Brooks, AB – It’s not a series until somebody loses at home…
The West Kelowna Warriors kicked off their opening round series in the 2025 Fred Page Cup Playoffs with a 4-2 victory over the Brooks Bandits at Centennial Regional Arena on Friday night.
The Warriors opened the scoring in the late stages of the first period, as Tyler Grahme was able to tip an Axel Lofgren point shot past Bandits netminder Zach Zahara to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.
Early in the second period, Joey Macrina was able to knock down a Brooks clearing attempt, and feed Elias Callgren, who pumped his first of the postseason past Zahara to make it 2-0. Callgren wasn’t finished there, as he would add his second of the game four minutes later, as he pounced on a rebound to make it 3-0 Warriors. Callgren would finish his strong second period by springing Joey Macrina on a breakaway late in the frame. Macrina pumped a shot low to the stick side to make it 4-0 before the end of the middle frame.
The Bandits would come alive in the third period, as they were able to find a pair of goals in the final twenty minutes of play to cut the Warriors lead in half, but it was too little, too late, as West Kelowna held on for the 4-2 victory, and a 1-0 series lead.
Between the pipes, Eddie Gauthier made 21 saves on 23 shots for his first career BCHL playoff victory. The Warriors and Bandits meet for Game 2 at Centennial Regional Arena on Saturday night. Puckdrop is slated for 7:00PM MDT/6:00 PDT, and you can catch all the action on BCHLTV and AM1150, with the Voice of your Warriors, Joey Pitt.
PHOTO: Tami Quan Photography
CUTLINE: Elias Callgren’s pair of goals in the second period would stand as difference makers for West Kelowna, as the Warriors took Game 1 of the Interior Conference Quarterfinals 4-2 over the Brooks Bandits.
