For the third year in a row, the Westside Warriors ended in the second round of the BCHL playoffs.
The Vernon Vipers eliminated Westside Tuesday beating the Warriors 2-1 to capture the Interior Conference semi-final series in six games.
The Vipers now move on to face the Salmon Arm Silverbacks in the Interior Conference final.
Trevor Fitzgerald snapped a 1-1 tie with a shorthanded goal at 12:41 of the third period to propel the Vipers to the victory.
Fitzgerald grabbed a loose puck in the neutral zone, beat the Warriors defender wide, cut to the net and beat Cole Holowenko five-hole with what stood up as the game winner.
The Warriors had a chance to tie it with a late power-play opportunity but were unable to beat Vipers goaltender Kirby Halcrow.
Westside pulled Holowenko in the dying minutes but a double minor to Kyle Singleton with 1:05 left meant the teams played five-on-five when the Warriors were able to again pull Holowenko.
They were unable to mount any pressure on the Vipers net the rest of the way.
Marcus Basara opened the scoring at 5:05 of the first converting a nifty three way passing play on a Vipers power-play.
Max French tied the game at 1-1 snapping a wrist shot from the left circle past Halcrow on a on a three-on-one break. It was one of the rare odd man rushes the Warriors were able to mount on the evening.
The Warriors controlled the shot clock for the first time in the series, outshooting the Vipers 25-17.
The Vipers went 1-4 on the power-play while the Warriors failed to score on their five opportunities.
After losing game five 7-1 the night before and losing the services of 19-year-old forward Tyler Krause to a severe knee injury courtesy of a vicious knee-on-knee hit from Vipers defenceman Ryan Renz, the Warriors went down fighting.
“I'm so proud of those guys, they gave it everything they had. Our guys gave it everything they had,” says an emotional Darren Yopyk following the defeat.
“It was a real tough first series and it's hard to bounce back sometimes but I thought our best game in the series was tonight. We didn't get the puck luck we wanted but I have to give credit to all my guys. It's been a pleasure and a joy and it's been really fun.”
After the game, Yopyk says he told the players they made an impact on the West Kelowna community.
“This rink has become a place where people have developed some passion and they are starting to develop an identity for a town that is a relatively new town and, they were great.”
Yopyk says the 20-year-old players all gave their heart and soul to the team and the community.
“It's something they should be proud of.”
The Warriors will lose as many as 13 players to either graduation of U.S. Colleges.
Yopyk says he'll take a few days to let this past season sink in before starting to prepare for the 2011-2012 season.
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