The West Kelowna Warriors clawed their way to an eighth consecutive Showcase victory with a 2-1 win over the Cowichan Valley Capitals on Thursday evening at the Prospera Centre in Chilliwack.
It was their second straight win at this year’s showcase after a 7-2 win over Coquitlam.
It didn’t take long to find the only goal of the opening period of play as Chase Dubois started the scoring off with a long-range wrist shot that beat Capitals netminder Adam Marcoux on the glove side just 44 seconds into the game for his 1st goal of the season and a 1-0 Warriors lead.
Dubois’ goal would be the only marker in the first period as both goaltenders played a solid opening frame with Marcoux making 16 saves on 17 shots and Cole Demers stopping all 14 shots he saw in the first frame.
The 2nd period saw Cowichan Valley tie the game at the 8:28 mark as the Warriors were unable to clear the puck from their zone allowing Hugh Larkin to drift to the middle of the ice and fire a shot past Cole Demers on the glove side to tie the game at one.
The Warriors regained their one-goal lead at the 11:24 mark of the 2nd frame as Stephen Kleysen found the back of net for the second consecutive game as his slaps shot from the left point got through traffic and gave the Warriors a 2-1 lead.
That goal would stand up as the game winning marker as the teams skated to a scoreless third but it was not short of chances with the Warriors having to kill off five separate penalties, including a 1:20 5-on-3 and two penalties only seconds apart late in the 3rd period to secure a 2-1 victory, their eighth consecutive win at the Bauer BCHL Showcase.
Cole Demers got the start in goal for the Warriors, turning aside 26 of the 27 shots he faced in the game for his second win of the season while Adam Marcoux stopped 41 of the 43 shots directed his way in the losing effort.
The Warriors (4-1-0-0) continue on their road trip with a matchup against the Langley Rivermen (2-0-0-2) on Tuesday, Sept. 26 at the George Preston Arena in Langley. Puck drop is slated for 7 p.m.
