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Penticton edged the West Kelowna Warriors 4-3 in sudden death overtime Friday

Warriors tripped up in OT

The West Kelowna Warriors will be glad when the regular season ends so they can say goodbye to three-on-three overtime.

The Warriors lost for the ninth straight time in overtime Friday, falling 4-3 to the visiting Penticton Vees in a game in which they never trailed until the final buzzer sounded.

In fairness to the visitors, Penticton dominated the extra period controlling the puck for nearly the entire 4:16 until captain Thomas Pichette finally ended it when his wrist shot from the slot squeezed through Rorke Applebee and slid slowly through the blue paint and across the line before a Warrior could sweep it away.

Felix Caron who leads the team with 28 goals had the best chance for the Warriors in the extra period but fired wide on a clean breakaway.

Penticton went up the ice and scored the winner and, in the process clinched first in the Interior Conference and home ice advantage as long as they stay alive in the post season.

The Warriors led 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2 but each time the Vees came back to tie it a short time later.

The backbreaker a goal 21 seconds after Carter Oakenfold brought the roof down with his first as a Warrior to make it 3-2 eight minutes into the third.

Warriors head coach Simon Ferguson says that tying goal, a rush on the backside should never have happened.

The Warriors more than held their own five-on-five but again didn't get the break or make the break when they needed it.

Jack Pridham with a laser from a sharp angle and Jackson Kyrkostas near the end of a power play scored the other Warrior goals. Larry Keenan who also had a pair of assists, Connor MacPherson and Billy Renfrew scored the goal for the Vees.

Penticton appeared to take their first lead of the night early in the third period.

With the game deadlocked 2-2 the Warriors opened the third with a few second remaining on a power play. Penticton killed the remaining 29 seconds and, shortly thereafter Simon Meier scored what appeared to be the go ahead goal.

The Warriors bench erupted claiming the play was offside and, after a brief discussion the officials waved the goal off.

The call appeared to give the Warriors a bit more pep in their step.

"It was huge. We usually don't get those calls made right and I'm glad to see it was made tonight," said Ferguson.

"But the guys responded well after that and we bounced back, kept going and kept pushing."

Penticton outshot the Warriors 33-30 over the course of the 60 minutes plus including 5-1 during a dominant overtime.

With the single point the Warriors now sit six points up on third place Salmon Arm after the Silverbacks dumped Trail 4-1.

The Warriors need just five points from their remaining four games to clinch second and a first round playoff match-up with either Cranbrook or Merritt.

West Kelowna is off until next weekend when they hit the road for games in Trail Friday and Cranbrook Saturday.



Penticton Vees hoping to break multiple records with Valley First Feed the Valley night

Vees want to break records

Casey Richardson

"We just hope we can have a record turnout of people, a record amount of pounds of food raised and a record number of cash donations that all goes back to food security here in the South Okanagan."

With massive increasing demand for food throughout the South Okanagan, the Penticton Vees are hoping to fill the arena and bring in a record number of non-perishable food donations.

On March 22, the BCHL team will be collecting donations for the Penticton Salvation Army Food Bank during the annual Valley First Feed the Valley night.

Fraser Rodgers, vice president of business operations, said the team has been running the fundraiser for more than a decade and is looking to set new records for food donations, as well as set a BCHL attendance record. The Chilliwack Chiefs hold the current attendance record at 5,008.

"The goal is to really try to take a bite out of hunger in our community in the South Okanagan. But try to do it on a bigger scale, the biggest scale we possibly could this year," he said.

"More and more families due to inflation, cost of living continue to rise, are dependent on food banks."

Aiming to break two records, the idea is the more people, the more non perishable food donations.

"It hits close to home, because we see so many young fans in our building and families that come to our games. And we know some of those families might be struggling," Fraser added.

"For us, we just want to use our platform, which in our town is a big platform. We have so much support, and we can amplify message like this, and food security is a pressing issue. So we thought this would be a great way to help a great cause."

This is also an important opportunity for the young players on the team to support their community.

"That's why we do so much community work with our players, so they get to connect with our fans with community and see some of the struggles that people deal with day to day. And it's not just the world of hockey."

Fans have a chance to win big with a $10,000 guaranteed 50/50 jackpot. Tickets are on sale now at www.BCHHOF5050.ca with proceeds to be donated to Salvation Army Food Bank and Skaha Middle School Breakfast Program.

Fans who bring a minimum of three non-perishable food items or a $5 cash donation can enter a draw to win the Vees Ultimate Playoff Experience, which includes:

  • One suite (up to 10 people) for Game One of the BCHL Playoffs
  • $200 food and beverage voucher
  • Player autographed Vees’ jersey
  • Suite visit from Harvee & Vees’ players

The Vees are offering local businesses a chance to win a pair of corporate flex tickets for the 2024-25 season, by booking a staff group outing to the game and bringing non-perishable food donations. The winning business will be announced on March 22.



Trent Wilson scored twice leading West Kelowna past Prince George 4-2 Saturday

Warriors bounce back

One line did a bulk of the heavy lifting for the West Kelowna Warriors Saturday night.

The trio of Trent Wilson, Felix Caron and Jackson Kyrkostas combined for eight points in leading the Warriors past the visiting Prince George Spruce Kings 4-2.

Wilson scored the first two goals of the night while his wingers assisted on both as well as a third from Jack Pridham in the victory.

But, while they controlled the game offensively, head coach Simon Ferguson said it was a play in the defensive end with the Warriors clinging to a one-goal lead that meant as much.

"To me the shot block from one of the leading scorers in the league (Caron), that's a big time play," said Ferguson.

