The West Kelowna Warriors (20-10-4-0) return from the BC Hockey League’s All-Star Break looking to keep their winning ways going as they host the Merritt Centennials (10-22-3-1) on Wednesday night 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 (7:00 PM)
Monday, February 20th @ Royal LePage Place (2:30 PM)
Sunday, February 26th @ Royal LePage Place (2:30 PM)
Saturday, March 4th @ Nicola Valley Memorial Arena (7:00 PM)
Friday, March 24th @ Royal LePage Place (7:00 PM)
The Warriors came into the 12-day break on a four-game win streak including a 6-4 triumph over the Centennials in their final game before the break on Saturday, January 14th at the Nicola Valley Memorial Arena in Merritt. Six different goal scorers in Felix Caron, Brennan Nelson, Michael Salandra, Luke Devlin, Ben MacDonald and Jaiden Moriello came together for the win. Angelo Zol turned aside 20 of the 24 shots on goal he faced on the night in earning his 5th win of the season.
Warriors Leading Scorers:
Jaiden Moriello (19-12-31)
Ben MacDonald (13-14-27)
Rylee Hlusiak (8-19-27)
Isaiah Norlin (3-23-26)
Michael Salandra (10-14-24)
The Warriors have yet to lose in the New Year, boasting four consecutive wins to begin the 2023 portion of the season. West Kelowna have outscored their opponents by a 19-12 margin over the course of those four contests and will look to pick up their 13th win on home ice this season before heading on a long road trip. The Warriors will spend the next seven games away from home following Wednesday night’s action, not returning to Royal LePage Place until February 18th against the Trail Smoke Eaters.
Warriors forward Jaiden Moriello represented the organization at the BCHL’s All-Star Game last weekend while also playing the Top Prospects Game on Friday night at the South Okanagan Events Centre where he registered an assist. The University of Massachusetts-Lowell commit comes back from the break having scored in four of his last five games, posting 5 goals and 2 assists for 7 points while leading the team in points this season with 31, including his 19 goals which ranks him tied for 6th in the BCHL.
A goal in Merritt on January 14th extended the goal scoring stretch for forward Luke Devlin to three games and his point streak to four games with a marker in that contest. The Cornell University commit has posted three goals and three assists for six points in his four game point streak, including two of those games being multi-point games. This stretch of play marks the third time this season he has carried a point streak of four games or more.
The Merritt Centennials come into Wednesday night’s contest falling in their last game to the Warriors by a 6-4 score at the NVMA. Mark Thurston scored twice in the contest while Jonathan Wong and Erik Sollied each found the back of the net in the losing effort. Johnny Hicks made 50 saves for the second consecutive game, turning aside 50 of the 55 shots thrown his way in his 8th loss of the season.
Centennials Scoring Leaders:
Jaxson Murray (14-19-33)
Jackson Krill (14-14-28)
Christian Lowe (10-13-23)
Connor Farren (5-8-13)
Diego Johnson (7-5-12)
Following the Trade Deadline and seeing former captain Davide Patella shipping, the Centennials named veteran forward Christian Lowe the team’s new captain and hse has relished in that role on the ice, producing points in three consecutive games and five of his last six contests. The Port Moody, BC native has two goals and four assists for six points over his last six games, including a pair of helpers in the final game before the All-Star Break against the Warriors.
No one in the BCHL has faced more rubber than Merritt netminder Johnny Hicks, who has seen 936 shots come his way in 23 games this season. Langley Rivermen goaltender Ajeet Gundarah has come close, seeing 931 pucks at him but he has played 5 more games at 28. Hicks, a Kamloops, BC native, was a late fill in for the Top Prospects Game last week in Penticton and made 18 saves on 20 shots in the contest while being goalie partners with Warriors netminder Justin Katz. Hicks’ .919 save percentage ranks him 6th in the league in that department.
The Warriors and Centennials play the third of their seven-game season series tonight in West Kelowna with puck drop slated for 7:00 PM from Royal LePage Place. Tickets are available for purchase at the Warriors Office as well as online at westkelownawarriors.ca.
