Saturday night round-up of junior hockey results from the Okanagan and area.
WINNIPEG 5, KELOWNA 4
The Kelowna Rockets fell 5-4 to Canadian Hockey League’s number-one-ranked team, the Winnipeg ICE, on Saturday night’s home game.
Kelowna fought back and tied the game with 30 seconds to play, but Winnipeg scored the game-winning goal seven seconds later.
“It’s a team you can’t fall asleep on for a second,” said Kelowna Rocket’s assistant coach Quintin Laing in the post-game press conference.
“A few plays we let our guard down and they capitalized, they’re one of the best teams in junior hockey for a reason. You’ve [got to] keep your focus, you [got to] have your deals and you can’t give up for five seconds or else they’re going to bite you. Tonight we let our guard down for a little bit and it bit us.”
The Rockets played with five defenseman, minus veteran Elias Carmichael, and thirteen forwards.
Kelowna will be off until next weekend when they face the Winterhawks in Portland on Friday and Saturday.
PENTICTON 4, WENATCHEE 2
The Penticton Vees are on a winning streak, taking home their 11th victory on Saturday. The Vees won 4-2 over the Wenatchee Wild at the Toyota Town Centre.
Vee goalie Luca Di Pasquo turned aside 30 of 32 shots in the Penticton net.
The power play was clicking Saturday, as the Vees scored twice on the four chances. The penalty kill was two for three.
Penticton lead in the second period before Wenathcee scored a pair of goals in the third, that bookended a Jackson Nieuwendyk tally for the Vees.
Vees scored on a Wenatchee power play officially at 19:59 to make it 4-2. The puck was ruled to just cross the goal line before time expired.
Up next, Penticton will host the Cranbrook Bucks on Wednesday.
WEST KELOWNA 4, SURREY 2
The West Kelowna Warriors snapped the Surrey Eagles’ undefeated streak with a 4-2 victory Saturday night.
Surrey stuck first, ending the opening period with a one-goal edge. West Kelowna pushed back and came from a usual spot on the blue line as Warriors’ Matt Fusco earned his fifth goal of the season.
The Warriors found their rhythm in the middle frame and scored two goals in quick succession to get their firs leads of the game.
Warriors fought hard, scoring their final goal with one second left on the clock.
Warriors will continue their four-game hoe stand as they host the Penticton Vees on Friday.
PRINCE GEORGE 8, VERNON 0
The Vernon Vipers fell to the Prince George Spruce Kings with an 8-0 loss on Saturday night.
The Vipers had a ton of jump in the first ten minutes of the period with a number of chances at the Spruce Kings goal.
After a successful penalty kill, Prince George opened the scoring earning the Spruce Kings a 2-0 lead after first period.
The Spruce Kings started strong during face-offs in the middle period and took a 3-0 lead after a faceoff win. From there, the Prince George power play rattled off two before the end of the period.
Vipers had a nice surge in the third but hit three goal posts.
Prince George added a power play goal late in the game to make the final 8-0.
The Vipers will look to regroup when they host the Cranbrook Bucks next weekend.
