Junior hockey: Rockets fall to Royals, Vees smash Smoke Eaters

A round-up of junior hockey results from the Okanagan and area.

VICTORIA 4, KELOWNA 0

For the second time in as many games, the Kelowna Rockets failed to reach the scoreboard.

At Victoria, Braden Holt backstopped the Victoria Royals to a 4-0 victory on Friday night, stopping all 29 shots he faced.

Reggie Newman and Teague Patton, with goals in the first period, plus Riley Gannon and Ryan Spizawka, with goals in the final 70 seconds of the third, scored for Victoria (11-25-3-1).

Talyn Boyko started in goal for Kelowna (13-22-3-0), which has lost nine of its past 10 games, including a 3-0 home-ice loss to Prince George on Tuesday. Boyko stopped seven of nine shots before being pulled after 14 minutes, with Jari Kykkanen turning aside 29 of 30 shots in relief.

Friday’s result was the fourth time this season that Kelowna has been shutout — twice at home and twice on the road. Notably, three of those four shutout losses have been in their past 10 games.

Both teams were also held scoreless during their power plays, with Kelowna going 0-for-4 and Victoria 0-2.

In B.C. Division standings, Kelowna is fourth out of five with 29 points, while Victoria is fifth with 26 points.

The two teams meet again in Victoria on Saturday night. Game time at Save-On-Foods Memorial Arena is 6:05 p.m.

Friday’s results

• Medicine Hat 4, Brandon 3
• Calgary 6, Swift Current 3
• Kamloops 6, Everett 3
• Lethbridge 4, Prince George 3 (OT)
• Moose Jaw 4, Portland 2
• Seattle 3, Prince Albert 2
• Red Deer 4, Edmonton 1
• Regina 7, Saskatoon 4
• Spokane 4, Vancouver 2

Saturday’s games (all times PT)

• Moose Jaw at Brandon, 5 p.m.
• Portland at Regina, 5 p.m.
• Seattle at Saskatoon, 5 p.m.
• Prince George at Swift Current, 5 p.m.
• Prince Albert at Edmonton, 6 p.m.
• Red Deer at Lethbridge, 6 p.m.
• Spokane at Kamloops, 7 p.m.

Sunday’s games

PENTICTON 7, TRAIL 2

At Trail, Suniev Aydar had a four-point night for Penticton, tallying two goals and two assists, as the Vees smashed the Smoke Eaters on Friday night.

Bradly Nadeau and Josh Nadeau, both of whom had three-point outings with a goal and two assists, Beanie Richter, Jackson Nieuwendyk and Dovar Tinling also scored for Penticton (31-3-0-0-0).

The league-leading Vees outshot Trail 44-28 and led 2-1 and 4-1 at the period breaks.

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Nicholas Remissong, who made it 2-1 late in the first, and Ethan Warrener, who made it 4-2 early in the third, replied for Trail (14-15-1-3-0).

Luca Di Pasquo stopped 26 of 28 shots for the Vees, while Teagan Kendrick turned aside 37 of 44 shots for the Smoke Eaters.

Penticton was 3-for-4 on the power play while Trail was 0-for-2.

MERRITT 5, SALMON ARM 4

At Salmon Arm, the Centennials skated to a three-goal lead, with Jaxson Murray netting a hat trick, then held on for a narrow win on Friday night despite getting heavily outshot.

Dylan Emerson and Jackson Krill also scored for Merritt (10-21-3-1-0), which broke open a 2-2 tie after the first period with three goals in the second.

Nathan Mackie and Ethan Ullrick, with goals in the first period, plus Hayden Stavroff and Ryan Gillespie, with goals in the third, replied for Salmon Arm (16-14-3-1-0).

Johnny Hicks stopped 53 of 57 shots for the Centennials. For the Silverbacks, Carter Richardson started but was pulled early in the second. He stopped 6 of 10 shots, with Matthew Tovell turning aside 8 of 9 in relief.

Merritt was 1-for-3 on the power play while Salmon Arm was 0-for-4.

VERNON 4, COWICHAN VALLEY 1

At Vernon, Roan Clarke stopped 24 of 25 shots as the Vipers downed the Capitals on Friday night.

Max Borovinskiy, Ayden Third, Lee Parks and Walker Erickson scored for Vernon (16-14-0-4-0), which led 1-0 and 3-0 at the period breaks.

William Elias replied for Cowichan Valley (7-24-1-2-0), which has the worst record in the league. In net, McCoy Bidewell turned aside 31 of 35 shots.

Vernon was 1-for-3 on the power play while Cowichan Valley was 0-for-3.

WEST KELOWNA 4, PRINCE GEORGE 3

At West Kelowna, Jake Bernadet and Luke Devin both had two-point nights, each with a goal and an assist, as the Warriors downed the Spruce Kings.

Rylee Hlusiak and Ben MacDonald also scored for West Kelowna (19-10-4-0-0), which, following a 1-1 tie after the first period, led 4-2 after 40 minutes.

Austin Fraser and Jake Schneider plus Ty Gagnon, who made it 4-3 five minutes into the third, replied for Prince George (17-13-2-1-0).

Cayden Hamming stopped 27 of 30 shots for the Warriors. For the Spruce Kings, Jordan Fairlie started, but was pulled after 40 minutes. He stopped 17 of 21 shots, with Aidan Feddema stopping all three shots he faced in relief.

West Kelowna was 1-for-4 on the power play while Prince George was 1-for-3.

Friday’s results

• Cranbrook 2, Wenatchee 0
• Alberni Valley 5, Langley 0
• Chilliwack 3, Coquitlam 2
• Nanaimo 4, Surrey 3

Saturday’s games (all times PT)

• Cowichan Valley at Penticton, 6 p.m.
• Trail at Salmon Arm, 6 p.m.
• Surrey at Alberni Valley, 7 p.m.
• West Kelowna at Merritt, 7 p.m.
• Chilliwack at Powell River, 7 p.m.
• Langley at Victoria, 7 p.m.

Sunday’s games

Friday’s results

• Fernie 12, Chase 1
• Revelstoke 6, 100 Mile House 2
• Kamloops 2, Sicamous 1
• Summerland 3, Kelowna 2
• Columbia Valley 8, Princeton 3
• Beaver Valley 3, Castlegar 0
• Grand Forks 5, Nelson 1
• Kimberley 3, North Okanagan 2 (OT)

Saturday’s games

• Castlegar at Nelson, 7 p.m.
• 100 Mile House at Revelstoke, 7 p.m.
• North Okanagan at Sicamous, 7 p.m.
• Kimberley at Kelowna, 7 p.m.
• Summerland at Princeton, 7 p.m.
• Grand Forks at Beaver Valley, 7 p.m.

Sunday’s game