Morning Star Staff
The Vernon Fix Auto Vikings went into the home Bantam Tier 3 hockey tournament semifinal Sunday without four starters but pushed Kamloops to the edge before losing 5-3 at Civic Arena.
Vernon outplayed Kamloops for most of the game but got into penalty trouble late in the third with the score 3-3. Kamloops scored the winner and then added an empty netter.
Stephane Richard netted two goals and Colton Skead notched the other for the Vikes. Call-ups Seth Blundell and Reece Schroeder did well filling in for the depleted Vikings.
The Revelstoke Grizzlies clipped Kamloops 2-1 in the championship final after crushing the Prince George Cougars 11-1 in the other semi.
In round-robin action Saturday, Vernon started with a 4-2 victory over the Westside Warriors. Carl Main (2), Brian Ferguson and Kyle Sherwood handled the offence.
The afternoon game saw the Vikings outlast Prince George 7-4 as Logan Imrich pocketed 2+1.
Singles came from Connor Johnston, Brayden Jones, Makenna Hoffman, Owen Beliveau and Richard. Sherwood earned two assists. Emotions got both teams into penalty trouble late in the game. Goaltenders Conor Webb and Ethan Huizinga were solid in net all weekend.
The Vernon Midget Tier 1 Home Building Centre Vipers brushed back the Pursuit of Excellence 5-2 in league play Sunday at Civic.
Logan Geefs scored twice as the Vipers went to 4-6-1. Richard Meaney, Kenny Batke and Scott Latwat, with an empty-netter, rounded out the attack.
Austin Garrington, Graham Jones, and Layne Greene each picked up two assists. POE, a Kelowna academy, dropped to 5-8.
The Bantam Tier 1 Sun Valley Source For Sports Renegades eged the Kelowna Tier 2 Rockets 4-3 Saturday at Wesbild.
Reed Cashato’s second goal of the game was the winner with Kelowna getting their final tally with 42 seconds remaining.
Eamonn Miller, from Gage Kopp, made it 1-1 before the first period was over.
After the Rockets went ahead, the Renegades killed off a 5-on-3 before Cashato converted from Matt Kowalski on a powerplay. Josh Decoffe scored from Brady Marzocco early in the third, also with the man advantage.
Kieran was in net as Vernon improved to 6-5-1. The Rockets dipped to 3-7-2.
The Coca Cola Midget Tier 3 Vipers bowed 7-5 to the Chase Heat Saturday in their last league game before Christmas.
Easton Jones recorded his first goal of the year 15 seconds in, assisted by Mitchell Lukacs and Alex Richardson. Just over a minute later, Jeff Bochon converted a pass from Lee Springer.
Chase levelled things up with a pair of powerplay snipes before Lukacs then scored a power play goal for 5-6 Vernon, assisted by Brandon Rysen.
Just three minutes later, the same two connected again with Lukacs burying a 5-on-3 shorthanded goal.
Later in the second period, Carson Tucker threw one of the best hipchecks the Coke crew have seen all year, as the Chase player went flying through the air head over heels. The referee ruled a penalty and Chase put up three powerplay goals before Lee Springer connected for Vernon, from Graham Jones. Chase is 6-4-1.
Lakers 4th in Calgary
The Sladen Moore Bantam A Lakers finished fourth in the 10-team Calgary Girls Hockey tournament.
After an opening-game victory, the Lakers lost 3-0 to the Richmond Ravens Saturday afternoon with Cailee Bauml named the Heart & Hustle player of the game for Vernon.
The Lakers defeated the Edmonton Maniacs 7-2 that night with Olivia Comeau turning the hat trick and singles going to Emily Clarke, Ripley Burd, Mairyn Tucker and Taylor Vandale. Hunter Joseph took the Heart & hustle.
The Sladen Moore crew then bowed 2-0 to the Calgary Girls Hockey #2 in Sunday’s B final.
The Lakers outshot Calgary 42-22 and Maya Baker was solid in net for the Lakers. Andie Kaneda earned the Heart & Hustle.
The Watkin Motors Mustangs lost 6-2 to the Kelowna Jr. Rockets in Tier 1 Pee Wee league play Sunday at Memorial Arena.
Speedy Caden Bracken forechecked during a line change, picked up a Powell Connor dump in, confused the Kelowna defence with a couple dekes and scored the Mustangs’ opening tally.
Colton Schaper-Kotter caught a Joe Eggert pass that originated from d-man Keeghan McRae and ripped a shot from behind the Kelowna goal-line with enough force to find its way through the net-defender’s pads.
The 4-8-1 Mustangs take on 6-3-1 Kelowna again, this Saturday,.
The Nixon Wenger Rattlers split a pair of Pee Wee Tier 3 league games, getting outmuscled 6-3 by the Winfield Bruins before shading the Salmon Arm Silvertips 3-2.
Lucas Halvoson (2) and Gavin Fleck scored in the loss to 9-2-1 Winfield Saturday at Wesbild.
On Sunday, head coach Doug Fleck rallied the boys during the ice clean at the Shaw Centre. Cole Johnson scored from Halvorson, Damian Coljee-Fehr scored an unassisted goal to tie things up and Bryant Joseph produced the winner on a solo effort.
In Pee Wee Tier 4 play, the North Okanagan Knights lost 7-4 to the Kamloops Tomahawks and bowed 4-3 to the Kelowna Rockets.
Matt Dolinar (2), Jake Crandlemire and Wes Graves scored in Kamloops.
Dolinar (2) and Graves handled the attack against visiting Kelowna.
Venom, Wolfpack red-hot
The Vernon Valley Wood Remanufacturing Venom and H&L Glass Wolfpack both maintained their undefeated streaks in Atom Development League play.
The 11-0 Venom ambushed Salmon Arm 10-0 Sunday at Wesbild with Gavin Medema and Lochlan O’Keefe each supplying hat tricks.
Brayden Szeman and Coletyn Boyarski each bagged a deuce, while Cameron Moger provided four assists and Aiden Trottier had a pair.
The Wolfpack downed the Kamloops Nailers 5-2 and then bottled up the Winfield Bruins 14-1, improving to 12-0-1.
Tanner Brown and Ben King each sniped a pair with a single going to Logan Chapdelaine Saturday in Kamloops.
King collected 5+4 and Zubrod had three goals as the Pack punished the Bruins Sunday at Civic. Brown added 2+4, while other goals came from Anne Cherkowski, Jaxxon Collard, Porter Trevelyan and Trevor Kennedy. Goaltending duties were split between Cayden Hamming and Tanner Witt.
In B.C. Major Midget League action, the Okanagan Rockets grounded the Valley West Hawks 7-0 and 6-3 at the Capital News Centre.
Vernon’s Dennon Leibel, a 16-year-old rookie, scored the final goal in the shutout victory. Leibel has six goals and 10 points.
Spencer Hewson, the other Vernon product on the Rockets’ roster, has 9-9-18.
The Rockets are 18-2-4, good for second place, two points back of the Vancouver North West Giants. The Rockets begin the 35th Mac’s Tournament in Calgary on Boxing Day versus the Carolina Hurricanes and then face the Lethbridge Pronghorns Thursday, Dec. 27.
