Here’s a roundup of junior hockey results from the Okanagan and area.
The Kelowna Rockets sent their fans home happy Saturday night, after the club earned its first win of the 2023/24 regular season.
Rockets forward Tij Iginla opened the scoring against the Wenatchee Wild in the first period, after a beautiful setup from Andrew Cristall.
Saturday night’s game was Cristall’s first of the season with the Rockets, after spending time at the Washington Capitals training camp, where he made his pre-season NHL debut against the Detroit Red Wings — registering an assist in his first taste of action in the big league.
The Wild would tie the game just before the end of the first period. The Rockets, however, restored their lead in the second, after Hiroki Gojsic deposited his first WHL goal.
In the final frame, the Wild struck with two quick power-play goals to take the wind out of the Rockets sails, capturing a 3-2 advantage with time winding down on the home team.
But with the pressure mounting, the Rockets found a way.
Kelowna struck back with three-unanswered goals, including two tallies with the man-advantage, and the Rockets closed out on the Wild with a 5-3-win. Cristall was named the game’s first star after recording three points en route to victory, while Gojsic was chosen as the game’s second star, thanks to his first goal in the WHL and an assist.
The Rockets’ next game is Tuesday, Oct. 3 in Prince George.
PENTICTON 2, POWELL RIVER 3 (SO)
The Penticton Vees were in action against the Powell River Kings Saturday, and were just minutes away from a weekend sweep, but the Kings had other plans.
The hometown Kings would open the scoring on the power play just over two minutes into the contest, thanks to forward Anthony Lucarelli, who picked up his second goal of the season. Vees forward Ryan MacPherson had the answer, though, also striking on the power play. The score was even heading into the middle frame.
No one would find the back of the net in the second period, but in the third, MacPherson buried his second of the night and fifth of the season, to give the visitors a slight edge. With less than two minutes to play, and the Kings on their heels, Noah Eyre fired home the tying tally on the power play, sending the game into extra time.
No one could beat the goaltenders in overtime, so a shootout was needed to decide the winner. Kings forward Christian Maro would be the only player on either side to score, giving his club a 3-2 SO win over the reigning back-to-back league champions.
Next up, the Vees will play on home ice for the first time this season, facing off against the Trail Smoke Eaters on Friday, Oct. 6.
The West Kelowna Warriors remained hot Saturdday night, knocking off the visiting Trail Smoke Eaters.
In the opening frame, both clubs exchanged goals just 21 seconds apart, and the score would stay knotted up at 1-1 heading into the second, but not for long. The Warriors came out of the gates of period two flying — scoring two goals 38 seconds apart to take a 3-1 lead. Trail would respond with a goal from Adam Marshall, cutting the deficit to 3-2 going into period three.
West Kelowna would add to their lead thanks to Jack Pridham, but Trail wouldn’t go down without a fight. Josh Schenk would score for the Smoke Eaters to make things interesting again, but it was Warriors forward Michael Salandra who would tuck in an empty-net goal, to seal the deal on a 5-3 win.
With the win, the Warriors improved to 3-1-0. The Warriors’ next game is Friday, Oct. 6 in Salmon Arm.
For the Salmon Arm Silverbacks, Saturday night’s game was one to remember. For the Cranbrook Bucks, it’s one they’d soon like to forget.
The Silverbacks opened the scoring in the first period, thanks to a goal from Maddux Martin just over two minutes into the affair. The Bucks would tie the game roughly four minutes later, but after that, it was all Salmon Arm. The Silverbacks scored five unanswered goals — one in the first period, one in the second, and three in the third period, as they cruised to a 6-1 win over the Bucks.
Silverbacks’ netminder Eli Pulver set aside 26 shots out of the 27 he faced. Their next game is Friday, Oct. 6, at home against the West Kelowna Warriors.
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