The West Kelowna Warriors open up an exhibition home and home series against the Merritt Centennials that begins at Royal LePage Place on Friday night.
Warriors Preseason Schedule:
Wednesday, August 23rd vs. Penticton Vees @ Royal LePage Place (6-3 Vees)
Friday, August 25th vs. Merritt Centennials @ Royal LePage Place (7:00 PM)
Saturday, August 26th vs. Merritt Centennials @ Nicola Valley Memorial Arena (7:00 PM)
Wednesday, August 30th vs. Penticton Vees @ South Okanagan Events Centre (7:00 PM)
Friday, September 1st vs. Salmon Arm Silverbacks @ Shaw Centre (7:00 PM)
Saturday, September 2nd vs. Salmon Arm Silverbacks @ Royal LePage Place (7:00 PM)
Warriors vs. Centennials 2017/18 Regular Season Schedule:
Saturday, September 16th @ Royal LePage Place (7:00 PM)
Sunday, October 29th @ Nicola Valley Memorial Arena (2:00 PM)
Friday, November 24th @ Royal LePage Place (7:00 PM)
Friday, December 1st @ Nicola Valley Memorial Arena (7:00 PM)
Saturday, February 3rd @ Royal LePage Place (7:00 PM)
Friday, February 24th @ Nicola Valley Memorial Arena (7:00 PM)
West Kelowna is coming off of a 6-3 loss on Wednesday night against the Penticton Vees at RLP in their exhibition opener. Ryan Cooper, Ryan Ostin and Max Bulawka all scored in the game for the Warriors with Cooper’s tally being the nicest on the net, dangling a defender on the right wing and sniping a shot on the glove side for the Warriors opening goal of the game. Carlos Siso and Reilly Morgan split the game in goal for the Warriors with each facing 15 shots in the defeat.
The Warriors and Cents met twice in the preseason last year with each team earning a victory in a home-and-home set as well. West Kelowna opened the two-game exhibition set with a victory at RLP before the scene shifted to Merritt where the Cents picked up a victory of their own to end the preseason set between the two clubs.
These two teams know each other quite well dating back to last season as the Warriors and Centennials, playing in nine head-to-head games including two preseason contests and a four-game playoff series in which the Centennials swept the Warriors in the opening round of the BCHL playoffs. Merritt lead the season series between the two teams by a 5-4 margin over the course of those nine games.
The Warriors lineup will have a bit more of a familiar look for tonight’s contest than it did in the opening game on Wednesday night against Penticton. A total of six players from last year’s squad will be suiting up for the Warriors for the first time in 2017/18 as forwards Chase Stevenson, Parm Dhaliwal, Chase Dubois and Cavin Tilsley will be in the lineup. Defenseman Jake Harrison and Stephen Kleysen also get into their first action of the exhibition season.
Another new face to done a Warriors uniform will be 18-year-old forward Matt Kowalski, who West Kelowna acquired over the summer from the Salmon Arm Silverbacks in exchange for 20-year-old forward Logan Mostat. In 56 career BCHL games, the Kelowna, B.C. native has scored 9 goals and earned 16 points with the Nanaimo Clippers over the course of the last season and a half. Kowalski did show big offensive potential while playing for the Okanagan Rockets of the BC Major Midget League, scoring 17 goals and tallying 42 points in just 23 games before being signed by the Clippers mid-season.
For the second game in a row, the Warriors will split the duties in the crease as 18-year-old Billy Girard will get the start for the Warriors and 16-year-old Carlos Siso will play the second half of the game. Girard spent the 2016/17 season with the Selects Hockey Academy’s U18 team while Siso was a member of the Calgary Buffaloes Hockey Association (CBHA) Minor Midget Rangers program.
Puck drop is slated for 7:00 PM for tonight’s contest with tickets just $5.00 and the game also being available live on the Warriors Internet Network as well as HockeyTV.com with a short pre-game show beginning at 6:55 PM with the voice of the Warriors Trevor Miller.
2017/18 Warriors season tickets are now available, along with news of the brand-new Booster Club! For more information, head down to the Warriors office or contact Kim or Alex at (250) 769-7051.
The Warriors are also looking for food and beverage servers to enhance our in-game experience at Royal LePage Place! To learn more information and on how to apply, please call Director of Business Operations Alex Draper at (250) 575-2400 or email him at alex@westkelownawarriors.ca.
