PHOTO: Tami Quan
The West Kelowna Warriors look for a 2-0 series lead as they take on the Vernon Vipers in Game #2 of their best-of-seven Interior Conference Quarter Final on Saturday 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 (4-3 Warriors/SO) (BOXSCORE)
Friday, December 16th @ Kal Tire Place (5-1 Warriors) (BOXSCORE)
Saturday, February 11th @ Kal Tire Place (4-3 Vipers) (BOXSCORE)
FIRST ROUND SCHEDULE vs. VERNON
Game #1: Friday, March 31st @ Royal LePage Place (BOXSCORE)
Game #2: Saturday, April 1st @ Royal LePage Place (7:00 PM)
Game #3: Tuesday, April 4th @ Kal Tire Place (7:00 PM)
Game #4: Wednesday, April 5th @ Kal Tire Place (7:00 PM)
*Game #5: Friday, April 7th @ Royal LePage Place (7:00 PM)
*Game #6: Saturday, April 9th @ Kal Tire Place (5:00 PM)
*Game #7: Monday, April 11th @ Royal LePage Place (7:00 PM)
*- If Necessary
Friday night saw some great hockey played and an outstanding opening to the BCHL Playoffs as the Warriors skated away with a 4-3 victory over the Vipers at RLP. Brennan Nelson scored once as part of a three-point game while Jaiden Moriello, Nic Porchetta and Chris Duclair added markers in the win. Cayden Hamming turned aside 25 of the 28 shots thrown his way in his 1st career playoff victory.
Warriors Leading Scorers:
Jaiden Moriello (25-30-55)
Rylee Hlusiak (22-29-51)
Ben MacDonald (23-27-50)
Isaiah Norlin (6-38-44)
Brennan Nelson (12-28-40)
Warriors Playoff Leading Scorers:
Brennan Nelson (1-2-3)
Chris Duclair (1-1-2)
Isaiah Norlin (0-2-2)
Jaiden Moriello (1-0-1)
Nic Porchetta (1-0-1)
Concluding the regular season on a five-game point streak, including the linching shootout winning goal in Salmon Arm a week ago, and carried that into Friday’s playoff opener. The RIT commit registered four goals and two assists for six points over his season-ending five game point streak while the Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Quebec native added a goal and an assist in the Warriors Game #1 victory on Friday.
Following a strong playoff season last year, veteran forward Brennan Nelson posted a three-point effort in Game #1 on Friday night to help his team to the victory. The Penticton, BC native chipped in a goal with two assists for his three-point game after having a strong opening round against the Vipers a season ago, finishing the series with 4 goals and an assist for a 5-point effort.
After making 25 saves on 28 shots in a Game #1 win on Friday night, Warriors netminder Cayden Hamming has been a consistent presence over the last three games. The Vernon, BC native has posted a 1.95 goals against average and a .924 save percentage over those last three games, including his first career BCHL shutout on March 24th against the Merritt Centennials.
The Vernon Vipers come into Game #2 looking to earn a split in the series following the 4-3 loss on Friday night at RLP. Lee Parks, Griffen Barr and Hank Cleaves each found the back of the net in the losing effort while Roan Clarke turned aside 19 of the 23 shots thrown his way in his 1st loss of the season.
Vipers Leading Scorers:
Lee Parks (23-25-48)
Reagan Millburn (19-29-48)
Luke Pakulak (17-23-40)
Hank Cleaves (13-25-38)
Seiya Tanaka-Campbell (13-20-33)
Vipers Playoff Leading Scorers:]
Hank Cleaves (1-1-2)
Lee Parks (1-1-2)
Griffen Barr (1-0-1)
Anthony Cliché (0-1-1)
Julian Facchinelli (0-1-1)
The Vipers received a huge Game #1 performance out of regular season leading scorer Lee Parks, who was one of the best players on the ice on Friday. Parks opened the scoring for the Vipers and added an assist in his first career BCHL playoff game and will be a big threat for the Vipers offence throughout the series, especially after posting 3 goals and 7 points in 5 regular season games against West Kelowna.
Hank Cleaves factored into the night for the Vipers as well in Game #1 with a goal and an assist of his own in the tight loss. The Dartmouth College commit had a strong regular season campaign, playing in all but one of his team’s games this season and tallied 13 goals to go along with 25 assists for 38 points on the season in 53 games. The Riverside, Connecticut native played some strong hockey in the final month of the BCHL’s regular season, posting 2 goals and 5 assists for 7 points in 8 games during the month of March.
As expected, the series between the Warriors and Vipers got off to a tight start in Game #1 finishing as a one-goal contest. And it was the score in particular that has held firm throughout the season series and into the playoffs. In six head-to-head meetings through the regular season and playoffs, West Kelowna and Vernon have seen five of those games finish with a 4-3 score line. The one anomaly was a 5-1 Warriors win back on December 16th at Kal Tire Place. Two shootout wins and three regulation games that have finished with a 4-3 score sees these two teams look horns once again in Game #2.
You can catch the action in Game #2 of the Interior Conference Quarter Final series between the Warriors and Vipers on Saturday night at Royal LePage Place as West Kelowna looks to take a 2-0 series lead. Puck drop is slated for 7:00 PM with tickets available for purchase on the Warriors website as well as in-person at the Box Office ahead of the game.
