The West Kelowna Warriors (26-20-6-0) play their final regular season home game as they host the Merritt Centennials (12-35-3-2) on Fan Appreciation Night on Friday at Royal LePage Place.
REGULAR SEASON SCHEDULE VS. MERRITT
Saturday, November 5th @ Nicola Valley Memorial Arena (8-1 Warriors) (BOXSCORE)
Saturday, January 14th @ Nicola Valley Memorial Arena (6-4 Warriors) (BOXSCORE)
Wednesday, January 25th @ Royal LePage Place (4-3 Warriors/SO) (BOXSCORE)
Monday, February 20th @ Royal LePage Place (9-1 Warriors) (BOXSCORE)
Sunday, February 26th @ Royal LePage Place (7-1 Warriors) (BOXSCORE)
Saturday, March 4th @ Nicola Valley Memorial Arena (5-4 Centennials/OT) (BOXSCORE)
Friday, March 24th @ Royal LePage Place (7:00 PM)
The Warriors come into the game on Friday looking to earn a victory following a 5-4 overtime loss to the Nanaimo Clippers on Saturday night at Royal LePage Place. Chris Duclair scored twice in the game while Jake Bernadet and Rylee Hlusiak tallied singles in the losing effort. Angelo Zol turned aside 2 of the 4 shots he faced in the start before being relieved by Cayden Hamming, who made 30 saves on 33 shots in his 3rd overtime defeat of the season.
West Kelowna and Merritt will meet for the final time in the regular season with the Centennials earning the win in a 5-4 fashion in overtime in early March at the Nicola Valley Memorial Arena. Chris Duclair, Ben MacDonald, Rylee Hlusiak and Luke Devlin all scored for the Warriors, who trailed 4-0 in the game, before falling in overtime. Angelo Zol started in the game, making 7 saves on 11 shots before Cayden Hamming came on with 12 saves in 13 shots in the overtime loss.
Warriors Leading Scorers:
Jaiden Moriello (23-25-48)
Ben MacDonald (22-25-47)
Rylee Hlusiak (19-26-45)
Isaiah Norlin (5-36-41)
Brennan Nelson (11-25-36)
Warriors forward Chris Duclair has provided West Kelowna with a steady dose of goal scoring over the course of the last 9 games and enters play with markers in each of his last three games. The RIT commit has registered 9 goals in his last 9 games, including 5 goals in 6 games in the month of March. The Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Quebec native has tallied multi-goal outings twice in his last 9 games while also leading the team with 2 shorthanded goals this season.
20-year-old forward Rylee Hlusiak, along with Duclair, is playing in his final weekend of regular season action and will look to help West Kelowna push for home ice advantage in the playoffs. The Sacred Heart University commit has posted points in 9 of his last 10 games played, including goals in 6 of those contests. The Barrie, Ontario native has registered 7 goals and 4 assists for 11 points during that 9-game stretch while also posting a goal and assist in Saturday’s game against the Clippers.
With a jammed Interior Conference standings in the BC Hockey League, the recipe is simple for the Warriors: win both weekend games and home ice advantage is theirs in the opening round of the playoffs. West Kelowna sits in 4th place to begin the weekend and holds tiebreakers over Prince George, Vernon and Wenatchee, who are separated by just one point coming into Friday’s action.
The Merritt Centennials come into Friday night’s contest following a 10-0 loss to the Penticton Vees on Saturday night at the South Okanagan Events Centre. The Cents were shutout for the sixth time while Conor Sullivan turned aside 61 of the 71 shots in faced in the game in his 18th loss of the season.
Centennials Scoring Leaders:
Jaxson Murray (20-23-43)
Jackson Krill (18-18-36)
Christian Lowe (13-18-31)
Diego Johnson (11-7-18)
Connor Farren (6-12-18)
Veteran forward Jackson Krill is looking to finish his season on a strong note in the final weekend of the regular season. The University of Vermont commit has registered points in 8 of his last 10 games, including 4 goals in that span. One of those goals from the Port Moody, BC native came against the Warriors back on March 4th but has not seen game action since March 10th against the Wenatchee Wild.
The Warriors conclude their regular season home schedule with their matchup against Merritt on Friday night at 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 the opening puck drop.
