Photo Credit: Tami Quan Photography
December 20th, 2019
WEST KELOWNA, B.C. – The West Kelowna Warriors(6-22-5-2) begin a critical double header with the Merritt Centennials(9-22-1-3) Friday night.
Warriors vs. Centennials 2019/20 Regular Season Schedule:
Friday, September 20th @ Nicola Valley Memorial Arena (7:00 PM) LOSS 4-2
Saturday, October 19th @ Royal LePage Place (6:00 PM) LOSS 5-2
Friday, December 20th @ Royal LePage Place (7:00 PM)
Saturday, December 21st @ Nicola Valley Memorial Arena (7:00 PM)
Friday, January 10th @ Nicola Valley Memorial Arena (7:00 PM)
Saturday, January 11th @ Royal LePage Place (6:00 PM)
The Warriors are coming off one of the wildest games of the year last Tuesday versus the Chilliwack Chiefs. It was a game where the Chiefs had a 3-2 lead in the final 10 minutes of the third, but once the Chiefs got into major penalty trouble, it forced the Warriors to not only tie the game but later won the game in overtime snapping their 6 game losing streak. The Warriors got great play from Max Bulawka who picked up a pair of goals after missing time with injury, and then a three point night from defenseman Wyatt Head who let the league know he’s a force on the back end.
Tonight the Warriors begin a crucial two-game set versus the Merritt Centennials. The Cents are sitting 3 points ahead of the Warriors in the standings for that final playoff seed. These two games are the most important games of the year for both clubs with opportunities for the Cents to create separation or the Warriors to narrow the gap heading into the Christmas break. The Centennials have won the two meetings they’ve had thanks to stellar goaltending from Ryan Winter and Okanagan native Tanner Marshall. The Centennials have been relying on great goaltending this season and late game scoring form the likes of Daneel Tkac. Tkac however will be suiting up for team Slovakia at the World Junior Championships which means he won’t be with the Centennials this weekend. The Cents will need to look elsewhere for scoring and they have it in newcomers Hunor Torzsok and Christian Buono. Both have been scoring on the regular since they’ve been acquired last month and are expected to carry the load offensively. The Warriors need to solve make sure they solve the goaltending of the Cents and also make sure they don’t give these new scorers for the Cents any room in the attacking zone.
This evening’s game will be broadcast on both HockeyTV and the Warriors Mixlr Network. Puck drop at 7:00pm from Royal LePage Place in West Kelowna. For tickets to any upcoming home game visit tickets.westkelownawarriors.ca for details and packages.
