessary
The Warriors start which they hope will be a long playoff run Saturday night. Last week the Warriors split their home at home versus a very good Trail Smoke Eaters squad. The final game of the regular season was a must win for the Warriors if they wanted to slide into fifth place and move on to play the Vernon Vipers but they came just short losing to the Smoke Eaters in overtime 5-4.
The glass half full for the Warriors is that they play a club they’ve had success against this season, the Wenatchee Wild. The Warriors split the season series with the Wild this year with every game going down to the wire. The past two match-ups between the Warriors and the Wild have ended with forgetful finishes. Both meetings saw the Warriors in command with multi goal leads only to have them erased late by late goals by the Wild. Warriors new Head Coach and General Manager Brandon West hasn’t had an opportunity to coach his Warriors club when they’ve faced the Wild, but he’s excited for the challenge. “It’s been a tight series with the stats and what not but now that goes out the door. Playoffs are a face to 4 wins. Both teams have the ability to open the game up offensively so our decisions with and without the puck are important. Our guys are excited and prepared for this series. It should be a fun one to watch.”
Take this as either a positive or a negative – The Warriors were able to play hockey this past weekend where as the the Wild haven’t played since February 20th. The Wild also haven’t played a game where they could move up or down in the BCHL’s standings for quite some time. Could the length of time off and the lack of important hockey late in the season create rust for the defending champions? Time will tell.
Warriors Director of Broadcasting and Media Relations Chase Johnston is back on the mic with a pregame show 10 minutes before puck drop. Just a reminder that tickets are available for the first round of the BCHL playoffs starting March 2nd. Visit the Warriors office or email info@westkelownawarriors.ca.
