PHOTO: Tami Quan
WEST KELOWNA, B.C. – Trent Wilson scored a pair of goals while Felix Caron and Jackson Kyrkostas each tallied three points as the West Kelowna Warriors earned a 4-2 victory over the Prince George Spruce Kings on Saturday night at Royal LePage Place.
Making his first start since February 10th, Matthew DellaRusso was rock solid in the opening period, making saves on each of the 11 shots thrown his way including a big save on a breakaway coming just over two minutes into action, steering a shot from Lucas Veilleux off his left pad to keep the game scoreless.
The Warriors were first to break the ice with the only goal in the opening period and came from Trent Wilson, who buried his 16th tally of the year past the glove side of Charlie Zolin in the Prince George net on a pass from below the goal line from Felix Caron at the 11:02 mark to give West Kelowna a 1-0 advantage.
Wilson added his second goal of the game at the 3:12 mark of the middle period on a similar set up from the opening goal to double the lead. Caron centered from below the goal line on the glove side of Zolin and spotted Wilson at the front of the net for his second goal of the game to give the Warriors a 2-0 lead.
A delayed penalty helped the Warriors jump ahead by a 3-0 margin at the 14:04 mark of the middle frame as Felix Caron centered a pass for Jack Pridham coming off the bench down the left wing side before slamming a puck through the legs of Zolin for his 20th goal of the season and pushed the Warriors to a three-goal lead.
The three-goal advantage did not last long as just 19 seconds after Pridham’s marker, Kazumo Sasaki blasted a shot from the left face-off circle over the glove shoulder of DellaRusso before JR Perdion converted on an odd-man rush at 17:46 of the middle frame and cut the Warriors lead to just a goal heading into the 3rd period.
The final period of regulation time did not see many chances for either side as both teams locked down defensively to try and keep the game close before the Warriors broke through with an insurance marker late in the game to secure the win.
After a strong forechecking effort, Carter Oakenfold centered a puck from the goal line to Johannes Løkkeberg, who backhanded a shot from the slot over the glove side of Zolin to collect his 11th goal of the season and push the Warriors to a 4-2 lead with just over two minutes remaining in the game.
Matthew DellaRusso closed the door from there on and turned aside 23 of the 25 shots thrown his way in his 6th win of the season while Charlie Zolin made saves on 25 of the 29 shots he faced in his 11th loss of the campaign.
FINAL SCORE: 4-2 Warriors
SHOTS ON GOAL: 29-25 Warriors
WARRIORS PP: 0/2
WARRIORS PK: 3/3
3 STARS:
1) Trent Wilson (2-0-2)
2) Felix Caron (0-3-3)
3) Jackson Kyrkostas (0-3-3)
Fortis Energy Player of the Game: Carter Oakenfold (0-1-1)
Attendance: 838
West Kelowna (29-10-10-0) conclude a three-game home stand as they host the Penticton Vees (36-7-3-2) once again on Friday night at Royal LePage Place. Puck drop is slated for 7:00 PM at RLP with tickets available on the Warriors website as well as in-person at the Box Office ahead of the opening puck drop.
