The West Kelowna Warriors open the 2023/24 regular season on home ice as they welcome the back-to-back BCHL champion Penticton Vees to Royal LePage Place.
REGULAR SEASON SCHEDULE VS. PENTICTON
Friday, September 22nd @ Royal LePage Place (7:00 PM)
Friday, December 15th @ South Okanagan Events Centre (7:00 PM)
Saturday, December 16th @ Royal LePage Place (7:00 PM)
Saturday, February 17th @ South Okanagan Events Centre (6:00 PM)
Friday, March 8th @ Royal LePage Place (7:00 PM)
Friday, March 15th @ Royal LePage Place (7:00 PM)
Sunday, March 31st @ South Okanagan Events Centre (4:00 PM)
The Warriors enter the season following a loss in six games in their Interior Conference Quarter Final series against the Vernon Vipers. West Kelowna finished third in the Interior Conference last season, amassing a record of 28-20-6-0 over the campaign.
2022/23 West Kelowna Warriors Regular Season 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)
West Kelowna will bring back six players from last season’s team which includes captain and forward Brennan Nelson. Forwards Felix Caron and Michael Salandra return up front as well while Dylan Brooks, Landen Hilditch and Isaiah Norlin are back on the blue line. Defenders Zhenya Miles and Kaiden Schaupmeyer, affiliate players who spent 6 and 7 games, respectfully, with the team are full time additions this season.
One of the many key offseason additions for West Kelowna comes in the way of forward Jack Pridham, who lit up the CAHS last season with St. Andrew’s College in Aurora, Ontario. The Stouffville, Ontario native is the son of Toronto Maple Leafs Assistant General Manager Brandon Pridham and finished second in scoring on his squad with 35 goals and 37 assists for 72 points in just 49 games. The Boston University commit finished behind current Penticton Vees forward Anselmo Rego as the two will suit up against one another tonight.
There’s a new look in between the pipes for the Warriors this season as goaltenders Rorke Applebee and Matthew DellaRusso will be the tandem to begin the season. Applebee dazzled last season with the Ottawa Jr. Senators of the Central Canadian Hockey League (CCHL) where he posted a 24-2-3 record to go along with a 2.07 goals against average and a .934 save percentage before helping his team to a CCHL Championship. The Chateauguay, Quebec native was named Playoffs MVP and is a commit of Lake Superior State.
The Penticton Vees come into town as back-to-back BCHL Champions, posting one of the most historic seasons in league history and finished with a 50-3-0-1 record before besting the Trail Smoke Eaters (4 games), Wenatchee Wild (4 games), Salmon Arm Silverbacks (5 games) and the Alberni Valley Bulldogs (4 games) en route to a second consecutive league championship.
2022/23 Penticton Vees Regular Season Leading Scorers:
Bradly Nadeau (45-68-113)
Josh Nadeau (44-66-110)
Aydar Suniev (45-45-90)
Brett Moravec (29-28-57)
Ryan Hopkins (10-39-49)
Following a season of returning 15 players to hoist a second consecutive Fred Page Cup, the Vees return just two players for this upcoming season and both were recently named as co-captains for the 2023/24 campaign. Forwards Thomas Pichette and Callum Arnott are the lone players who are back from last season while Pichette has been a member of both those Vees championship teams.
Of the many new faces Penticton will have in their lineup beginning tonight, forward James Fisher carries a great deal of Junior hockey experience with him. The Burlington, Massachusetts native won the United States Hockey League’s (USHL) Clark Cup as a member of the Youngstown Phantoms last season where he amassed 3 goals and 10 points in 42 games played. Though he may not have had the offensive season he had hoped, the Northeastern University commit has drawn NHL attention and is a seventh round selection of the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft.
More NHL attention comes in the way of blue liner Larry Keenan, who was taken by the Detroit Red Wings in the 4th round of the 2023 NHL Entry Draft. The Midhurst, Ontario native comes from a hockey family with his grandfather, Larry, splitting time with the Toronto Maple Leafs, St. Louis Blues, Buffalo Sabres and Philadelphia Flyers in the late 60’s, early 70’s. The younger Larry, slated to attend the University of Massachusetts-Amherst following his junior hockey career, tallied 11 goals and 26 assists for 37 points in 49 games with Culver Military Academy Prep hockey last season.
The Warriors and Vees play the first of their seven-game season series on Friday night in West Kelowna’s home and season opener. Fans are encouraged to get to the rink early as there will be pre-game entertainment in the courtyard ahead of puck drop. The game is slated for 7:00 PM with tickets available for purchase on the Warriors website as well as in-person at the Box Office.
