PHOTO: Cherie Morgan/Cherie Morgan Photography
The West Kelowna Warriors open up their six-game season series and Highway 97 rivalry against the Penticton Vees on Friday night at the South Okanagan Events Centre.
Warriors vs. Vees 2016/17 Season:
Friday, September 30th @ Royal LePage Place (3-1 Vees) (BOXSCORE)
Saturday, October 22nd @ Royal LePage Place (6-3 Vees) (BOXSCORE)
Tuesday, November 22nd @ Royal LePage Place (4-1 Vees) (BOXSCORE)
Wednesday, January 11th @ South Okanagan Events Centre (4-2 Vees) (BOXSCORE)
Saturday, January 21st @ South Okanagan Events Centre (4-2 Vees) (BOXSCORE)
Friday, February 17th @ South Okanagan Events Centre (5-0 Vees) (BOXSCORE)
Tuesday, February 21st @ Royal LePage Place (5-1 Vees) (BOXSCORE)
Warriors vs. Vees 2017/18 Schedule:
Friday, September 29th @ South Okanagan Events Centre (7:00 PM)
Friday, November 3rd @ Royal LePage Place (7:00 PM)
Friday, November 17th @ Royal LePage Place (7:00 PM)
Wednesday, November 29th @ South Okanagan Events Centre (7:00 PM)
Friday, December 8th @ South Okanagan Events Centre (7:00 PM)
Friday, December 15th @ Royal LePage Place (7:00 PM)
The Warriors are looking for a big rebound from a season ago against the Vees as they did not tally any points against their closest geographical rival. The Vees defeated the Warriors in every game last season, finishing with a 7-0 record against West Kelowna a season ago. The last Warriors win against the Vees came during the 2016 playoffs in Game #6 of the Interior Division Final on Saturday, March 26th, a span of 11 games including the regular season and exhibition play.
West Kelowna enters play on Friday night after a 5-2 loss to the Langley Rivermen on Tuesday night on the Lower Mainland. Parm Dhaliwal and RJ Murphy scored for the Warriors, each in the 3rd period and coming via the power play, with Murphy’s tally being his first BCHL goal. Nik Amundrud suffered his second loss of the season, turning aside 23 of the 28 shots he faced in the game.
Warriors Leading Scorers:
Matt Kowalski 5-4-9
Parm Dhaliwal 2-3-5
Stephen Kleysen 2-2-4
Chase Stevenson 2-2-4
RJ Murphy 1-3-4
Despite the loss on Tuesday, the Warriors power play struck twice and bumped their power play percentage on the season up to 24.2%, 2nd-best in the BCHL behind only the Cowichan Valley Capitals who run a 37.5%-man advantage. To go along with that, West Kelowna is tied with the Wenatchee Wild for top spot in the league in regards to power play goals scored this season with 8.
It’s a good news, bad news scenario for the Warriors heading into Friday’s game as returning forward Peter Tomaras will make his season debut, missing the first six games due to an injury. Adding onto that is that Warriors defenseman Stephen Kleysen returns to the lineup after missing Tuesday night’s game. The bad news for the Warriors is that forward Matthew Campese will be sidelined for a total of six games after receiving a suspension for a “player leaving the bench” penalty that took place in Langley on Tuesday.
The Penticton Vees come into Friday night with a 4-0-0-0 record and coming off of their sixth-straight perfect Bauer BCHL Showcase record. The Vees scored two 3rd period goals to come from behind and beat the Alberni Valley Bulldogs by a 3-2 score before closing out their Showcase schedule with a 6-3 win over the Chilliwack Chiefs.
The Vees last game, Saturday night against the Chiefs, was their fourth-straight to start the season and got goals from six different goal scorers in their 6-3 win over Chilliwack at the Prospera Centre. Chris Klack, Cassidy Bowes, Nicky Leivermann, Jared Nash, Massimo Rizzo and Owen Sillinger all scored in the game while Nolan Hildebrand turned aside 25 of the 28 shots he faced in the contest for his second win of the season.
Vees Leading Scorers:
Owen Sillinger 3-2-5
Ryan O’Connell 1-3-4
Jonny Tychonick 1-3-4
Cassidy Bowes 0-4-4
Jackson Keane 0-4-4
It’s only a good news scenario for the Vees, who sit at 4-0-0-0 on the season and get their top goal scorer from a season ago back in the lineup for tonight. Grant Cruikshank returns to the Vees lineup after missing the first four games of the season due to an injury. The Wisconsin University commit had 32 goals and 53 points in 57 games for Penticton a season ago and slots back in on a familiar line with Owen Sillinger and Chris Klack.
The Vees are one of two teams, along with the Coquitlam Express, to have their home openers come in the final weekend of September and have made it hard on visitors over the past dozen years. Penticton has won 12 straight home openers dating back to their time before the SOEC with their last home opening loss coming on September 10th, 2004 against the Trail Smoke Eaters.
The Warriors and Vees are set to drop the puck at 7:00 PM on Friday night, although that face-off time may be a little later due to the home opening ceremonies. The pre-game show gets underway at 6:45 PM on the Warriors Internet Network (www.mixlr.com/bchlwarriors) and www.hockeytv.com with the voice of the Warriors, Trevor Miller.
