Warriors Open New Year With 5–1 Loss to Bulldogs
The West Kelowna Warriors opened the 2026 calendar year on the wrong side of the scoreboard, falling 5–1 to the Blackfalds Bulldogs in a physical contest that unraveled late.
The Bulldogs wasted no time setting the tone, striking first with a shorthanded goal from Danny Hussa. Blackfalds continued to apply pressure and doubled their lead later in the opening frame when Braydan Smith beat the Warriors’ netminder. West Kelowna struggled to generate offense early, getting outshot 14–7 in the first period and heading into the intermission trailing 2–0.
The second period showed signs of life from the Warriors, who pushed the pace and created several quality looks. Their best opportunity came on the power play when a hard shot rang off the crossbar, but despite the momentum swing, neither team was able to find the back of the net. The score remained unchanged heading into the third.
Penalty trouble proved costly for West Kelowna in the final frame. Luke Dahlen capitalized on the Bulldogs’ power play to make it 3–0, and Blackfalds kept pressing, adding two more goals to put the game out of reach. Philip Hagen would finally break Carson Mertz’s shutout bid late in the period, scoring his first goal of the season to get the Warriors on the board.
Tempers flared in the closing minutes as the game turned chippy, with multiple players ejected before the final horn.
Blackfalds finished with a 37–28 edge in shots. Special teams told much of the story, as the Warriors went 0-for-7 on the power play, while the Bulldogs converted twice on five opportunities.
West Kelowna will look to regroup quickly as they turn the page and search for a better result against the Brooks Bandits. Catch the game on FloHockey puck drop 7PM MST.
