The West Kelowna Warriors (26-16-4-0) will conclude their five-game home stand on Friday night and aim to inch closer to 2nd place in the Interior Conference as they take on the Cranbrook Bucks (30-13-1-2) at Royal LePage Place.
REGULAR SEASON SCHEDULE VS. CRANBROOK
Friday, October 7th @ Western Financial Place (4-3 Bucks/OT) (BOXSCORE)
Friday, December 9th @ Western Financial Place (5-2 Bucks) (BOXSCORE)
Friday, January 27th @ Western Financial Place (3-1 Bucks) (BOXSCORE)
Friday, March 3rd @ Royal LePage Place (7:00 PM)
Friday, March 17th @ Royal LePage Place (7:00 PM)
West Kelowna comes into the game on Friday night in search of their fifth consecutive win following a 7-1 triumph over the Merritt Centennials on Sunday afternoon at Royal LePage Place. Chris Duclair scored a pair of goals in the winning effort while Nic Porchetta, Brennan Nelson, Ben MacDonald, Michael Salandra and Riley Hlusiak added singles. Cayden Hamming stopped 13 of the 14 shots he faced in his 7th win of the season.
The Warriors welcome the Bucks to RLP for the first time this season and will try to earn their first victory against Cranbrook on the campaign after falling in three previous matchups, including a 3-1 loss in late January at Western Financial Place. Michael Salandra scored the lone goal in the game for the Warriors while Cayden Hamming turned aside 25 of the 28 shots thrown his way in the loss in between the pipes.
Warriors Leading Scorers:
Jaiden Moriello (23-22-45)
Ben MacDonald (19-21-40)
Rylee Hlusiak (15-23-38)
Isaiah Norlin (4-31-35)
Michael Salandra (15-18-33)
It’s been no secret the Warriors have loved playing on home ice this season and RLP has been a tough place for opponents to come into, especially in 2023. West Kelowna has not lost a game on their home ice in the New Year, posting an eight-game winning streak in that span. The Warriors have outscored their opposition by a 44-21 margin over the eight home ice contests and have no scored less than four goals in each game.
During that stretch of play on home ice, Warriors forward Jaiden Moriello has been just as explosive as the West Kelowna offence, notching points in each of his last five games. To better that stretch, the University of Massachusetts-Lowell commit has registered multi-point games in each of those contests, posting 4 goals and 7 assists for 11 points in that stretch.
The Warriors have been working through the injury bug late in the season but will welcome a friendly face back to the lineup for the first time since early November. Forward Matthew Lee will suit up for the first time in 29 games following an injury suffered in a January 12th game against the Wenatchee Wild. The rookie forward has posted a goal and four assists for five points in his 11 games played this season.
The Cranbrook Bucks enter play on Friday night following a 4-2 loss to the Salmon Arm Silverbacks on Saturday night on home ice at Western Financial Place. Noah Quinn and Donovan Frias each found the back of the net while Nathan Airey turned aside 34 of the 38 shots thrown his way in his 8th loss of the season.
Bucks Leading Scorers:
Rhys Bentham (13-25-38)
Jake Silich (21-16-37)
Donovan Frias (20-13-33)
Noah Quinn (17-16-33)
Nick Peluso (13-19-32)
Points from the blue line are always a valuable asset to have and the Bucks have utilized that in the way of their leading scorer, Rhys Bentham. Goal scoring has not been a problem for the Yale University commit, who leads all defenders in goals this season with his 13. The Calgary, Alberta product is tied for 4th in the league amongst blueliners with 38 points and brings 117 games of BCHL experience to the Bucks lineup.
Stinginess has been at the forefront of the Bucks attack this season, who are sitting in 2nd place in the Interior Conference with 30 wins and 63 points, 7 ahead of the Warriors. Cranbrook currently holds the second-least goals against in the league, allowing just 118 through 46 games this season, averaging just 2.56 goals against per contest. The Bucks also hold the 3rd best goal differential in the league, playing at +44 this season and trailing just Penticton (+155) and Surrey (+47) in that department.
The Warriors and Bucks play the fourth of their five-game season set from Royal LePage Place. Puck drop is slated for 7:00 PM with tickets available for purchase on the Warriors website as well as in-person at the Box Office ahead of tonight’s opening puck drop.
