Angelo Zol recorded his second straight shutout, blanking Salmon Arm 3-0 Friday
You can make it back-to-back shutouts for West Kelowna Warriors netminder Angelo Zol.
The 20-year-old Kelowna product faced just 18 shots Friday in recording his third goose egg of the BCHL season, a 3-0 blanking of the visiting Salmon Arm Silverbacks.
In the process, he established a new club record with a consecutive shutout streak of 160 minutes and 18 seconds – and counting.
The last goal he and the Warriors surrendered was at 19:42 of the first period against Alberni Valley three games ago.
The previous record of 149 minutes and 55 seconds was set back in December of 2013.
It’s also the second time in franchise history the team has recorded back-to-back shutouts on home ice. It was last done in October of last year.
The win improved his personal record to 15-1-1-0, lowered his league-leading goals against average to a miniscule 1.57 and raised his save percentage to 0.935.
He’s given up more than two goals just five times in his 17 starts.
To say he’s made one of the hardest positions in any sport look easy may, realistically, be an understatement.
“You just try to take it one save at a time and at the end of the day credit to the boys, they’re selling out to block shots, they’re boxing out guys, they’re making my job a lot easier every night,” said Zol after his latest win.
Zol wasn’t tested too much on Friday night, but did see one ring off the post late in the second period and he had to make an alert save on a puck that took a crazy bounce in the dying moments of the game.
He also made a deft pokecheck to deny Luke Lepper on a breakaway.
In a tight checking game where there wasn’t a lot of room for either team and second chances were hard to find, it was a lucky bounce that got the Warriors on the board.
Natan Ethier beat a defenceman and threw the puck toward the front of the net. It hit a Salmon Arm player’s skate and deflected past Daniel Dirracolo midway through the first.
It looked like that might stand up as the lone goal of the night until Jace Rask gave the Warriors a bit of breathing room.
While on a power play eight minutes into the third, Rask undressed a defenceman with a beautiful toe drag to get into the slot. His quick shot beat Dirracolo to the short side.
Ethier clinched it with an empty net goal from inside his own blueline.
“I thought we played well. We didn’t give them much and when we did Zol was there to make the good saves,” said head coach Simon Ferguson.
“I think they had one post in the second where it got away from us a little bit and our puck management at the start of the game wasn’t quite where I wanted it to be but overall, happy with the two points.
It was a fast, clean game with very few whistles and only three minor penalties.
The Warriors outshot the visitors 30-18 on the night.
The win keeps the Warriors four points clear of second place Trail in the Interior West Division.
It also runs their streak of home games without a regulation loss to 13.
The same two teams meet again Saturday night in Salmon Arm.
Wayne Moore. (2025, December 12th). Warriors Blank Silverbacks. https://www.castanet.net/news/BCHL/588128/Angelo-Zol-turned-away-25-shots-as-the-Warriors-edged-Trail-1-0-at-RLP-Saturday
