PHOTO: Tami Quan
COQUITLAM, B.C. – Cal Hughes and Jackson Kyrkostas each collected their 20th goals of the season but the West Kelowna Warriors fell in overtime to the Coquitlam Express by a 3-2 score on Saturday night at the Poirier Sports & Leisure Complex.
Coquitlam started the game with jump and opened the scoring at the 2:52 mark of the 1st period with James Shannon getting the scoring going on the night. Shannon was set up at the front of the net on a nice pass from the right wing off the backhand of Jackson Krill and beat Warriors netminder Rorke Applebee with a shot over the glove shoulder to give the home side a one-goal lead.
The Warriors had a strong response and were able to tie the game in a relatively even 1st period of play with Cal Hughes joining Felix Caron and Michael Salandra as the third 20-goal scorer of the season on the Warriors roster. Hughes finished off a play started by Brennan Nelson in the right face-off circle as his backhand pass was put into the top corner of the net from Hughes, over the glove of Express goaltender Ethan Simcoe to even the score at the 6:50 mark of the period.
The teams finished tied in shots 8-8 and tied in score 1-1 after 20 minutes of play with Applebee making the biggest save of the frame, robbing Cole Melady at the side of the net on a backdoor pass with his blocker to keep the score even.
Stemming from a four-minute double minor power play to begin the 2nd period, the Warriors man advantage helped them get ahead for the first time in the game at the 3:33 mark of the middle period as Jackson Kyrkostas joined the group of Warriors with 20 goals as his picked up his 20th of the season.
Caron had to the puck in the slot as he moved to the right face-off circle and spotted Trent Wilson at the front of the net who had an open goal in front of him as he pushed the puck to the net but Kyrkostas got his stick on the puck at the goal line and slid it home for his 20th marker of the season to give the Warriors a 2-1 lead.
In a game that the two teams seemed to be fit to be tied in every aspect, it was the Express’ power play that also converted in the second period to even the score at 2-2. Jake Manfre collected the puck in the right face-off circle and had his shot glide through the legs of a screened Applebee and in at the 11:01 mark of the middle period as the teams tied 17-17 in shots and 2-2 in score heading into the 3rd period.
The Warriors outshot the Express in the game’s final regulation period by a 13-8 margin but were unable to get anything past the Coquitlam goaltender in Ethan Simcoe as, for the 14th time this season, the Warriors were off to overtime.
It took 4:49 into the extra frame before Jacob Bonkowski netted the winning goal for the home side to come away with a 3-2 victory. Bonkowski pushed the puck up the left wing boards and carried into the Warriors zone on a breakaway, making a move to his backhand and sliding the puck underneath of Applebee and past him to give the Express the extra point in overtime.
Rorke Applebee turned aside 25 of the 28 shost thrown his way in his 3rd overtime defeat of the season while Ethan Simcoe made 30 saves on 32 shots in net for the Express and earned his 7th win of the season.
FINAL SCORE: 3-2 Express (OT)
SHOTS ON GOAL: 32-28 Warriors
WARRIORS PP: 1/2
WARRIORS PK: 2/3
3 STARS:
1) Jacob Bonkowski (1-0-1)
2) Cal Hughes (1-0-1)
3) James Shannon (1-0-1)
Fortis Energy Player of the Game: Jackson Krill (0-1-1)
The Warriors (27-10-8-0) will return home for the final month of the BCHL’s regular season and host the Trail Smoke Eaters (21-16-6-0) on Friday night on Pastor Don’s annual Faith Night. Puck drop is slated for 7:00 PM at Royal LePage Place with tickets available for purchase online at the Warriors website as well as in-person at the Box Office ahead of puck drop.
