Photo Credit: Julie Pringle(Snap Photography)
December 21st, 2018
WEST KELOWNA B.C. – The West Kelowna Warriors(22-14-0-1) kick off a major home at home with the Penticton Vees(22-11-1-2) tonight.
WARRIORS VS VEES REGULAR SEASON SCHEDULE:
Friday October 19th @ West Kelowna 7pm WIN 3-2
Saturday October 27th @ Penticton 6pm WIN 5-3
Tuesday November 13th @ West Kelowna 7pm WIN 3-0
Wednesday November 14th @ Penticton 7pm LOSS 7-4
Friday December 21st @ Penticton 7pm
Saturday December 22nd @ West Kelowna 7pm
The Warriors are coming off another great week of hockey. After making easy work out of the Coquitlam Express, the Warriors would defeat the juggernaut Merritt Centennials, and then get revenge on the Cowichan Valley Capitals. Three Warriors players were named honorable mentions for BCHL’s Player of the Week: Chase Dubois, who is currently on a 6 game point streak scoring 5 goals and 9 assists during the stretch. Mike Hardman, who continues to climb the BCHL goal scoring ladder, with 4 goals and 2 helpers over 3 games played. Then there is Connor Hopkins, who is playing at a very high level, stopping 113 out of 119 shots on goal in only 3 games played.
December has been a rough month for the Penticton Vees. They have lost 3 of their past 4 games including one to the struggling Trail Smoke Eaters, and just when it seems the the Vees get healthy they continue to battle various injuries: Forwards Brendan Harrogate and Drew Elser are out of the lineup, and d pairing Peter Muzyka and Connor Hutchison are also battling injuries.
Warriors Assistant Coach Matt Miller believes regardless of the injuries, the Vees a still a force to be reckoned with, “We need to stay focused, it’s a massive 4 points on the line, no matter what the Vees lineup looks like, we still need our absolute best to beat them, especially in their rink.”
There are plenty of storylines heading into tonight’s game. Vees defenseman Kenny Johnson was suspending in two different occasions this season, both against the Warriors. The most recent was a dangerous hit where Johnson left his feet and hit Warriors centre Parm Dhaliwal on November 14th. Johnson would receive a 4 game suspension for the hit, and Parm Dhaliwal with out of the lineup for over 3 weeks with an upper body injury. Former Warrior Kelvin Hair is now suiting up for the Vees on the back end as a depth defenseman, and is looking for a shot on the ice against his former club. This is also the last we will see of the long locks of Vees forward Cassidy Bowes, who’s GoFundMe Campaign came to a halt after he found out he needs to cut the hair before year end. Warriors fans raised over $500 last game for Bowes with the money going towards Pediatric Cancer Research. Bowes alongside Vees and Warriors season ticket holder Jon Race will have their hair cuts immediately after Friday night’s game.
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 Saturday night’s Teddy Bear Toss game versus the Vees. Visit the Warriors website and select single game tickets for more details.
