Morning Star Staff
There will be a third and deciding game in the Okanagan Mainline Pee Wee Tier 1 Hockey Association championship series.
The Kelowna Rockets shaded the Vernon Watkin Motors Mustangs 4-3 in overtime Sunday at Civic Arena to square the series at 1-1.
Vernon took the opener 6-2 Saturday at Memorial Arena in Kelowna. Game 3 goes Sunday in Kelowna.
Mustang defenceman and alternate captain Cameron Moger took the puck from centre and beat his man to shelf the tying goal with just 27 seconds left Sunday.
Ben Kriveshen netted the winner at 7:25 of OT on a backhander past a sprawling Mustang goalie Kobe Grant.
Vernon’s Lochlan O’Keefe opened the scoring in Game 2 before Kelowna captain Chase Dafoe equalized and Moger put the Mustangs in front again.
Riley Dobranski levelled the score on a power-play before Jad Von Unruh notched the go-ahead goal early in the third. The crowd had barely quieted down after Moger’s dramatic equalizer before Vernon pressed and almost won on two glorious opportunities early in OT.
Kelowna regained their composure and battled for the puck hard for the winner.
The Rockets, whose coaching staff quit after the Vernon Winter Carnival Tournament, came out flying Saturday with Grant recording several amazing saves to keep the game close.
Vernon’s Steel Quiring scored from Ben Imrich to give the Mustangs a 1-0 lead at the ice clean.
The Mustangs found their groove in the second half and put constant pressure on the Rockets. Vernon scored three consecutive goals before Jalen Luypen replied for Kelowna.
Trevor Kennedy, with a deuce, and singles by Lucas Zubrod and Kevin Thomas Walters, into an empty net, completed the Mustang attack. Moger picked up a couple of assists .
Von Unruh supplied the other goal for the Rockets, who topped the league at 10-2-3. Vernon finished last at 2-10-3.
The winner earns the right to play in the provincials, March 15-18, in White Rock.
The Thompson Okanagan Female Midget AAA Lakers iced the Williams Lake Female Midget A team 5-2 in exhibition play Saturday at Civic Arena.
Riley Henderson of West Kelowna produced 2+2, while Vernon’s Andie Kaneda (2+2) and Ali Roine (2G) also helped the offence. Mairyn Tucker of Armstrong pocketed three assists.
The Lakers finished fourth at 12-13-5 in the six-team circuit and will host the fifth-place Vancouver Island Hurricanes of Campbell River (9-15-6) in the first round of playoffs.
Game 1 in the best-of-three series goes Friday, March 6 (5:30 p.m.) in Enderby. The second game will be played Saturday, 3:15 p.m. in Enderby.
In Bantam Tier 3 exhibition play, the Vernon Fix Auto Vipers fell 6-3 to the Salmon Arm Silvertips Sunday afternoon in Sicamous.
Matt Dolinar scored four times for the Tips, while Sean Howard, Cory Lazar and Lucas Halvorson replied for the Vipers. D-man Ethan Joe supplied two assists.
The Vernon Atom B Development H&L Glass Jr. Vipers defeated Kamloops 9-2 Saturday at Valleyview Arena in Kamloops.
Netminder Aidan Lawrence earned the victory with a stellar performance, while the dee corps of Riley Cormier, Zac Casagrande, Theo Van Wyk, Chase Hobenschield, Brydon Pilon and Trey Schooner turned in a dominant performance. Deagan McMillan and Zac Milne each pocketed 2+2 and JJ Milne added 1+2.
Colby Restiaux added two goals while Van Wyk and Cormier added singles. Van Wyk and Gunnar Nyberg chipped in with assists.
The Vipers head to Salmon Arm this weekend for the playoff tournament.
