PHOTO: Lisa Mazurek
VERNON, B.C. – The West Kelowna Warriors used five different goal scorers to snap a three-game losing skid to earn their 16th win of the season in a 5-1 victory over the Vernon Vipers on Friday night at Kal Tire Place.
The Warriors opened the game with the first seven shots on goal and were the first to hit the scoresheet as Felix Caron carried over his two-goal performance from Sunday night in Wenatchee to bury his 9th goal of the season to give the Warriors a 1-0 advantage.
The Vipers defence went back for the puck in the defensive zone to the blocker side of Vipers goaltender Ethan David where Caron took the loose puck on a missed pass and roofed the puck over the right shoulder of David at the 10:21 mark of the opening period to get ahead and score the game’s opening goal.
After a pair of shorthanded chances from Chris Duclair and Jaiden Moriello that David made stops on, Julian Faccchinelli goit the home side back into an even game and tied the score at 1-1 at the tail end of a power play. Dylan Compton had his right circle shot stopped by Warriors goaltender Justin Katz before the puck popped in the air as Facchinelli knocked the puck in at the side of the goal at the 17:02 mark of the period to tie the game at 1-1.
Despite the Vipers outshooting the Warriors by a 12-6 margin in the middle stanza, the Warriors potted a pair of goals to take a lead into the 3rd period and began that with Matt Fusco scoring in his second consecutive game at the 13:22 mark of the 2nd period with a power play goal.
Just as a 5-on-3 power play had expired, Fusco took a Rylee Hlusiak feed and got the to the top of the right face-off circle before sending a low shot past the blocker side of David as the 8th goal of the season from Fusco pushed West Kelowna to their second lead of the game and a 2-1 advantage.
The Warriors added to their lead in the 2nd period as Ben MacDonald put his team ahead by a pair of goals with his 10th goal of the season. 13 seconds after exiting the penalty box, MacDonald cruised through the neutral zone and went wide on a Vipers defender and sent a shot over the left shoulder of David at the 17:53 mark of the middle frame to give West Kelowna a two-goal lead into the 3rd period.
West Kelowna kept the momentum going into the 3rd period and pushed their lead to three goals courtesy of Jake Bernadet, who tallied his 5th goal of the season to give the Warriors a 4-1 lead. Fusco slid a pass to the left face-off circle and Bernadet got to the puck and flipped a shot over the right shoulder of David and gave the Warriors a three-goal lead at the 7:06 mark of the 3rd period.
Michael Salandra capped off the scoring with his first goal in 11 games and collected his 8th marker of the season at the 10:53 mark of the final period. The Vipers turned the puck over in the slot as Salandra took the loose puck and went from his forehand to his backhand and lifted a shot over the blocker shoulder to give the Warriors a 5-1 edge and cemented that as the final score.
Justin Katz was solid in the game for West Kelowna, turning aside 23 of the 24 shots he faced in his 12th victory of the season between the pipes while Ethan David stopped 19 of the 24 shots he faced in his 5th loss of the season.
FINAL SCORE: 5-1 Warriors
SHOTS ON GOAL: 24-24
WARRIORS PP: 1/5
WARRIORS PK: 5/6
3 STARS:
1) Matt Fusco (1-1-2)
2) Michael Salandra (1-0-1)
3) Justin Katz (23 saves on 24 shots)
Fortis Energy Player of the Game: Isaac Tremblay (0-0-0)
ATTENDANCE: 1,659
The Warriors (16-8-4-0) will play their final game ahead of the holiday break as they are set to host the Penticton Vees (26-2-0-0) on Saturday night at Royal LePage Place. Puck drop is slated for 7:00 PM with tickets available online on the Warriors website (westkelownawarriors.ca) as well as in-person at the Box Office.
