The West Kelowna Warriors (13-6-2-0) are back on home ice as they host their annual Teddy Bear Toss game against the Vernon Vipers (9-10-0-3) on Friday night at Royal LePage Place.
REGULAR SEASON SCHEDULE VS. VERNON
Friday, November 4th @ Royal LePage Place (4-3 Warriors) (BOXSCORE)
Tuesday, November 8th @ Royal LePage Place (4-3 Warriors/SO) (BOXSCORE)
Friday, December 2nd @ Royal LePage Place (7:00 PM)
Friday, December 16th @ Kal Tire Place (7:00 PM)
Saturday, February 11th @ Kal Tire Place (6:00 PM)
West Kelowna comes into Friday night’s Teddy Bear Toss game following a weekend in Prince George and earning a 4-3 triumph over the Spruce Kings on Saturday night at the Kopar Memorial Arena. Alexi Van Houtte-Cachero, Riley Sharun, Aiden Reeves and Luke Devlin all found the back of the net in the win while Justin Katz turned aside 27 of the 30 shots thrown his way in his 11th win of the season.
The Warriors have won each of the first two games of the season series against the Vipers this season, both by 4-3 scores and the last on November 8th being in a shootout at RLP. Brennan Nelson, Ben MacDonald and Jaiden Moriello each scored in regulation before MacDonald scored the lone goal in the shootout for the win. Justin Katz made 37 saves on 40 shots in between the pipes for the Warriors in the victory.
Warriors Leading Scorers:
Jaiden Moriello (12-9-21)
Isaiah Norlin (2-16-18)
Michael Salandra (7-9-16)
Ben MacDonald (7-8-15)
Brennan Nelson (6-9-15)
Friday marks the Warriors annual Teddy Bear Toss game, a fan favourite that supports a great cause. Fans are encouraged to bring new or gently used stuffed animals to toss on the ice following the Warriors first goal of the game. The stuffies will be donated to senior homes in West Kelowna as well as the Toy Mountain event at Orchard Park mall from December 8-10 and benefitting the Salvation Army. PetSmart will also be on hand at the game as they will be selling stuffed animals by donation with the game being presented by Kelowna Ford Lincoln, who are supplying trucks for the clean up of the ice and stuffies.
Carrying a five-game point streak into Friday night’s action, Warriors defender Isaiah Norlin went just one game in the month of November without a point. The Clarkson University commit has registered 5 assists during his 5-game point streak and has collected points in 8 of his last 9 games played.
One key for the Warriors and their strong success this season has been their ability to play with a lead and hold onto it. West Kelowna has scored first in 14 of their 21 games this season and hold a record of 10-2-2-0 when doing so and rank tied with the Nanaimo Clippers for scoring first the most this season. West Kelowna also holds a very strong 6-1-1-0 record when leading after the 1st period and are 10-0-1-0 when leading after 40 minutes of play.
The Vernon Vipers enter the game on Friday night looking to remain in the win column following a 4-0 shutout victory over the Langley Rivermen on Saturday night at Kal Tire Place. Thomas Tien, Connor Elliott, Reagan Millburn and Lee Parks each scored in the game while Roan Clarke turned aside all of the 18 shots thrown his way in his 5th win of the season and 3rd career shutout performance.
Vipers Leading Scorers:
Reagan Millburn (9-8-17)
Lee Parks (7-9-16)
Luke Pakulak (6-10-16)
Jonathan Horn (6-7-13)
Hank Cleaves (3-10-13)
No team in the BC Hockey League has done more moving and shifting than the Vipers and General Manager and Head Coach Jason McKee, who have made plenty of roster moves before the month of December. One of the latest additions to the team comes in the way of Ethan Sundar, who was acquired form the Cranbrook Bucks, and seems to have taken a strong liking to Vernon. The St. Albert, Alberta native has an assist in each of his first two games with the club following a start to the season with the Bucks where the 19-year-old registered 2 goals and 8 assists for 10 points in 17 games played.
One of the leading scorers against West Kelowna for Vernon this season has been Reagan Millburn, who is currently leading the Vipers in points. The Lake Superior State commit comes into Friday having registered a goal in each of his last three games, earning 3 goals and 3 assists for 6 points during that time. The Kamloops, BC native has scored in bunches all throughout the season with three sepeate occasions where Millburn had goal scoring streaks of 2 and 3 games.
The Warriors and Vipers drop the puck on the third of their five-game season series on Friday night at RLP. A reminder it is Teddy Bear Toss night and tickets are available at the westkelownawarriors.ca as well as at the Warriors Office and Box Office ahead of the game.
