For more than a month, no visiting B.C. Hockey League opponent has had an answer for the West Kelowna Warriors at Royal LePage Place.
After two more victories on the weekend, the defending RBC Cup champs have now won seven consecutive games on home ice.
The Warriors last defeat at Royal LePage came on Dec. 6 against the Salmon Arm Silverbacks.
In addition to feeding off the hometown crowd, defenceman Jake Harrison said the Warriors’ recent run of success simply comes down to solid fundamental hockey.
“I think we’ve really been pulling together and working together as a team,” said Harrison, a 17-year-old West Kelowna native. “We’re playing with structure and I think the work ethic has been good during the stretch.
“It’s been nice, we’re finding our game lately, and our fans have been a big part of that, too.”
On Sunday, the Warriors had their best offensive game of the season, downing the visiting Cowichan Valley Capitals 7-3. Conner Sodergren continues his recent tear with a goal and four assists, and now has seven goals and 12 points in his last five games.
Jared Marino had a goal and three assists and rookie Chase Stevenson scored his fourth goal in the last five games.
On Friday, newly acquired goaltender Gabriel Morency made his Warriors’ debut and made 24 saves in a 5-2 win over Surrey.
Somewhat reminiscent of the 2015-16 campaign, when they caught fire after Christmas, the Warriors (22-18-1-0) have raised their game to another level in the second half of this season.
West Kelowna is 4-1-0 in January and 9-2-0 in its last 11 games.
“It’s a little bit of deja vu, you could say,” Harrson said. “We’re starting to be more consistent and are just playing better. We need to find a way to keep it going. The guys are feeling pretty good right now, but we can’t let our foot off.”
The Warriors will look for their eighth straight win at home Friday when they host the Vernon Vipers. Face-off at Royal LePage Place is 7 p.m.