The West Kelowna Warriors (9-4-2-0) hit the road once again for a trip North to open a two-game doubleheader weekend against the Prince George Spruce Kings (3-7-3-0) on Friday night at Kopar Memorial Arena.
How To Follow:
Listen: AM 1150
Watch: FloHockey
Breakdown:
West Kelowna:
Overall Record: 9-4-2-0 (3rd in Interior Conference – 6th in BCHL)
Home Record: 4-2-2-0
Road Record: 5-2-0-0
Power Play: 8-for-42 (19.0% – 11th in BCHL)
Penalty Kill: 44-for-55 (80.0% – 7th in BCHL)
Prince George:
Overall Record: 3-7-3-0 (7th in Interior Conference – 15th in BCHL)
Home Record: 2-1-2-0
Road Record: 1-6-1-0
Power Play: 14-for-58 (24.1% – 7th in BCHL)
Penalty Kill: 37-for-48 (77.1% – 9th in BCHL)
Season Series:
Friday, October 13th @ Royal LePage Place (3-2 Warriors/OT) (BOXSCORE)
Friday, November 10th @ Kopar Memorial Arena (7:00 PM)
Saturday, November 11th @ Kopar Memorial Arena (6:00 PM)
Friday, December 29th @ Kopar Memorial Arena (7:00 PM)
Saturday, December 30th @ Kopar Memorial Arena (6:00 PM)
Saturday, March 9th @ Royal LePage Place (7:00 PM)
Looking Back:
West Kelowna will look to get back in the win column following a 2-1 overtime loss to the Cranbrook Bucks on Saturday night at Royal LePage Place. Viggo Nordström tallied his first career BC Hockey League goal in the 3rd period of the game while Justin Katz turned aside 26 of the 28 shots thrown his way in his 1st overtime loss of the season.
The Spruce Kings come into Friday night’s matchup following a 4-2 loss to the Salmon Arm Silverbacks on Saturday night at the Shaw Centre. Brogan McNeil and Quinn Disher each found the back of the net in the losing effort while Marcus Ouellet turned aside 40 of the 43 shots thrown his way in his 5th loss of the season.
Warriors Leading Scorers:
Felix Caron (10-8-18)
Johannes Løkkeberg (5-9-14)
Brennan Nelson (4-10-14)
Michael Salandra (6-7-13)
Jackson Kyrkostas (6-5-11)
Spruce Kings Leading Scorers:
Kilian McGregor-Bennett (6-5-11)
JR Perdion (4-5-9)
Max Ranstrom (3-6-9)
Kazumo Sasaki (2-6-8)
Kai Greaves (0-8-8)
Who’s Hot:
West Kelowna:
- Viggo Nordström – Forward – Lulëa, Sweden – Bowling Green University
Exceeding double of his season point total over the last weekend of games in Merritt and against Cranbrook, the Swedish forward is starting to find his offensive stride. A commit of Bowling Green University, Nordström posted a pair of assists last Friday against the Centennials before scoring his first career BCHL goal on Saturday against the Bucks on home ice.
- Jackson Kyrkostas – Forward – West Palm Beach, Florda – Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI)
Riding a four-game point streak into the weekend in Northern BC, Kyrkostas looks to continue what has been a solid stretch of hockey for the first year Junior player. The West Palm Beach, Florida native has earned two goals and two assists for four points over that stretch.
Prince George:
- JR Perdion – Forward – Strongsville, Ontario – Long Island University (LIU)
Also in his first season in the BCHL, Perdion has earned points in three of his last four games and is working towards the team lead in points. A native of Strongsville, Ontario, Perdion has a goal and two assists for three points in that span while the LIU commit is second in team scoring with 4 goals and 9 points.
- Home Ice Advantage
Playing the least amount of home games of any team in the league thus far (and least amount of games overall), Prince George has made those games count with points in each of the four games they have played at Kopar Memorial Arena, holding a 2-0-2-0 record. The Spruce Kings have yet to lose in regulation on home ice this season with their last loss at home in regulation in the regular season coming on March 4th against Vernon, a span of six games.
The Warriors and Spruce Kings play the first of their two-game set in Prince George on Friday night at the Kopar Memorial Arena. Puck drop is slated for 7:00 PM with the game broadcasted live on AM1150 as well as streamed online on FloHockey.
