The West Kelowna Warriors (26-17-5-0) begin a five-game home stand to conclude their regular season home schedule as they host the Prince George Spruce Kings (24-19-4-1) on Friday night at Royal LePage Place.
REGULAR SEASON SCHEDULE VS. PRINCE GEORGE
Friday, November 25th @ Kopar Memorial Arena (2-1 Spruce Kings) (BOXSCORE)
Saturday, November 26th @ Kopar Memorial Arena (4-3 Warriors) (BOXSCORE)
Wednesday, December 7th @ Royal LePage Place (6-3 Warriors) (BOXSCORE)
Friday, January 13th @ Royal LePage Place (4-3 Warriors) (BOXSCORE)
Friday, March 10th @ Royal LePage Place (7:00 PM)
West Kelowna comes into the weekend after a depleted lineup took to the ice last Saturday against the Merritt Centennials at the Nicola Valley Memorial Arena where the Warriors erased a four-goal deficit but fell by a 5-4 score in overtime. Chris Duclair, Ben MacDonald, Rylee Hlusiak and Luke Devlin each scored in the contest while Angelo Zol started the game, making 7 saves on 11 shots before Cayden Hamming came on in relief, turning aside 12 of the 13 shots he faced in his 1st overtime loss of the season.
The Warriors and Spruce Kings will play the final of their five-game season series with West Kelowna having won three games thus far, including a 4-3 triumph in the teams’ last meeting in mid-January at Royal LePage Place. Jake Bernadet, Rylee Hlusiak, Ben MacDonald and Luke Devlin each found the back of the net in the win while Cayden Hamming turned aside 27 of the 30 shots thrown his way for the victory in between the pipes.
Warriors Leading Scorers:
Jaiden Moriello (23-23-46)
Ben MacDonald (21-21-42)
Rylee Hlusiak (16-24-40)
Isaiah Norlin (4-33-37)
Michael Salandra (15-18-33)
With goals in three consecutive games, Warriors forward Ben MacDonald rides a hot streak into the weekend’s action and looks to continue on his strong play since returning from the Holiday break in January. The 3rd round selection of the Seattle Kraken in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, MacDonald has registered 11 goals and 8 assists for 19 points in 19 games since December 30th and the Harvard University commit carries a five-game point streak into Friday night’s contest, posting 3 goals and 5 assists for 8 points in that span.
Another Warrior who comes into the weekend playing strong hockey is forward Rylee Hlusiak, who carries a six-game point streak into action on Friday. The Sacred Heart University commit has scored in four of his last five games while possessing 4 goals and 3 assists for 7 points over his six consecutive games with a point. The Barrie, Ontario native has found a spot on the power play as well, holding goals on the man advantage in two of his last three games.
West Kelowna is set to begin a stretch with five of their last six games coming on home ice, the second longest home stand they will play this season after their previous one came just a few weeks ago, spanning from February 18th – March 3rd. Playing on home ice and at RLP has been a huge advantage for the Warriors, who own a 17-5-0-0 record in their home rink and possess a power play that has been strong in the confines of RLP, scoring 24 times on 89 attempts and operating at 27.0% while scoring a power play goal in four of their last five home games.
The Prince George Spruce Kings come into the game on Friday night following a win and a loss in a weekend at home against the Vernon Vipers, concluding with a 3-0 shutout defeat on Saturday night at Kopar Memorial Arena. The blanking was the third suffered by the Spruce Kings this season while Jordan Fairlie turned aside 18 of the 21 shots thrown his way in his 13th loss of the season.
Spruce Kings Scoring Leaders:
John Herrington (20-22-42)
Kilian McGregor-Bennett (9-25-34)
Ty Gagno (16-16-32)
Austin Fraser (10-22-32)
Jake Schneider (17-14-31)
A veteran of 113 BC Hockey League games, third-year Spruce Kings defender Ben LeFranc has been a key piece of the Prince George blueline for this season. The Penticton, BC native has posted 10 goals and 31 assists for 41 points during his tenure with the Spruce Kings and has been added offense from the back end in a big way over the last handful of games, collecting 2 goals and 3 assists for 5 points over his last 7 games.
The Warriors and Spruce Kings will play the fifth of their five-game season series on Friday night at Royal LePage Place. Fans are reminded to bring a non-perishable food item to the game as part of Valley First’s Feed The Valley initiative. Puck drop is slated for 7:00 PM with tickets available for purchase online on the Warriors website as well as in-person at the Box Office ahead of puck drop.
