Photo Credit: Tami Quan Photography
NOVEMBER 2nd, 2018
WEST KELOWNA B.C. – The West Kelowna Warriors hope to extend their winning streak to six games tonight in Wenatchee.
WILD VS WARRIORS REGULAR SEASON SCHEDULE:
Sept 15th VS Wenatchee – 4-2 LOSS
Sept 26th VS Wenatchee – 7pm 5-2 WIN
Oct 30th VS Wenatchee – 7pm 6-2 WIN
Nov 2nd @ Wenatchee – 7:05pm
Nov 23rd @ Wenatchee – 7:05pm
Nov 24th @ Wenatchee – 7:05pm
The Warriors continue to shine against divisional opponents, capping off a stellar 6-2 win last Tuesday night at the RLP. Tonight the Warriors travel to Central Washington for the first time this season hoping to not only win their sixth straight victory, but their sixth straight inter division victory. The Warriors are only one point behind the Merritt Centennials for top spot in the Interior Division, and the Cents are in tough this evening facing off in Penticton.
Every game during the winning stretch has seen one particular line take over the hockey game whether it was the Cullen, Dhaliwal, Dubois line of the Hardman, Bulawka, Reim line. Last Tuesday Geoff Grimwood saw every line get on the score sheet, something he hasn’t seen all season long. With Lucas Cullen and Mike Hardman each scoring a pair of goals, the Warriors also got to see production out of players like Matt Kowalski and Mason Richey. The Warriors were able to out shoot, outplay, and outlast the Wild last Tuesday. It will be interesting to see who Geoff Grimwood puts in between the pipes whether its Brock Baier or Connor Hopkins. Grimwood went with Baier in back to back games last week and it worked well, whereas Connor Hopkins got the better of the Wild the last two games versus Wenatchee. If they can continue to get production from their depth forwards, they should be able to drive home from Wenatchee with their sixth straight victory.
The Wild started off Tuesday night’s game strong scoring a power play goal in the first 1:20 of the hockey game. The top line of Murphy Stratton, Matt Gosiewski, and Matt Dorsey looked great over the first two periods of play, but the Warriors were able to shutdown the top line in the third not allowing any shots to get past goaltender Connor Hopkins. The depth forwards of the Wenatchee Wild didn’t make much noise last Tuesday, not attempting many shots on goal attempting to create scoring chances. Chemistry building is key for the Wild this season, only having 7 returning players from last years Fred Page Cup team. Expect the Wild to bounce back with the help of the Toyota Town Centre crowd.
Catch tonight’s game on Mixlr and Hockey TV. Warriors Director of Broadcasting and Media Relations Chase Johnston is back on the mic with a pregame show 10 minutes before puck drop. Just a reminder that tickets are still available for the Sunday afternoon matinee versus the Powell River Kings. Visit the Warriors website and select single game tickets for more details.
