Johannes Løkkeberg and Jackson Kyrkostas each tallied three points while Rorke Applebee turned aside 26 shots as the West Kelowna Warriors knocked off the Vernon Vipers by a 4-1 score on Wednesday night at Kal Tire Place.
Two goals in the opening period for the visitors catapulted a strong start in enemy territory on Wednesday night and it kicked off with Jackson Kyrkostas registering his 9th goal of the season to get the scoring going in the mid-week matchup.
Johannes Løkkeberg pressured the puck free from the left wing corner as he centered to the front of the net where Viggo Nordström accepted the feed and went to his backhand in tight before Ethan David kicked the puck away in the Vipers crease before Kyrkostas followed up on the play and finished the rebound on his backhand at the 7:10 mark of the period to get ahead by a 1-0 score.
That line was at it again later in the period as they took advantage of a miscommunication at the side of the Vipers net to get ahead by a pair of goals. The Vipers attempted to get out from behind their net before a turnover at the glove side of David saw Kyrkostas center the loose puck for Løkkeberg in the left face-off circle as he backhanded a shot past the glove side of David at the 13:33 mark of the opening frame and his 6th goal of the season gave West Kelowna a 2-0 edge.
Løkkeberg added his second of the night on a similar play in the 2nd period, converting a turnover into the back of the net to give the Warriors a three-goal lead. A giveaway inside of the defensive end allowed Kyrkostas to intercept the puck and bring it to the front of the net before sending a pass from the blocker side of David to the glove side where Løkkeberg finished for his 7th goal of the season and second of the night at the 4:43 mark of the middle frame to make the score 3-0.
Rorke Applebee was strong in the Warriors net, turning aside each of the 16 shots thrown his way through two periods before an early 3rd period power play helped the Vipers get ono the scoresheet and back into the game just 27 seconds into the final period.
A scramble at the front of the goal at the tail end of the man advantage saw the puck come to the front of the goal where Busch gathered the loose puck and slid it past a down and out Applebee to give the Vipers life in the early part of the period.
Another Vernon power play immediately following the goal had the Vipers in a position to take advantage but the Warriors penalty kill came up strong and were rewarded with a three-goal lead once more courtesy of Caden Kemkaran-Humble.
As the puck was worked into the Vipers zone, a puck came off a body to the slot where Jack Farrell sent a shot to the front of the net that was deflected by Kemkaran-Humble at the bottom of the right face-off circle past the glove side of David for his 2nd goal of the season at the 4:34 mark of the 3rd period to give the Warriors a 4-1 lead.
Applebee continued his strong stretch of play throughout the game with 26 saves on 27 shots for his 9th win of the season while Ethan David made 29 saves on 33 shots in his 6th loss of the season.
FINAL SCORE: 4-1 Warriors
SHOTS ON GOAL: 33-27 Warriors
WARRIORS PP: 0/2
WARRIORS PK: 1/2
3 STARS:
1) Johannes Løkkeberg (2-1-3)
2) Jackson Kyrkostas (1-2-3)
3) Shea Busch (1-0-1)
Fortis Energy Player of the Game: Jiri Duda (0-0-0)
ATTENDANCE: 1,672
The Warriors (13-6-2-0) will head to the Nicola Valley for the third time this season to take on the Merritt Centennials (9-10-2-1) on Friday night at the Nicola Valley Memorial Arena. Puck drop is slated for 7:00 PM with the game broadcasted live on AM 1150 as well as streamed online on FloHockey.
West Kelowna returns home on Saturday night when they take on the Salmon Arm Silverbacks on Saturday night with Pastor Don Richmond’s annual Christmas Hamper Drive taking place at the game. $1 from each ticket sold will help Don pack 80 Christmas hampers for local families in need during the holiday season.