PHOTO: Lorne White/KelownaNow
The West Kelowna Warriors conclude their home-and-home preseason set when they visit the Merritt Centennials at the Nicola Valley Memorial Arena on Saturday 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 (4-3 Warriors)
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)
The Warriors enter Saturday night’s preseason contest with a 1-1 record thus far in the exhibition season and earned their first victory on Friday night against the Cents. Merritt got out to a 2-0 lead before three straight goals from West Kelowna. Willie Reim got the scoring going for the Warriors in the 2nd period before a pair of Jake Harrison goals, just 13 seconds apart, on the power play gave the Warriors a lead. The Cents tied the game late in the period but just 9 seconds after that, Chase Dubois scored the eventual game winner and secured the Warriors first victory of the preseason. Billy Girard made 20 saves on 22 shots in his two periods of work before handing off to Carlos Siso for the third period who got the win while making 8 saves on 9 shots.
Veteran players came to play on Friday night for West Kelowna with some big performances from Jake Harrison (two goals), Chase Dubois (one goal, one assist) and Parm Dhaliwal (one assist). Cavin Tilsley and Chase Stevenson each added an assist in the victory for the Warriors and a great sign to see the returning players hitting the scoresheet in the way they did a night ago.
A pair of newcomers had good night’s offensively for the Warriors as well with Matt Kowalski earning a pair of assists and Willie Reim scoring once. West Kelowna’s special teams, which were an issue during the 2016/17 season, looked good in Friday’s game with the power play going 2-for-7 and the penalty kill checking in at 4-for-5 at the end of the night.
The lineup takes a different look again as the home-and-home set with the Cents shifts to Merritt to close out the preseason series between the two sides. Cavin Tilsley and Stephen Kleysen are the only veteran players from last night’s game that will suit up for tonight with Warriors captain Jared Marino, forward Jordan Todd, defensemen Michael Ryan and Tyler Jutting getting their first action of the preseason tonight.
In the crease tonight, the Warriors see the return of 20-year-old goaltender Nik Amundrud, who will get the start in between the pipes tonight with 18-year-old Billy Girard backing up and likely to get into the second half of the game. Amundrud, a Melfort, Saskatchewan native, played 7 games with the Warriors in the 2016/17 season with a 4.93 GAA and a .889 SV%.
Puck drop at Nicola Valley Memorial Arena tonight is slated for 7:00 PM with the pre-game show getting underway at 6:55 PM on the Warriors Internet Network and HockeyTV.com 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.
