Junior hockey: Rockets fall to Chiefs, Warriors edge Vipers

A roundup of junior hockey results from the Okanagan and area.

WESTERN HOCKEY LEAGUE

SPOKANE 2, KELOWNA 1

At Spokane, the Chiefs built up a 2-0 lead, then hung on for the win despite a big push by the Rockets during the third period of Friday night’s game at Veterans Memorial Arena.

Ty Cheveldayoff and Saige Weinstein scored for Spokane (5-16-0-1), which was outshot 44-23, including 19-3 in the final frame. All the game’s goals happened in the second period.

Elias Carmichael, who made it 2-1 at 12:37 of the second, replied for Kelowna (9-11-2-0), who are on a three-game U.S. Division road trip this weekend.

The Rockets will visit Tri-City (11-13-0-0) on Saturday night, then close out their short journey on Sunday in Everett (13-9-1-0).

Jari Kykkanen made 21 saves for the Rockets, with Dawson Cowan turning aside 43 shots for the struggling Chiefs, who have the league’s third-worst record. Only Victoria (3-19-3-0) and Edmonton (4-21-1-0) have fewer wins.

Both teams were 0-for-3 on the power play.

Elsewhere, the Regina Pats closed out the B.C. portion of their long road trip with a 5-1 win in Prince George (13-11-0-0) on Friday night.

Phenom Connor Bedard tallied two goals as Regina went 4-1 in B.C., scoring consecutive wins over Vancouver (3-0), Victoria (9-5) and Kelowna (6-5 OT) before losing to Kamloops (9-3).

Notably, all five B.C. rinks were sold out to watch Bedard play, including Prince George, with Friday’s game featuring an attendance of 6,027. Most games at the CN Centre have lately been averaging crowds between 1,500 and 2,500.

Regina (13-12-1-1) will close out its road trip on Sunday in Edmonton (4-21-1-0).

Friday’s results

• Brandon 5, Prince Albert 4
• Medicine Hat 4, Calgary 3
• Kamloops 3, Vancouver 0
• Portland 3, Victoria 1
• Regina 5, Prince George 1
• Saskatoon 4, Red Deer 3 (OT)
• Tri-City 4, Lethbridge 2
• Swift Current 4, Winnipeg 3

Saturday’s games (all times PT)

• Swift Current at Brandon, 5 p.m.
• Saskatoon at Medicine Hat, 6 pm.
• Moose Jaw at Red Deer, 6 p.m.
• Kamloops at Vancouver, 7 p.m.

Sunday’s games

• Moose Jaw at Calgary, 1 p.m.
• Regina at Edmonton, 3 p.m.
• Prince George at Vancouver, 4 p.m.

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WEST KELOWNA 4, VERNON 3 (SO)

At West Kelowna, Jaiden Moriello scored twice, including the only goal in the shootout, as the Warriors edged the Vernon Vipers on Friday night.

Kailus Green, who opened the scoring at 3:53 of the first period, and Ben MacDonald also scored in regulation for West Kelowna (14-6-2-0-0), which led 1-0 after the first period but trailed 3-2 after 40 minutes.

Lee Parks, Seiya Tanaka-Campbell and Jonathan Horn scored for Vernon (9-10-0-4-0) during a busy second period.

Parks made it 1-1 at 2:03, with MacDonald scoring for West Kelowna less than a minute later at 2:55 to make it 2-1. But at 4:24, Tanaka-Campbell levelled the score with a power-play goal. And at 6:45, Vernon went ahead 3-2 when Horn scored.

Moriello wound up forcing overtime when he scored his first of the night at 16:45 of the third. Overtime solved nothing, and in the shootout, Moriello was the only skater to score.

For Vernon, Roan Clarke stopped 36 of 39 shots. For West Kelowna, Justin Katz started, and stopped 9 of 12 shots, but was pulled after Horn made it 3-2. Angelo Zol turned aside all 14 shots he faced in relief.

West Kelowna was 0-for-3 on the power play while Vernon was 1-for-6.

SALMON ARM 4, SURREY 3

At Surrey, Owen Beckner scored twice as the Silverbacks started a three-game, three-day road trip on a winning note.

Nathan Mackie and Isaac Lambert, with the game-winner at 18:50 of the third, also scored for Salmon Arm (13-8-1-1-0), which trailed 2-0 after the first period but led 3-2 heading into the third.

Conner Schneider and Jacob Bonkowski replied for Surrey (16-5-0-0-0), which outshot their visitors 32-25.

Matthew Tovell made 29 saves for the Silverbacks, while Eli Pulver stopped 21 shots for the Eagles.

Salmon Arm was 1-for-2 on the power play while Surrey had no power-play chances.

The Silverbacks visit Victoria (10-10-1-2-0) on Saturday, then Cowichan Valley (6-14-1-1-0) on Sunday afternoon.

Friday’s results

• Victoria 5, Alberni Valley 0
• Coquitlam 6, Langley 1
• Nanaimo 3, Chilliwack 1
• Merritt 5, Powell River 3
• Cranbrook 3, Prince George 2
• Trail 6, Wenatchee 5

Saturday’s games (all times PT)

• Cowichan Valley at Powell River, 5 p.m.
• Merritt at Nanaimo, 6 p.m.
• Wenatchee at Vernon, 6 p.m.
• West Kelowna at Penticton, 7 p.m.
• Chilliwack at Alberni Valley, 7 p.m.
• Surrey at Coquitlam, 7 p.m.
• Cranbrook at Prince George, 7 p.m.
• Salmon Arm at Victoria, 7 p.m.

Sunday’s games

Friday’s results

• Golden 3, Fernie 2 (SO)
• Creston Valley 7, Columbia Valley 6
• Beaver Valley 3, Nelson 1
• Osoyoos 4, Kelowna 2
• Kimberley 5, Castlegar 3
• North Okanagan 5, Revelstoke 4 (OT)
• Summerland 5, 100 Mile House 4

Saturday’s games (all times PT)

• Creston Valley at Columbia Valley, 6 p.m.
• 100 Mile House at Kelowna, 7 p.m.
• Chase at Kamloops, 7 p.m.
• Princeton at Beaver Valley, 7 p.m.
• Kimberley at Nelson, 7 p.m.
• Castlegar at Grand Forks, 7 p.m.

Sunday’s games

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