The West Kelowna Warriors (16-8-4-0) close out their pre-holiday schedule as they take on their Highway 97 rivals in the Penticton Vees (26-2-0-0) on Saturday night at Royal LePage Place.
REGULAR SEASON SCHEDULE VS. PENTICTON
Saturday, October 1st @ Royal LePage Place (10-3 Vees) (BOXSCORE)
Friday, October 28th @ Royal LePage Place (4-1 Vees) (BOXSCORE)
Friday, November 18th @ South Okanagan Events Centre (11-2 Vees) (BOXSCORE)
Saturday, December 3rd @ South Okanagan Events Centre (3-2 Vees/OT) (BOXSCORE)
Friday, December 17th @ Royal LePage Place (7:00 PM)
Friday, December 30th @ South Okanagan Events Centre (7:00 PM)
Friday, February 17th @ South Okanagan Events Centre (7:00 PM)
West Kelowna comes into Saturday night’s contest looking to make it back-to-back wins ahead of the holiday break following a 5-1 victory over the Vernon Vipers on Friday night at Kal Tire Place. Five different goal scorers in Felix Caron, Matt Fusco, Ben MacDonald, Jake Bernadet and Michael Salandra came together for the Warriors in the win while Justin Katz made 23 saves on 24 shots in collecting his 12th win of the season.
The Warriors and Vees are set to play in the fifth of their seven game season series and the final meeting of the regular season between the two sides from Royal LePage Place following an overtime game in the last matchup between the two sides. Dylan Brooks and Rylee Hlusiak scored as the Warriors dropped a 3-2 decision to the then undefeated Vees at the SOEC back in the middle of November. Angelo Zol was terrific in goal as he made 33 saves on 36 shots in the overtime defeat on that night.
Warriors Leading Scorers:
Jaiden Moriello (14-10-24)
Rylee Hlusiak (7-16-23)
Ben MacDonald (10-12-22)
Isaiah Norlin (3-19-22)
Felix Caron (9-11-20)
Saturday night is the final game of the calendar year for the Warriors on home ice as they finish their 2022 year at Royal LePage Place just as they begun it with a visit from the Vees. West Kelowna won that New Year’s Day clash by a 4-3 score in a shootout to begin what would be a very strong year on home ice for the Warriors, posting a 23-9-1-0 record coming into their final home game of 2022 while outscoring their opposition by a 151-110 margin over those 33 home games.
A pair of point streaks continued for the Warriors on Friday night in Vernon as forwards Luke Devlin and Rylee Hlusiak continued to find the scoresheet. Devlin, a Memphis, Tennessee product, has produced points in five consecutive games, scoring a goal while adding six assists for seven points in that span. Sacred Heart commit Hlusiak has registered a point in each of his last four contests, posting two goals and five assists for seven points in that time.
Scoing in back-to-back games from the blue line has Warriors defender Matt Fusco to 8 goals on the season, ranking in a tie for 4th in team goal scoring while being knotted with Felix Caron forn first on the team with 4 power play tallies this season. The Dartmouth College commit has a goal and an assist in each of his last two games while collecting 3 goals and 3 assists for 6 points in his last 5 contests. A Westwood, Massachusetts native, Fusco ranks 3rd amongst blue liners with his 8 goals this season, trailing only Cranbrook’s Rhys Bentham and Powell River’s Jack Blanchett for most goals by a defenseman.
The Penticton Vees make their way into Saturday’s contest following their second straight win in a 7-2 victory over the Wenatchee Wild on Friday night at the South Okanagan Events Centre. Aydar Suniev recorded a hat trick in the game while Brett Moravec, Beanie Richter, Josh Niedermayer and Nic DeGraves added singles in the win. Hank Levy got the start in goal for the Vees, making 16 saves on 18 shots in his 8th win of the season.
Vees Leading Scorers:
Bradly Nadeau (26-27-53)
Josh Nadeau (16-37-53)
Aydar Suniev (19-23-42)
Brett Moravec (15-15-30)
Jackson Nieuwendyk (13-12-25)
What a week It has been for Vees forward Brett Moravec, who has collected five goals and an assist for six points in two games played following last night’s game. The University of Wisconsin commit put up a career-high 4 goals in the Vees 8-0 win over the Merritt Centennials on Wednesday night in the Nicola Valley while adding a goal and an assist to his totals last night in the win over the Wild. Out of the 17 games in which the Airdrie, Alberta native has earned points, Moravec has had 9 of those be multi-point contests.
After five two-goal games this season, Vees forward Aydar Suniev earned his first career BC Hockey League hat trick in the 7-2 victory over Wenatchee on Friday night. The University of Massachusetts-Amherst commit has three goals and two assists for five points so far in the week after a two-assist night in Merritt on Wednesday. Suniev has also posted two 5-point games this season and sits 3rd in league scoring with his 42 points while he trails teammate Bradly Nadeau for the league lead in goals as he sits at 19 with Nadeau settled at 26.
The Warriors and Vees will play in the fifth of their seven-game season series on Saturday night at RLP. Puck drop is slated for 7:00 PM and tickets can be purchased online on the Warriors website or in-person at the Box Office.
