Photo: Brent Seabrook and his family dropped the puck Sunday afternoon for “Hockey Day in West K’ .
Photo Credit: Tami Quan Photography
January 23rd, 2022
WEST KELOWNA B.C. – The West Kelowna Warriors take their foot of the gas pedal and allow the Bucks to storm back and score 4 unanswered to win 5-3 Sunday afternoon.
The Warriors came out flying to start the game with a pair of powerplay goals. First it was Chase Dafoe with a deflection scoring his 12th of the year on to make it 1-0. Then at the midway mark of the period the second unit would add another with Dafoe finding Cameron Hicklin scoring his 1st of the season to make it 2-0 after one.
The Bucks would go on a handful of powerplays in the second period and capitalize on one of them. Forward Tyson Dyck was able to collect a loose puck on the right side circle and fire a shot before taking a huge hit and scoring his team leading 20th of the year to cut the Warriors lead in half.
Nursing a 2-1 lead, the Warriors needed an excellent third period. They got what they thought would be an insurance goal from Tyler Cristall to make it 3-1 with 10 minutes remaining in regulation. Then the Bucks would turn on the after burners. Jarrod Smith would score off a breakout pass from Cole Assaily to cut the lead back to one goal only moments after Tyler Cristall scored for the Warriors. Then the Bucks would tie the game with two minutes remaining with Tyson Dyck tipping a Cole Assaily shot from the point past Justin Katz. With the game approaching a possible extra frame Tyson Dyck would find an edge and find Johnny Johnson who would walk right in and beat Justin Katz to take a 4-3 lead for the Bucks. The Warriors would try and tie it up but the Bucks would score with the net empty to make it 5-3.
Final shots: 27-24 Bucks.
The Warriors are back in action next Saturday when they host the Trail Smoke Eaters. Puck drop 7:00pm PST from Royal LePage Place. Tickets available at westkelownawarriors.ca. Catch broadcasts on BCHL TV (formally HockeyTV) or tune into the Warriors MixIr radio station.
