The West Kelowna Warriors (14-6-2-0) return to home ice to open a three-game home stand beginning with a matchup against the Salmon Arm Silverbacks (14-6-0-1) on Saturday night at Royal LePage Place.
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Breakdown:
West Kelowna:
Overall Record: 14-6-2-0 (3rd in Interior Conference – 4th in BCHL)
Home Record: 6-3-2-0
Road Record: 8-3-0-0
Power Play: 12-for-64 (18.8% – 14th in BCHL)
Penalty Kill: 65-for-84 (77.4% – 12th in BCHL)
Salmon Arm:
Overall Record: 14-6-1-0 (4th in Interior Conference – 6th in BCHL)
Home Record: 8-1-0-0
Road Record: 3-5-0-0
Power Play: 13-for-61 (21.3% – 10th in BCHL)
Penalty Kill: 43-for-53 (81.1% – 4th in BCHL)
Season Series:
Friday, October 6th @ Shaw Centre (7-3 Silverbacks) (BOXSCORE)
Saturday, October 7th @ Royal LePage Place (4-0 Warriors) (BOXSCORE)
Wednesday, November 22nd @ Royal LePage Place (3-2 Warriors/SO) (BOXSCORE)
Saturday, December 2nd @ Royal LePage Place (7:00 PM)
Wednesday, December 13th @ Shaw Centre (6:00 PM)
Friday, February 16th @ Royal LePage Place (7:00 PM)
Looking Back:
The Warriors come into action on Saturday night looking for their fifth consecutive victory following a come-from-behind 5-4 win over the Merritt Centennials in overtime on Friday at the Nicola Valley Memorial Arena. Felix Caron scored two goals, including the game winning marker in OT, while Landen Hilditch, Cal Hughes and Johannes Løkkeberg added singles in the victory. Matthew DellaRusso turned aside 27 of the 31 shots thrown his way in his 4th win of the season.
Salmon Arm had a similar result to the Warriors in their game on Friday night, earning an overtime win by a 4-3 score over the Trail Smoke Eaters at Cominco Arena. Cole Longacre scored the overtime winner while Jacob Bonkowski, Ty Paisley and Isaac Lambert added singles in the winning effort. Ryan Grout got the nod in goal for the ‘Backs, making 37 saves on 40 shots in his 6th win of the season.
Warriors Leading Scorers:
Felix Caron (15-11-26)
Johannes Løkkeberg (8-12-20)
Michael Salandra (7-13-20)
Brennan Nelson (4-14-18)
Jackson Kyrkostas (9-7-16)
Silverbacks Leading Scorers:
Tristan Allen (3-15-18)
Isaac Lambert (9-7-16)
JJ Monteiro (8-8-16)
Casy Laylin (5-11-16)
Reid Varkonyi (6-9-15)
Who’s Hot:
West Kelowna:
- Landen Hilditch – Defenseman – Surrey, BC – Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI)
It was the first three-point game in the BCHL career of Hilditch, who notched a goal and two assists on Friday in the Warriors overtime victory in Merritt. The RPI commit added an assist in Wednesday’s win, as well, and has collected four points over the course of the week to bring his season total to two goals and eight points.
- Felix Caron – Forward – Terrebonne, Quebec – Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI)
Caron could not have asked for a better birthday present than what he received on Friday, manufacturing the game-tying and game-winning goals in Merritt. The second-year Warrior now leads the entire league in goals with 15 and sits 9th in league scoring with 26 points.
Salmon Arm:
- Isaac Lambert – Forward – Victoriaville, Quebec – Long Island University (LIU)
Scoring his first career hat-trick on November 24th against the Surrey Eagles, Lambert has been feeling it offensively as of late with points in three of his last four contests. The LIU commit has four goals and an assist for five points in that span and is a veteran of 119 games in the league, posting 36 goals and 86 points in that time.
- Eli Pulver – Goaltender – Vancouver, BC
Another BCHL veteran in Pulver, who has suited up in 71 games this season, is likely to get the nod in goal on Saturday night and brings a .914 SV% into play at RLP. The Vancouver, BC native made 36 saves on 38 shots in his last visit to West Kelowna last Wednesday and holds a .933 SV% in his last five outings.
The Warriors and Silverbacks meet for the fourth of their six-game season series tonight at Royal LePage Place. Puck drop is slated for 7:00 PM with tickets available at the Warriors website or in-person at the Box Office ahead of the opening face-off.
