PHOTO: Tami Quan
The West Kelowna Warriors see their Interior Conference Quarter Finals series against the Vernon Vipers return to Royal LePage Place all tied at 2-2 for Game #5 on Friday night.
REGULAR SEASON SCHEDULE VS. VERNON
Friday, November 4th @ Royal LePage Place (4-3 Warriors) (BOXSCORE)
Tuesday, November 8th @ Royal LePage Place (4-3 Warriors/SO) (BOXSCORE)
Friday, December 2nd @ Royal LePage Place (4-3 Warriors/SO) (BOXSCORE)
Friday, December 16th @ Kal Tire Place (5-1 Warriors) (BOXSCORE)
Saturday, February 11th @ Kal Tire Place (4-3 Vipers) (BOXSCORE)
FIRST ROUND SCHEDULE vs. VERNON
Game #1: Friday, March 31st @ Royal LePage Place (BOXSCORE)
Game #2: Saturday, April 1st @ Royal LePage Place (BOXSCORE)
Game #3: Tuesday, April 4th @ Kal Tire Place (BOXSCORE)
Game #4: Wednesday, April 5th @ Kal Tire Place (BOXSCORE)
Game #5: Friday, April 7th @ Royal LePage Place (7:00 PM)
Game #6: Saturday, April 9th @ Kal Tire Place (6:00 PM)
*Game #7: Monday, April 11th @ Royal LePage Place (7:00 PM)
*- If Necessary
For the second time in the Interior Conference Quarter Finals, the series is tied, this time at 2-2 following a 7-0 Vipers win in Game #5 at Kal Tire Place on Wednesday night. The blanking was the first of the season for the Warriors, regular season and playoffs included, with Cayden Hamming starting in goal, turning aside 7 of the 11 shots thrown his way in his 2nd playoff loss while Angelo Zol came on in relief and made 18 saves on 21 shots.
Warriors Leading Scorers:
Jaiden Moriello (25-30-55)
Rylee Hlusiak (22-29-51)
Ben MacDonald (23-27-50)
Isaiah Norlin (6-38-44)
Brennan Nelson (12-28-40)
Warriors Playoff Leading Scorers:
Chris Duclair (3-4-7)
Brennan Nelson (2-5-7)
Isaiah Norlin (1-5-6)
Jaiden Moriello (3-0-3)
Dylan Brooks (2-1-3)
The Warriors come into Game #5 on Friday night looking to take a lead in the series for the third time. West Kelowna has liked the odd numbers of the series, winning Games #1 and #3 while the Vipers have earned wins in Games #2 and #4. Rebounding after a loss is something the Warriors have done well following a loss in the playoffs, earning a win in Game #3 following a Game #2 defeat.
West Kelowna will be looking to use their home advantage to help them gain another lead in the series, which has not seen back-to-back winners through four games. The Warriors will host two of the potential next three games and have played strongly at Royal LePage Place throughout the regular season, posting an 18-8-1-0 record at home this season.
The Vernon Vipers come into Game #5 looking to take their first lead of the best-of-seven series following a 7-0 triumph in Game #4 on Wednesday night at Kal Tire Place. Connor Welsh, Dylan Compton, Hank Cleaves, Lee Parks, Griffen Barr, Reagan Millburn and Max Borovinskiy each tallied goals in the game while Ethan David turned aside each of the 28 shots he faced in his 2nd playoff win and 1st career BCHL playoff shutout.
Vipers Leading Scorers:
Lee Parks (23-25-48)
Reagan Millburn (19-29-48)
Luke Pakulak (17-23-40)
Hank Cleaves (13-25-38)
Seiya Tanaka-Campbell (13-20-33)
Vipers Playoff Leading Scorers:
Lee Parks (6-1-7)
Hank Cleaves (2-3-5)
Isaac Tremblay (0-4-4)
Dylan Compton (1-2-3)
Anthony Cliché (0-3-3)
Vipers forward Lee Parks continues to lead his team in this series as he posted another goal in Vernon’s lopsided win in Game #4 and has now registered a goal in each of the four games of the series heading into Game #5. The University of Massachusetts-Lowell commit sits atop the Vipers scoring with 6 goals and an assist for 7 points thus far and 14 points in 9 total games against the Warriors, dating back to the regular campaign.
Viper goaltender Ethan David came through with a big Game #4 performance and will presumably be the starter for Game #5 on Friday. The Vancouver, BC native has both the wins in net for Vernon in the series and has stopped 67 of the 72 shots thrown his way, good for a .931 save percentage. Including his blanking on Wednesday night, David has now posted 7 career shutouts and holds a 24-15 record in his regular season and playoff play.
The Warriors and Vipers will do battle in Game #5 of their best-of-seven Interior Conference Quarter Final series at Royal LePage Place on Friday night. Tickets are available for purchase online at the Warriors website as well as in-person at the Box Office ahead of the opening puck drop.
