The West Kelowna Warriors (12-5-2-0) open up a two-game weekend up north and clash with the Prince George Spruce Kings (12-6-1-1) for the first time this season at the Kopar Memorial Arena on Friday night.
REGULAR SEASON SCHEDULE VS. PRINCE GEORGE
Friday, November 25th @ Kopar Memorial Arena (7:00 PM)
Saturday, November 26th @ Kopar Memorial Arena (7:00 PM)
Wednesday, December 7th @ Royal LePage Place (7:00 PM)
Friday, January 13th @ Royal LePage Place (7:00 PM)
Friday, March 10th @ Royal LePage Place (7:00 PM)
The Warriors come into the weekend set in Prince George following a 4-2 loss to the Alberni Valley Bulldogs last Saturday night at Royal LePage Place. Chris Duclair and Riley Sharun each scored power play goals in the loss while Angelo Zol turned aside 25 of the 28 shots thrown his way in his first loss of the season.
West Kelowna and Prince George have not met yet this season with the two teams playing a seven-game season series against each other last season which favoured the Warriors in a big way. West Kelowna earned wins in six of the seven games in the season series with three of those being one-goal games while the Warriors made four trips up to Prince George and collected three wins in that time.
Warriors Leading Scorers:
Jaiden Moriello (11-8-19)
Michael Salandra (7-9-16)
Isaiah Norlin (2-14-16)
Ben MacDonald (7-8-15)
Brennan Nelson (6-8-14)
The BC Hockey League’s All-Star Game in Penticton, BC will take place in January and Warriors defenseman Isaiah Norlin and forward Michael Salandra have been in the running for the league’s fan vote to decide the remaining 10 participants, after 18 players were originally chosen in a first wave of voting. Both players need YOUR help as the voting closes TODAY (Friday) at 4:00 PM PST so cast your vote for Isaiah and Michael to get them into the All-Star Game: bit.ly/BCHLAllStarFanVote
Speaking of Norlin, the Minneapolis, Minnesota native has been a consistent producer of assists from the Warriors blue line, leading the team with 14 helpers and has registered a point in 6 of his last 7 games. A recent commit to Clarkson University, Norlin has had a solid month of November as the defender has earned points in five of the six games so far in the month and six assists in that span as well.
The Warriors will be looking to get back in the win column on Friday night having lost their last three games in a row for the first time this season. A player that could help with that? Chris Duclair. The 20-year-old Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) commit has earned points in four of his last five games including scoring goals in three of his last five contests. The Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Quebec native has posted 3 goals and 2 assists for 5 points over his last 5 games.
The Prince George Spruce Kings come into the weekend set of games tied with the Warriors for second place in the Interior Conference with a 12-6-1-1 record and are coming off of a 4-1 loss to the Penticton Vees on Saturday night at the South Okanagan Events Centre. Jake Schneider had the lone goal for the Spruce Kings in the defeat while Aidan Feddema turned aside 18 of the 22 shots thrown his way in his 3rd loss of the season.
Spruce Kings Scoring Leaders:
John Herrington (13-6-19)
Linden Makow (8-7-15)
Luca Primerano (4-11-15)
Killian McGregor-Bennett (5-9-14)
Jake Schneider (7-5-12)
The Spruce Kings look to continue their strong success over years past, having finished in 4th in the Interior Conference a season ago with a 27-15-4-8 record and concluded their season in the 2nd round of the playoffs in the Interior Conference Semi Finals. Prince George brings back 10 players from last year’s team, including captain and blue liner Colton Cameron. Joining him up front is Linden Makow, Ty Gagno, Killian McGregor-Bennett, Austin Fraser, Evan Fedele and John Herrington while Amran Bhabra and Ben LeFrance, along with Cameron, are back on the blue line. Veteran goaltender Jordan Fairlie also returns between the pipes for Prince George.
Veteran forward John Herrington has been leading the Spruce Kings offensively through his third season in the league, posting 13 goals and 6 assists for 19 points on the campaign. The Lake Superior State commit has posted goals in three of his last five games including two multi-goal performances and has earned five in his last five games. The Hudson’s Hope, BC native has played in 104 career games in the BCHL, registering 43 goals and 44 assists for 87 points in that span.
The Spruce Kings are back on home ice for just the second time in the month of November, having played six of their last seven games on the road. Prince George will enjoy back-to-back weekends at home, playing the Cranbrook Bucks in a weekend set of games next week before playing three of their last four games on the road before the Holiday break. The Spruce Kings hold a terrific 6-2-0-0 record at Kopar Memorial Arena while the games in this building have been extremely tight as PG has outscored their opposition by a 26-23 margin while at home.
The Warriors and Spruce Kings clash in the first of their five-game season series on Friday night at Kopar Memorial Arena. Puck drop is slated for 7:00 PM while tonight’s game will be broadcasted live on the radio on Kelowna’s AM 1150 and can also be seen streamed online at BCHLTV.ca.
