PHOTO: Lisa Mazurek
The West Kelowna Warriors see their Interior Conference Quarter Finals series shift to the North Okanagan for Game #3 against the Vernon Vipers on Tuesday night from Kal Tire Place with the series tied 1-1.
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 (7:00 PM)
Game #4: Wednesday, April 5th @ Kal Tire Place (7:00 PM)
Game #5: Friday, April 7th @ Royal LePage Place (7:00 PM)
*Game #6: Saturday, April 9th @ Kal Tire Place (5:00 PM)
*Game #7: Monday, April 11th @ Royal LePage Place (7:00 PM)
*- If Necessary
The series moves to the North Okanagan following the Vipers handing the Warriors a 5-4 loss in Game #2 on Saturday night at Royal LePage Place. Brennan Nelson, Chris Duclair, Isaiah Norlin and Jaiden Moriello each found the back of the net in the defeat for West Kelowna while Cayden Hamming turned aside 24 of the 29 shots thrown his way in his 1st loss of the playoffs.
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 (2-3-5)
Brennan Nelson (2-2-4)
Isaiah Norlin (1-3-4)
Riley Sharun (0-3-3)
Jaiden Moriello (2-0-2)
Since February 18th, just two games have featured no points from Warriors forward Chris Duclair who, dating back to the regular season, has earned points in each of his last seven games. The 20-year-old RIT commit has been outstanding in the playoffs thus far, posting 2 goals and 3 assists for 5 points in the opening two games of the series, including a three-point effort in Game #2 on Saturday. The Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Quebec native has registered 6 goals and 5 assists for 11 points during his seven consecutive games with at least a point.
The start of the playoffs has been a strong one for Brennan Nelson as well as the veteran forward was selected, along with Duclair and defender Isaiah Norlin, as honourable mentions for the BC Hockey League’s 3 Stars of the Week. The Penticton, BC native has 7 goals and 12 points in 16 career playoff games while opening up the series against the Vipers with four points in two games. Vernon has been a team that Nelson has had success against in the playoffs as in 7 meetings against the Vipers, Nelson has registered 3 goals and 6 assists for 9 points in that span.
Special teams will always play an impact in any game but in playoff games, that statements rings much truer and the special teams battle has gone the Warriors way over the first two games of the series. After going 2-for-25 against a Vernon power play that ranked 1st in the league at 85.5% in the regular season, West Kelowna is operating at 50% through the opening two games, going 4-for-8 in Games 1 and 2. The Warriors are tied at the top of the power play percentage with the Langley Rivermen through the opening weekend and a day of playoff hockey.
The Vipers will look to keep their winning ways going in the series following their 5-4 triumph in Game #2 of the Interior Conference Quarter Final series. Thomas Tien and Lee Parks each notched a pair of goals while Connor Welsh scored a single marker in the Vipers win as the team turned to Ethan David in goal, who made 24 saves on 28 shots in his 1st playoff victory.
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 (3-1-4)
Hank Cleaves (1-2-3)
Thomas Tien (2-0-2)
Anthony Cliché (0-2-2)
Connor Elliott (0-2-2)
Once again, it was Lee Parks who dominated the offensive attack for the Vipers in Game #2 as the team’s leading scorer throughout the course of the regular season showed strongly again on Saturday night, scoring twice including the game-winning marker in the 3rd period to help his team to victory. The Stittsville, Ontario had 4 goals and 7 points in the 5 regular season meetings between the Vipers and Warriors and has paced the scoring for his club in the playoffs with 3 goals and an assist for 4 points thus far in the series. The UMass-Lowell commit is tied for 2nd in the league in playoff goal scoring with his 3 tallies this postseason.
Offense came come in many ways and for the Vipers, part of that has been from their blueline. Anthony Cliché and Connor Elliott have combined for 4 assists (a pair each) through the opening part of this series and bring plenty of veteran presence to the backend. Cliché played four games last year in the teams playoff series and has suited up in 66 games over the last two seasons while Elliott has gotten into 123 regular season games between the Penticton Vees, Prince George Spruce Kings, Cowichan Valley Capitals and Vipers before working in 6 playoff games after suiting up in 4 a season ago with the Caps.
Home ice advantage was fought for for plenty of reason in the regular season as there has been a large split of teams records when playing at home versus on the road. The Vipers are no different, possessing the 5th best home record in the league in the regular season, going 18-6-1-2 on home ice and hold an 8-3 record in 11 home games in 2023, including winning their last four games of the regular season at Kal Tire Place.
The Warriors and Vipers will do battle in Game #3 of their Interior Conference Quarter Finals series tonight at Kal Tire Place with a 7:00 PM puck drop. The game will be broadcasted live on the Warriors Broadcast Network (mixlr.com/bchlwarriors) as well as streamed online on BCHLTV.ca.
The series will shift back to West Kelowna with Game #5 of the Interior Conference Quarter Finals against the Vernon Vipers taking place on Friday night at Royal LePage Place. Tickets are now on sale and available for purchase online on the Warriors website as well as in-person at the Warriors Office, located at 2768 Warriors Place.
