Photo: #14 John Evans would setup the lone goal for the Warriors
Photo Credit: Tami Quan Photography
March 2nd, 2022
WENATCHEE, USA – The West Kelowna Warriors suffer a 3-1 loss at the hands of the Wenatchee Wild Wednesday night.
The Wild came out of the gate strong with 2 powerplay attempts and at one point they were out shooting the Warriors 10-1. The Warriors would kill both penalties and would answer back with 4 quick shots in the final two minutes of the period. Both Warriors goaltender Johnny Derrick and Wild goaltender Tyler Shea stood tall.
With the game scoreless after one, the Warriors would start the 2nd period on the powerplay but came out sloppy turning over the puck a handful of times but Johnny Derrick would once again keep it scoreless with a couple great stops. Halfway through the second period the scoring would arrive. It began with the Wild Captain Quinn Emerson scoring a penalty shot goal to make it 1-0 with 9 minutes remaining. Then Anthony Cafarelli caught Nick Ardanaz sleeping intercepting his pass up the middle and beating Johnny Derrick to make it 2-0 Wild. The Warriors would finally score with Brennan Nelson stealing a puck taking off with John Evans to score a shorthanded goal to cut the lead. Only 40 seconds later the Wild would restore the two goal lead with Owen Bohn taking advantage of another Warriors turnover to make it 3-1 Wild. Late in the period John Evans would get hit hard from behind by Travis Bohnet. No call was made on the play for what was a dangerous hit forcing Chase Dafoe to take matters into his own hands dropping the gloves with Bohnet in a spirited tilt.
The Warriors needed a good start to the third period if they wanted to crawl back in the game but were unsuccessful. The Wild would close the door the remainder of the period and skate off with a 3-1 win.
Final shots: 30-25 Wild.
The Warriors are back in action Friday night when they travel east to take on the Trail Smoke Eaters. Puck drop 7:00pm PST from Cominco Arena in Trail. Catch broadcasts on BCHL TV (formally HockeyTV) or tune into the Warriors MixIr radio station.
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