Photo Credit: Pure Life Photography
November 7th, 2020
West Kelowna, B.C. – The West Kelowna Warriors wrapped up the round robin of the Okanagan Cup with a 3-1 win over the visiting Salmon Arm Silverbacks.
With second place in the Okanagan Cup secured, the Warriors looked to get off to a better start than the night previous. It was their special teams that would get the ball rolling. While down a man John Evans would jump on Silverbacks turnover at centre ice and score on the breakaway. The unassisted goal would give the Warriors a 1-0 lead before the five minute mark of the first period. Salmon Arm would answer back just over four minutes later. A hard drive to the net by Salmon Arm resulted in two Warriors players colliding with their own goaltender, Zach Bennett. The contact was enough to take Bennett out of position and Mathieu Bourgault was able to capitalize and tie the game. Later on in the period the Warriors were able to restore the lead. Shortly after an unsuccessful 5-on-3 chance, Elan Bar Lev Wise would break into the zone after receiving a pass from Felix Trudeau. Bar Lev Wise would draw a defender towards him which resulted in Carter Wilkie being left alone in front. He would make a nice move in tight to give the Warriors a 2-1 lead, a score that would hold for the remainder of the period.
The Warriors would extend their lead in the second. Corey McCann would skate the puck out of his own end into the Silverback’s zone. He then dished the puck off to Matthew Steinburg who took care of the rest. His quick wrister eluded goalkeeper Liam Vanderkooi. As the period progressed the officials continued to call a tight game. Both teams would find themselves up a man and then shortly find themselves in 4-on-4 situations.
The Silverbacks would push the speed of play for the majority of the third period. They would find themselves with plenty of time in the attacking zone but were unable to close the lead. Bennett would stop all eight shots he would face, including ones late in the game while the Warriors were down 5-on-3 in the final minute of play. The final buzzer would sound with the Warriors ahead on the scoreboard 3-1 despite being outshot 35-23.
The Okanagan Cup now shifts to the semi final stage. West Kelowna will face the Vernon Vipers in a single game Friday, November 13th. The winner of that game will play for the Okanagan Cup Championship on Saturday November 14th against the winner of the Salmon Arm Silverbacks and Penticton Vees. Puck drop for the Warriors on Friday will be 7:00pm from Royal Lepage Place. Catch broadcasts on HockeyTV or tune into the Warriors MixIr radio station.
