West Kelowna needed to go to a shootout to get past visiting Cranbrook
“The West Kelowna Warriors had enough chances over the final 40 minutes and overtime to win three or four games.
In the end, they needed a shootout to swat away the pesky Cranbrook Bucks before 1,153 fans at Royal LePage Place Friday night.
Natan Ethier scored the only goal of the shootout, cutting toward the slot from the left wing, before deking and roofing a backhand past Jason Tremblay.
The Warriors controlled play for much of the final 50 minutes, but had to weather a late storm in overtime to even get to the shootout.
Angelo Zol was called upon to make three outstanding saves over the final 40 seconds after Ian Crowley was sent off for interference after getting in the way of a Cranbrook defenceman at the Bucks blueline to create an odd man rush.
Before that, Caden Kemkaren-Humble and Dylan Krayer, by far the best skater on the ice, both hit the cross bar during the fast-paced, 10-minute three-on-three overtime.
The Warriors came out of the gate sluggish, allowing the Bucks to take the play to them in the opening 20 minutes before the Warriors finally found their game in the second.
“I thought our first period was just OK. I don’t think we managed pucks well,” said head coach Simon Ferguson.
I thought they won puck battles in the area we needed to win them then, because of that they controlled the pace.
“We came out in the second, we started hitting, we started playing, we started winning our puck battles and I thought we mostly took over the game from there.”
The Bucks were rewarded with the only goal of the first period when Samuel Lyne cut across the crease and tucked the puck behind Angelo Zol.
The Warriors got that one back in a hurry at the start of the second.
Playing with the final 56 seconds of a late first period power play, captain Liam Nilsson streaked down the left wing and snapped a shot past Tremblay from the left circle. The puck beat the Bucks netminder just inside the far post and came out as quickly as it entered.
The Warriors had lots of chances the rest of the way, peppering Tremblay with 31 shots over the final 50 minutes. When Tremblay wasn’t turning them away, the Warriors were either missing the net or Bucks defenders were blocking shots.
“They had a lot of blocks. That’s their game, we’ve known that for five years, they are going to sit in the middle, they are going to block, they are going to compete and it’s boring.
“They try to win out 1-0.”
It was also a near perfect recipe for a team 21 points back in the standings to potentially steal a couple of points on the road.
The Warriors will see another one of those teams Saturday night when they entertain the Vernon Vipers who have had a tough start to the season, winning just four of their first 20.
One of those wins was a 4-2 victory on home ice last Saturday against the Warriors, a game Ferguson said was reminiscent of Friday’s game except the Warriors were unable to complete the comeback.
Friday’s win extended the Warriors streak of home games without a regulation loss to nine.
Saturday’s tilt with the Vipers starts at 7 at Royal LePage Place.”
Wayne Moore. (2025, November 28th). Warriors Win A Thriller. https://www.castanet.net/news/BCHL/578827/West-Kelowna-wins-its-fifth-in-a-row-5-2-over-visiting-Salmon-Arm
