Photo Credit: Snap Photography
OCTOBER 12th, 2018
WEST KELOWNA B.C. – The Warriors look to start another winning streak this weekend against the Merritt Centennials.
WARRIORS VS CENTENNIALS REGULAR SEASON SCHEDULE:
Friday October 12th @ Merritt 7:00pm
Sunday November 11th @ Merritt 2:00pm
Friday December 7th VS Merritt 7:00pm
Friday December 14th VS Merritt 7:00pm
Friday January 11th @ Merritt 7:00pm
Tuesday February 19th VS Merritt 7:00pm
It’s the first of many regular season match-ups between the West Kelowna Warriors and Merritt Centennials. The Cents are currently sitting atop the Interior Division standings with 14 points, but they have 2 extra games played compared to the Warriors who are only two points behind them in the standings. Last Sunday the West Kelowna Warriors discovered they had not one but two outstanding goaltenders between the pipes. Starter Connor Hopkins is well known as an elite goaltender in the BCHL after winning the prestigious BCHL Player of the Week Honor back in September, but the BCHL universe didn’t know what to expect out of former Windsor Spitfire Brock Baier. The Wallace Ontario native stole the show Sunday afternoon stopping 29 of 30 shots against a very dangerous Victoria Grizzlies squad led by Alex Newhook. Baier, 20, is expected to start either tonight or tomorrow night at home against the Nanaimo Clippers.
The Warriors had fans on their feet after Sunday afternoon’s thrilling victory over the Grizzlies but Head Coach and General Manager Geoff Grimwood believed there was a lot for his club needed to work on to be successful long term. One area of concern was the power play. Last week the Warriors came in with the 2nd best power play in the league but failed to score on 14 attempts Sunday afternoon. Although credit can be given to the Grizzlies stellar penalty kill, both Geoff Grimwood and his players know they need to produce on the man advantage. It’s been a very exciting week for the Warriors with the news Wyatt Head agreed to a verbal commitment to play with the Quinnipiac Bobcats next season. Lots of support coming from his teammates and fans over social media has been overwhelming for Head, who’s just in his second season in the BCHL has taken over as the leader on the back end scoring 10 points in 11 games played this year. Head, 19, is also the unofficial power-play quarterback of the Warriors, both him and the rest of the top unit is looking at getting the monkey off their backs this evening in Merritt. Key to the game for the Warriors is to get on the board early on the man advantage and regain that momentum on the power-play they’ve had all season.
The Merritt Centennials are coming off a very frustrating loss to the Penticton Vees at the South Okanagan Events Centre by a score of 6-2. The Cents started out controlling the game but in the final couple minutes of the first they found themselves get into penalty trouble early with the Vees capitalizing with 2 goals, and then a quick power-play goal to start the second. The Cents became emotionally drained after the third goal and never really bounced back. Tonight they look to bounce back at home in one of the toughest rinks to play in, the Nicola Valley Memorial Arena. The NVMA is not just hostile territory for the West Kelowna Warriors, its a building unlike any other in the BCHL. The ice surface itself is actually smaller, forcing opposing clubs to change the way they play. Players must keep their head up and be forced to move the puck quickly. The Centennials highlight reels in the NVMA are usually steals they lead to odd man rushes in the other end. Key for a Centennials victory is to take advantage of the Warriors rookies not accustomed to the small ice surface and force players to quickly make decisions with the puck, leading to possible turnovers.
Tonight’s game is the BCHL’s Free to Watch game on Hockey TV. Just simply go online on your computer or download the HockeyTV app on your smartphone or tablet and create an account and you’ll be tuning into tonight’s broadcast FOR FREE. Tonight’s game will also be available on a live radio stream on Mixlr. The Warriors next home game is Saturday with the Nanaimo Clippers. Tickets are available for Saturday nights game. Check out our new ticketing system on the West Kelowna Warriors website and choose your seats!
