Photo: #19 Carter Wilkie’s shorthanded goal in the second period was just the beginning of the Warriors comeback Saturday night.
Photo Credit: Tami Quan Photography
September 26th, 2020
VERNON B.C. – The West Kelowna Warriors finish the opening weekend of the Okanagan Cup with a pair of victories after a 2-1 win Saturday night
It wasn’t the start the Warriors were looking for in the first period with numerous sloppy passes and plays that simply didn’t connect allowing the Vipers to spend the majority of their time in the Warriors zone. Warriors goaltender Zach Bennett stood tall stopping his first 9 shots faced but then off a Trey Taylor pass the rookie Kaiden Johnson would beat Bennett to give the Vipers a 1-0 lead with only 58 seconds remaining in the first period.
The Warriors started the second frame with a total of four power play opportunities they were unable to cash in on. When the Vipers went on what would be their 4th power play of the night the Warriors would create a neutral zone turnover leading to a Carter Wilkie goal to tie the game with three minutes remaining in the 2nd. With under a minute to go the Warriors would once again go on the attack. When Charles-Alexis Legault fired a shot from the point the puck would go off Brennan Nelson and off Vipers goaltender Roan Clarke. That’s when Deegan Mofford would sneak in to score his 2nd of the Okanagan Cup and give the Warriors their first lead of the game with only 15 seconds remaining in the second period.
The third period was all Warriors where they would have numerous scoring chances but Vipers goaltender Roan Clarke stood tall stopping 17 shots in the final frame. The Vipers would have some opportunities late with the extra attacker but they couldn’t get the tying goal past Zach Bennett and the Warriors would head back to West Kelowna with back to back victories in the opening weekend of the Okanagan Cup.
Final shots on goal: 35-34 Warriors
3 stars: Deegan Mofford WKW – 1G
Kaiden Johnson VER -1
Luke Pakulak Ver – 0/0
Three Stars:
- WKW F Deegan Mofford 1G
- VER F Kaiden Johnson 1G
- VER F Luke Pakulak
The Warriors next game is Friday October 2nd versus the Penticton Vees. Puck drop 6:00pm from the South Okanagan Events Centre in Penticton. This game will be streamed on Hockey TV and will be broadcast on the Warriors radio network.
