The West Kelowna Warriors used a three-point effort from Dylan Brooks to help in a 5-2 victory in Game #3 of their Interior Conference Quarter Final series over the Vernon Vipers on Tuesday night at Kal Tire Place and hold a 2-1 series lead.
Things did not start the way the Warriors would have wished in the game as just 35 seconds into the contest, Lee Parks continued his strong series with the first of two markers in the game that pushed the home side ahead early in the 1st period, beating Warriors goaltender Cayden Hamming with a shot from the left face-off circle off the rush as Vernon led the game 1-0 in the early going.
Hamming had to make a big save on Viper forward Max Borovinskiy moments later before helping the Warriors penalty kill to kill off two penalties, including a partial 5-on-3 and the Warriors used that momentum to tie the game at the 13:45 mark of the opening period courtesy of defender Dylan Brooks.
Brooks took a Ben MacDonald drop pass at the top of the right face-off circle and got around a defender before lifting a backhand shot off a Vipers defender in front of the net and behind Vernon netminder Roan Clarke for his 1st playoff goal and tied the game at 1-1.
Just under two minutes after that, Chris Duclair continued his torrid play in the postseason, notching his 3rd marker of the series to give the Warriors their first and last lead of Game #3. Duclair sped through the middle of the ice on a 3-on-2 rush and got into the right face-off circle before ripping a shot past the glove side of Clarke to give the Warriors a one-goal edge and a 2-1 lead.
Michael Salandra capped off the three-goal opening period for the visitors and three goals in a 3:57 span with his first playoff goal on a power play. Isaiah Norlin set up Salandra with a pass from the midpoint as he took the puck at the bottom of the left face-off circle and rifled a one-time shot over the blocker shoulder of Clarke at the 17:42 mark of the opening frame and gave the Warriors a 3-1 lead into the 2nd period.
It took only 26 seconds into the middle frame for the Warriors to extend their lead to three goals as Brooks tallied his second goal of the contest. After a rush into the offensive zone from Duclair, he dropped the puck to Brooks in the right circle and the Warriors defender moved to the net and picked the blocker side of the Vipers net, ending the night for Clarke as Ethan David came on in relef with West Kelowna ahead by a 4-1 score.
Another power play, and the sixth power play goal of the series for West Kelowna, pushed the Warriors to a 5-1 lead in the game as Jaiden Moriello found the back of the net for the third consecutive game. Moriello had the puck below the goal line on a nice saucer pass from Rylee Hlusiak and banked the puck off the glove side of David at the 4:56 mark of the middle frame to push the Warriors ahead by four goals.
Vernon got the game within three goals as Parks once more, for the second straight game, notched his second goal of the night at the 15:16 mark of the 2nd period, throwing a puck on goal from the slot past the blocker side of Hamming to make it a 5-2 game into the 3rd period with the Warriors outshooting the Vipers by a 10-4 margin in the middle frame.
Not much offense came in the 3rd period as the Warriors outshot the Vipers by a 7-6 margin in the final frame to ice away a 5-2 victory and a 2-1 series lead. Cayden Hamming turned aside 17 of the 19 shots thrown his way in his 2nd playoff win while Roan Clarke made 8 saves on 12 shots in his 2nd loss of the playoffs before Ethan David came on in relief, making 15 saves on 16 shots.
FINAL SCORE: 5-2 Warriors
SHOTS ON GOAL: 28-19 Warriors
WARRIORS PP: 2/4
WARRIORS PK: 4/4
3 STARS:
1) Dylan Brooks (2-1-3)
2) Lee Parks (2-0-2)
3) Chris Duclair (1-1-2)
Fortis Energy Player of the Game: Ayden Third (0-0-0)
ATTENDANCE: 1,637
Game #4 of the best-of-seven Interior Conference Quarter Final series between the Warriors and Vipers will remain in the North Okanagan and is set for Wednesday night at Kal Tire Place. Puck drop is slated for 7:00 PM with the game being broadcasted live on AM 1150