Photo Credit: Tami Quan Photography
OCTOBER 16th, 2018
WEST KELOWNA B.C. – The West Kelowna Warriors hope to get back over .500 as they host the 2018 RBC Cup Champion Chilliwack Chiefs tonight.
WARRIORS VS CHIEFS REGULAR SEASON SCHEDULE:
Tuesday Oct 16th @ West Kelowna 7pm
Friday February 8th @ Chilliwack 7pm
Last week the Warriors were in tough against a Merritt team that bombarded them in their own zone scoring eight goals past Brock Baier to win 8-4. Last Saturday was a much better effort from the Warriors with the Nanaimo Clippers in town but their 2-1 lead was short lived with Joshua Bourne tied the game up and forced a shootout at Royal LePage Place. After a Gunnar Wegleitner goal the Warriors had to score with at least one of their shooters and failed to score on all three attempts leading to yet another loss.
The Warriors can take some good things out of the matchup with the Clippers, the special teams play improved and Matt Kowalski found his scoring touch picking up the only two goals for West Kelowna on the night. Tonight the Warriors welcome the Chilliwack Chiefs, a club that lost majority of their top end talent after the RBC Cup last spring, but have immediately bulked up their roster with fresh faces they can rely on for the next couple years. One key to this hockey game is the Warriors powerplay, it really hasn’t been the same since September, with the Warriors scoring only one goal on the man advantage in the past four games.
The Chilliwack Chiefs are holding on to the top spot in the Coastal division thanks to stellar play from their veterans Harrison Blaisdell and Skyler Brind’Amour. Both have been on the scoring sheet on a regular basis and both have been either named or been considered for BCHL’s Play of the Week. The Chiefs have also acquired a fare share of rookies to watch out for including North Dakota Committed Ethan Bowen upfront, and the BC Major Midget League’s top defenseman Will Dow-Kenny. The one thing the Warriors need to capitalize on is the the Chiefs play between the pipes. Goaltender Mathieu Caron has started every game for the Chiefs this season. With backup Daniel Chenard out of the lineup with a long term injury the Chiefs have been relying on one goaltender, something that may catch up to bite them as the season goes on.
Catch tonight’s game and every other home and away game this season on Mixlr and Hockey TV. Just head to the Warriors website and click on the “Listen Live” column to get directed to a radio feed of each game.
