The West Kelowna Warriors look to make it back-to-back wins when they travel to the Nicola Valley tonight to complete a home-and-home series against the Merritt Centennials.
Season Series:
Tuesday, September 27th @ Royal LePage Place (5-1 Centennials) (BOXSCORE)
Friday, December 9th @ Royal LePage Place (3-2 Warriors/OT) (BOXSCORE)
Saturday, December 10th @ Nicola Valley Memorial Arena (4-2 Warriors) (BOXSCORE)
Friday, January 6th @ Royal LePage Place (4-1 Warriors) (BOXSCORE)
Saturday, January 7th @ Nicola Valley Memorial Arena (8:00 PM)
Friday, February 3rd @ Nicola Valley Memorial Arena (7:00 PM)
Friday, February 24th @ Nicola Valley Memorial Arena (7:30 PM)
The Warriors and Centennials have played four times this season with West Kelowna winning three of the four meetings including their 4-1 victory over the Cents on Friday night at RLP. Connor Sodergren scored two 3rd period goals while Chase Stevenson potted his first BCHL marker in the first period and Logan Mostat scored his fourth goal as a Warrior later on in the third. Cole Demers was excellent in goal for the Warriors, making 38 saves on 39 shots for his 4th win of the season and his first in a Warrior jersey.
The Warriors got production out of their top line last night as Connor Sodergren’s two goals and one assist and Quin Foreman three assists led the way offensively for the Warriors on the night. Logan Mostat pitched in with a goal and a solid third period of offense from the Warriors top line. With his three points, Foreman now sits tied for 11th in BCHL scoring with 45 points in 37 games played.
Cole Demers was outstanding in his Warriors debut, making 38 saves and was named the game’s first star. It was Demers’ first game since November 6th at the BCHL level and he showed no rust at all with a stellar performance and now holds three games of 35+ saves at RLP on his resume. In fact, Demers is 2-1 at Royal LePage Place with a 2.03 GAA and a sparkling ,951 SV% in the building (saving 118 of 124 shots he faced).
It was a great night at RLP but even better for one Warrior as Chase Stevenson got the monkey off his back in a big way on Friday with his first BCHL goal. For Stevenson, it’s his first in 19 BCHL games, although saying it didn’t way much on his mind. Head coach Rylan Ferster joked with Stevenson in practice during the week, saying the 17-year-old would tally his first goal this weekend. The rookie now has a goal to go along with his five assists at the Junior ‘A’ level in his career.
The Centennials enter the game winners of two of their last three games with two wins over Coquitlam on New Year’s Eve and on Wednesday night before the loss to West Kelowna last night. Merritt sits at 37 points in the standings, two behind the Warriors for 4th place in the BCHL’s Interior Division.
With the lone goal last night for Merritt, 19-year-old forward Zach Court has been on quite a hot stretch over the course of late December that has carried on into the New Year. The Winnipeg, Manitoba native has five goals on the season and has points in five of his last six games. Court has two goals and five assists for seven points over that stretch and has hit the scoresheet in each of his late three contests.
The Warriors and Centennials will drop the puck at the rare start time of 8:00 PM on Saturday night from the Nicola Valley Memorial Arena. Fans can catch the game for free on the Warriors Internet Network with play-by-play voice Trevor Miller or follow along on pay-per-view at hockeytv.com with the pre-game starting at 7:50 PM. The Warriors next action will be in Penticton on Wednesday night when they make the trip to the SOEC to face the Vees.