"You're up by one and you don't block that shot it slides through and goes in. You want to win a championship your best players have to do stuff like that.

"I don't think he was the only but I really liked that big block. Then that battle on the half wall to make sure the puck gets out at the end of the game."

Johannes Løkkeberg also scored for the Warriors who bounced back from a heartbreaking 2-1 overtime loss to Penticton the previous night.

Matthew DellaRusso, making his first start in a month turned away 23 shots to earn his sixth win of the season.

He looked almost unbeatable for much of the night and perhaps deserved a better fate but some defensive lapses late in the second left him high and dry as the Spruce Kings turned clawed back to within a goal after 40 minutes.

The Warriors top line got things rolling in the first when Caron stationed behind the net found Wilson in the slot who beat Charlie Zolin with a quick wrist shot.

He buried his second early in the second period on a similar play. This time Caron worked out of the corner and again hit Wilson in front for his 17th of the season.

Jack Pridham notched his 20th 14 minutes in tipping home a centering pass during a delayed penalty.

But the Spruce Kings got one back seconds later and another on an odd man rush before the end of the period to enter the third down just a single goal.

But the Warriors kept the visitors at bay throughout the final period and eventually put it away when Løkkeberg lifted a backhand past Zolin after some great work from Carter Oakenfold.

Oakenfold, who joined the team in mid-January from the Alberta Junior Hockey League has been steadily improving his game after suffering an upper body injury during his first game with the Warriors.

He was elevated to a line with Løkkeberg and Viggo Nordström and had three or four good looks at his first in the BCHL.

The Warriors remain seven up on third place Salmon Arm with just five games left in the regular season. The Warriors will face either Merritt or Cranbrook in the opening round of the playoffs with the first two games already set for Royal LePage Place Friday and Saturday, April 5 and 6.

They'll host Penticton next Friday night in the second to last regular season home game.



Penticton got the winner 70 seconds into overtime beating the Warriors 2-1

Warriors fall again in OT

The West Kelowna Warriors can be thankful three-on-three overtime is not used in the BC Hockey League playoffs.

After battling back in the dying seconds to force the extra period Francesco Dell'Elce needed just 70 second of overtime to deliver the visiting Penticton Vees a thrilling 2-1 victory over the Warriors before more than 1,200 mostly disappointed fans at Royal LePage Place.

It was a classic playoff-type game, close checking, at times hard hitting and on the occasion when things broke down, both goaltender came up big.

Ryan MacPherson got the Vees on the board just 2:11 in when Rorke Applebee mishandled the puck behind his own net allowing the Vees to get control.

Connor MacPherson found his twin brother near the front of the net and his quick shot beat Applebee before the Warrior netminder could scramble back.

It looked like that goal would stand up, and it almost did.

Despite some good chances, especially during a flurry near the end of the second and more pressure in the third, the Warriors were unable to solve Will Ingemann.

That is until the final moments with Applebee on the bench for an extra attacker.

Felix Caron, who had a good chance a few moments earlier was stoned by Ingemann with just under half a minute to go.

However, the Warriors were able to keep the puck alive and, with seconds ticking down, Jackson Kyrkostas from the top of the slot found Jack Pridham at the bottom of the left circle.

His one-timer from a sharp angle beat Ingemann just under the bar.

The building erupted sending the game to overtime.

Caron again had a great chance to win it on a partial break but couldn't beat Ingemann from in tight.

The Vees eventually gained control and went the other way. Dell'Elce was stopped off the left wing but the rebound slid to the other side of the crease where he tapped home the winner.

The Warriors argued Applebee was impeded from getting to the loose puck by a Penticton forward crashing the crease but, after a brief discussion the officials allowed the goal to stand.

It was the Warriors eighth straight overtime defeat.

"I guess we're glad we don't play three-on-three in overtime in the playoffs," a disheartened head coach Simon Ferguson said after the game.

Despite the loss and the way in which it happened Ferguson liked the way his team played.

"That's a playoff hockey game in early March. I like the way we played, I thought we controlled the pace for two-and-a-half periods. We played smart hockey, we just didn't get the goals in overtime again," he said.

"I thought we competed, we played hard, we played the right way, we just came up one short."

It was a tough, but clean game. Both teams were hit with just one penalty with neither team able to connect on their man advantage.

The Warriors remain second in the Interior, seven up on Salmon Arm who beat Cranbrook 1-0 in overtime Friday.

Any combination of points gained by the Warriors or lost by Salmon Arm totalling eight will allow the Warriors to clinch second.

The Warriors are back at it again Saturday when they entertain the Prince George Spruce Kings.



Central Okanagan Food Bank will benefit from Warriors date with Vees Friday

Warriors 'Feed the Valley'

The Central Okanagan Food Bank will be the big winner when the West Kelowna Warriors open a three-game homestand against the Interior Conference-leading Penticton Vees Friday.

The game is the annual "Feed the Valley Night" where fans are encouraged to bring a non-perishable food item to the game.

The game has been a staple since 2010 as a community initiative to help tackle hunger throughout the Okanagan, Similkameen and Thompson valley.

The 50/50 jackpot Friday will also benefit the food bank.

Friday's game is the fifth of six meetings between the Warriors and Vees.

West Kelowna has won both meetings on home ice and hold an overall head-to-head record of 2-1-1-0.

Friday is the first of back-to-back games on the weekend.

The cellar-dwelling Prince George Spruce Kings provide the opposition Saturday night.

The Warriors own a 3-1-1-0 record against their northern rivals this season.

West Kelowna come into the weekend with a firm grip on second place in the Interior. They sit eight points behind the Vees and eight ahead of third place Salmon Arm.



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