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GAME PREVIEW: Warriors Conclude Weekend With Visit To Chiefs

PHOTO: Julie Pringle/Snap Photography

The West Kelowna Warriors close out their three-game weekend trip with a matchup against the Chilliwack Chiefs on Sunday evening at the Prospera Centre.

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Warriors vs. Chiefs 2017/18 Schedule:

Saturday, September 30th @ Royal LePage Place (6-0 Warriors) (BOXSCORE)

Sunday, February 11th @ Prospera Centre (5:00 PM)

The Warriors and Chiefs conclude their two-game season set with their matchup tonight in Chilliwack with West Kelowna looking to sweep the series after a 6-0 victory back in late September. Cavin Tilsley scored twice in the game while Willie Reim, Peter Tomaras, Michael Ryan and Jake Harrison added singles in the Warriors win. Cole Demers turned aside all 22 shots he faced in the game for his first career BCHL shutout.

West Kelowna comes into Sunday evening’s game looking to finish their three-game weekend off on a high note after a 5-3 loss to the Powell River Kings on Saturday night at the Hap Parker Arena. Chase Stevenson, Willie Reim and Michael Ryan scored the goals for West Kelowna while Cole Demers stopped 28 of the 33 shots he faced in the game in his 10th loss of the season.

Warriors Leading Scorers:

Jared Marino (18-32-51)

Chase Dubois (18-31-49)

Ryan Steele (16-29-45)

RJ Murphy (19-22-41)

Michael Ryan (6-34-40)

Ryan Steele continued to add to his point streak as the Warriors forward is now up to an eight-game point streak with an assist on Saturday night. The Sacred Heart University commit has registered 8 goals and 15 points during that eight-game stretch and now has 17 points in 13 games since being acquired by West Kelowna.

The Warriors play their final game against a Mainland Division opponent on Sunday evening and The Tribe have had lots of success against them this season, holding a 9-1-0-0 record against Mainland Division foes. West Kelowna is 4-1-0-0 when playing on the road against the Mainland so far this season including a victory over the Chiefs earlier this season.

Nik Amundrud will get the start in goal for the Warriors in the Sunday matinee and the 20-year-old netminder has not received a loss since January 16th against the Vernon Vipers, a span of seven games. In that time, the Melfort, Saskatchewan native holds a 5-0 record to go along with a 2.38 GAA and a .929 SV% in those seven appearances.

The Chilliwack Chiefs come into Sunday evening’s affair with a 23-21-3-3 record and sit in 4th place in the BCHL’s Mainland Division after a 3-2 victory over the Surrey Eagles on Friday night at home. PJ Marrocco scored twice in the game for the Chiefs, who battled from a one-goal deficit heading into the 3rd period before getting the game winning goal from Jared Turcotte with 2:00 remaining in the game. Daniel Chenard made 25 saves on 27 shots for his 7th win of the season in between the pipes for Chilliwack.

Chiefs Leading Scorers:

Will Calverley (14-24-38)

Tommy Lee (17-18-35)

Corey Andonovski (14-20-34)

Bryan Allbee (8-20-28)

Kaden Pickering (13-13-26)

PJ Marrocco led the charge offensively for Chilliwack on Friday and has been very good for the Chiefs since being acquired from the Bonnyville Pontiacs of the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL). The Edmonton, Alberta native has scored 9 goals and 17 points in his 20 games with the Chiefs and has boosted Chilliwack’s offensive attack.

One of the areas of success for the Chiefs this season has been the penalty kill. Chilliwack ranks 3rd in the BCHL with an 85.1% PK percentage and also is 3rd in the league in home penalty killing at 86.4%. The PK went 2/2 in Friday’s win over Surrey but has allowed a goal against in three of their last four games.

The Chiefs have been a strong home team this season, owning a 14-8-2-1 record and have a +14-goal differential at Prospera Centre. In addition to that, Chilliwack has won three of their last four games on home ice, scoring 11 goals in that four-game span while surrendering 11 markers as well.

The Warriors and Chiefs drop the puck at 5:00 PM this evening with the pre-game getting underway at 4:45 PM on the Warriors Internet Network and HockeyTV.com with the Voice of the Warriors, Trevor Miller.

West Kelowna is back on home ice on Saturday, February 17th when the Warriors host the Victoria Grizzlies on Pastor Don Richmond’s 9th annual Faith Night. With plenty of local churches filling the seats and great raffle prizes to be won, it’s one of the most exciting nights of the season. The Warriors will also be hosting their annual team awards immediately after the final buzzer. Tickets are available online at wkw.goticketpro.com, at the Warriors office, by calling (250) 769-7051 or at the box office one hour prior to the opening face-off.