PHOTO: Wayne Moore/Castanet
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, August 23rd, 2017
WEST KELOWNA, B.C. –The West Kelowna Warriors opened the 2017/18 season with a 6-3 loss in exhibition play to the Penticton Vees on Wednesday night at Royal LePage Place.
The night started roughly for the Warriors as just 34 seconds into the game as Cassidy Bowes scored the first of an eventual three on the night, finishing off a scramble in front of the net to give the Vees a 1-0 lead.
The Warriors tied the game at one just under the ten-minute mark of the opening period on a gorgeous goal from Ryan Cooper. The forward danced around a defender and fired a shot up and over the glove side of Vees netminder Nolan Hildebrand to tie the game at one at the 9:33 mark of the 1st frame.
Bowes was back at it again with his second goal of the opening period at the 18:01 mark of the frame, tapping in a backdoor goal behind Warriors goaltender Carlos Siso to give the Vees a 2-1 heading into the 1st intermission.
Dylan Gutierrez pushed the Vees lead to 3-1 just 3:33 into the middle stanza of the game with a shot from the left wing that got through a maze in bodies in front of the goal.
Penticton extended their advantage to 4-1 with a power play goal at 16:36 of a three-goal second period for the Vees as his slap shot from the high slot beat new Warriors goaltender Reilly Morgan to get ahead by three goals before the 2nd period was out.
The 3rd period saw the Warriors get back into the game as Ryan Ostin converted on a one-timer on the power play to diminish the Vees lead to 4-2 at the 4:43 mark of the final frame.
Warriors commit Max Bulawka hit the scoresheet at the 9:36 point of the 3rd period as he jammed in a loose puck with a big scramble in front of Hildebrand and got the Warriors within a pair of goals at a 5-3 lead for the Vees.
Penticton put the game on ice with a shorthanded empty net goal from Matthew Byrne from his own zone and finalized a 6-3 score for the visiting Vees.
16-year-old Carlos Siso started the game for the Warriors and allowed three goals on fifteen shots while 17-year-old Reilly Morgan saw 14 shots and stopped 12 of them. Nolan Hildebrand picked up the win in his preseason debut, stopping 18 of 21 shots for the 19-year-old.
The Warriors continue their six-game exhibition schedule with a home-and-home against the Merritt Centennials, beginning at Royal LePage Place on Friday, August 25th for a 7:00 PM face-off. Tickets for the game, and all Warriors preseason contests are just $5 with the game being broadcasted live on HockeyTV.com and on the Warriors Internet Network with the pre-game show beginning at 6:55 PM.
2017/18 Warriors season are now available, along with news of the brand-new Booster Club! For more information, head down to the Warriors office or contact Kim or Alex at (250) 769-7051.
