The West Kelowna Warriors ended their homestand 3-1 with a back-and-forth 4-3 win over the Vernon Vipers on Friday night (Nov. 4).
Just four minutes into the game, the Warriors got the scoring started when Dylan Brooks found the back of the net for the second time this season. Alexi Van Houtte-Cachero and Isiash Norlin collected the assists.
The game would be tied at one after the first period though as Vipers forward Reagan Milburn scored his fifth of the year.
West Kelowna regained the lead early in the second period when Ben McDonald scored his fifth of the season but it didn’t last long as Lee Parks scored for Vernon just 49 seconds later to tie the game at two.
Rylee Hlusiak would put the Warriors up 3-2 with under five minutes to go in the second period.
In the back-and-forth game, the Vipers would tie the contest again as Luke Pakulak scored on the powerplay three minutes into the third period.
But just under two minutes later, the Warriors took the lead for good when Brooks scored his second of the game, giving the Warriors a 4-3 lead and securing the win.
Brooks, Norlin, and Hlusiak all had multi-point efforts for the Warriors in the win while Milburn, Parks, and Pakulak all did for the Vipers.
Warriors goaltender Justin Katz made 23 saves in the victory to improve the team’s record to 10-2-2. Ethan David made 30 saves in the loss as the Vipers fall to 6-7-0-1. West Kelowna still sits second in the Interior Division behind Penticton while Vernon sits seventh in the division.
Both teams are back in action on Saturday night as the Warriors travel to Merritt to take on the Centennials (4-8-2-0, eighth in the Interior Division) for the first time this season. Puck drop is at 7:00 p.m. at the Nicola Valley Memorial Arena. Vernon returns home to the Kal Tire Centre as they welcome the Chilliwack Chiefs (4-8-0-1, seventh in the Coastal Division) to town. Puck drop is at 6:00 p.m.
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