The West Kelowna Warriors (3-1-2-0) return to home ice as they will host the Wenatchee Wild (1-3-0-1) for the second time this season on Friday night at Royal LePage Place.
REGULAR SEASON SCHEDULE vs. WENATCHEE
Friday, September 30th @ Royal LePage Place (7-4 Warriors) (BOXSCORE)
Friday, October 14th @ Royal LePage Place (7:00 PM)
Friday, October 21st @ Town Toyota Center (7:05 PM)
Saturday, November 12th @ Town Toyota Center (6:05 PM)
Saturday, December 11th @ Town Toyota Center (6:05 PM)
The Warriors come into their one-game weekend against the Wild following a pair of overtime setbacks, including a 4-3 loss in extra time to the Trail Smoke Eaters on Saturday night at Cominco Arena. Alexi Van Houtte-Cachero, Jaiden Moriello and Jake Bernadet each found the back of the net for the Warriors while Cayden Hamming made his first start for West Kelowna, turning aside 34 of the 38 shots he faced in his first overtime setback of the season.
West Kelowna will see Wenatchee a lot in the opening month of the BC Hockey League season, playing host to the Wild for the second time and will travel south of the border in one week as well. The Warriors were victorious in their home opener against Wenatchee by a 7-4 score on September 30th as Jaiden Moriello potted a pair of goals in the win. Alexi Van Houtte-Cachero, Rylee Hlusiak, Isaiah Norlin, Michael Salandra and Matt Fusco each scored as well while Justin Katz made 27 saves on 31 shots for the win in net.
Warriors Leading Scorers:
Michael Salandra (2-6-8)
Brennan Nelson (2-4-6)
Rylee Hlusiak (1-5-6)
Nolan Hayes (0-6-6)
Isaiah Norlin (2-3-5)
West Kelowna rounded out their leadership group on Friday, adding four assistant captains to join captain Aiden Reeves to guide the team this season. Three returning players will don the ‘A’ on their sweater this season, with Riley Sharun, Alexi Van Houtte-Cachero and Brennan Nelson as veterans who were named to the leadership group. One newcoming forward, Chris Duclair, was also named as an assistant captain as well.
Despite the two overtime setbacks on the weekend, the Warriors have seen solid production from their offense, ranking third in the league in goals for, tallying 23 markers on the campaign. Jaiden Moriello has helped with that, who is tied with Matt Fusco for the team lead with 3 markers on the season and tallied a goal and an assist on Saturday night in Trail. The University of Massachusetts-Lowell commit has played well against the Wild the last time these two teams met, scoring a pair of goals in the Warriors 7-4 victory.
The Wenatchee Wild make their way into the weekend after seeing the same teams as the Warriors last weekend, just in reverse order. The Wild fell by a 7-4 score to the Smoke Eaters on Friday night before earning their first win of the season on Saturday at Western Financial Place with a 3-1 victory. Ean Somoza, Michael Valdez and Cade Littler each found the back of the net in the win while Andy Vlaha turned aside 27 of the 28 shots thrown his way in his first win of the season.
Wild Leading Scorers:
Gabe Dombrowski (3-4-7)
Jonathan Horn (3-4-7)
Cade Littler (4-2-6)
Christian Kim (2-4-6)
Ean Somoza (1-4-5)
Playing in his second full season in the league, Wild forward Cade Littler is starting to fin d his offensive groove after the East Wenatchee, WA native was selected in the 7th round of the National Hockey League Entry Draft by the Calgary Flames. The University of Minnesota0 State-Mankato commit leads the team with 4 goals in 5 games this season, including tyhree over the weekend and the empty net tally to seal the victory on Saturday night.
With points in three of his last four games, newcomer Jonathan Horn is tied atop the Wild’s leading scorers to begin the season, including a big four-point effort the last time Wenatchee visited West Kelowna on September 30th. The Southbury, CT native joined the Wild from the El Paso Rhinos of the North American Hockey League (NAHL), where he put together an 18-goal season along with 45 points in 59 games a year ago.
The Warriors and Wild will duke it out for the second of five times this season at Royal LePage Place on Friday night. Puck drop is slated for 7:00 PM with tickets available for purchase online at westkelownawarriors.ca or by visiting the Warriors Office at 2768 Warriors Place as well as at the Box Office ahead of the game.
