Photos: Garrett James / Story: Ethan Vandop (intern)
Everything that you need to know for our Friday night contests.
Vernon Vipers (10-16-5-0) @ Brooks Bandits (23-5-0-2)
The Vernon Vipers head to Brooks to take on the Bandits for their second meeting of the season. The teams last faced off on December 6th, with Brooks defeating Vernon 6-3. Caden Drury recorded a hat trick for the Bandits in that game, and Nick Peluso put up three points.
The Bandits are coming off a 6-1 win against the Cranbrook Bucks, and currently sit in second place in the overall BCHL standings with a 23-5-0-2 record.
The Vipers come into the game with a 10-16-5-0 record and look to bounce back after a 6-4 loss to Sherwood Park in their last game.
This game will feature two Bandits forwards who are currently top-10 in points in the BCHL: Nathan Free (40) and Nick Peluso (36).
Sherwood Park Crusaders (20-12-0-0) @ Spruce Grove Saints (13-16-2-0)
The Sherwood Park Crusaders take on the Spruce Grove Saints for the sixth time this season. Spruce Grove will look to end their current four game losing streak by defeating the Crusaders for the first time this season.
The Saints will be tasked with trying to shut down the Crusaders who come into the game ranked first in the BCHL in goals for, largely thanks to the play of Jeremy Loranger and Kale Dach who are first and second respectively in BCHL points.
The last time these two teams faced off against each other, Lucas Brennan scored the overtime winner for Sherwood park as they defeated the Saints 5-4.
Alberni Valley Bulldogs (19-11-1-0) @ Prince George Spruce Kings (10-17-3-1)
The Alberni Valley Bulldogs are in Prince George as they look to move into second place in their conference with a win. Both the Bulldogs and Spruce Kings enter tonight’s game having lost their last two contests. Most recently, the Bulldogs suffered a 6-3 defeat at the hands of the Victoria Grizzlies while the Spruce Kings dropped a 5-2 decision to the Chilliwack Chiefs.
In their one head-to-head matchup this season, the Bulldogs defeated the Spruce Kings 3-2 in overtime back on Oct. 14th.
The Bulldogs will look to slow down Spruce Kings forward Brock Cummings who has recorded 14 points in his last 10 games
Salmon Arm Silverbacks (19-9-5-0) @ Penticton Vees (24-6-2-0)
Two top-five BCHL teams battle as the league-leading Penticton Vees welcome the fifth-overall Salmon Arm Silverbacks to the South Okanagan Events Centre in their fourth meeting this season. The Vees are 2-1-0-0 against the Silverbacks this year, with the Silverbacks defeating the Vees 2-1 in the last matchup.
Ryden Evers leads the Vees in scoring with 35 points in 32 games. On the opposite side, Maddux Martin has led the way offensively for the Silverbacks with 12 goals and 22 points in 33 games.
Powell River Kings (7-22-2-1) @ Nanaimo Clippers (12-17-2-0)
Powell River come into this Coastal Conference matchup against the Nanaimo Clippers looking to right the ship after a string of recent losses.
Meanwhile, Nanaimo looks to continue their roll against the Kings, having won all three matchups between the teams this season. In three head-to-head games, the Clippers have outscored Powell River 21-6.
A key to this game for Powell River will be slowing down first star of the week Dylan Kinch. In three games this season against the Kings, Kinch has been red hot with six goals.
Victoria Grizzlies (18-9-4-0) @ Cowichan Valley Capitals (19-10-3-0)
The Victoria Grizzlies and Cowichan Valley Capitals faceoff in a matchup with big standings implications.
Coming into the game, the Capitals sit one point ahead of the Grizzlies in the Coastal Conference standings, however the Grizzlies have one game in hand.
Both teams have won three games in a row coming into tonight. Chase Pirtle, who leads the Grizzlies in scoring and is currently riding a five-game point streak, will look to keep his team’s streak alive.
In the last meeting between the two teams, the Capitals pulled off a narrow 4-3 victory. Carter Dekay scored the OT winner for Cowichan and Liam Sztuska made 48 saves on 51 shots for the Capitals.
Okotoks Oilers (15-15-0-0) @ West Kelowna Warriors (11-15-5-2)
The Okotoks Oilers look to extend their four-game winning streak as they travel to West Kelowna and take on the Warriors.
The season series between the Oilers and Warriors is knotted at one win aside, with the most recent matchup being a Warriors 5-0 win over the Oilers.
If West Kelowna is to pull off the win, they will need to find a way to slow down Jackson Rowland, who has four goals and two assists in his last three games.
Cranbrook Bucks (17-13-1-0) @ Trail Smoke Eaters (22-8-2-1)
The Cranbrook Bucks travel to Trail to take on one of the hottest teams in the BCHL. The Smoke Eaters are currently on a five-game winning streak in which they have outscored their opponents 28-14.
Trail is currently only two points behind the Brooks Bandits for second place in the overall BCHL standings.
Meanwhile, The Bucks look to bounce back after suffering a 6-1 defeat to Brooks in their last outing.
In the three meetings between these two teams this season, the Smoke Eaters have won twice and have outscored the Bucks 13-11 in the process.
Chilliwack Chiefs (21-7-3-0) @ Surrey Eagles (18-11-3-0)
The Chiefs are in Surrey to take on the defending Fred Page Cup Champions in a divisional clash.
This will be the first of back-to-back games with both teams playing again on Saturday Night in Chilliwack.
The Chiefs currently sit in first place in the Coastal Conference with 45 points, six points ahead of the Eagles.
Coming into the game, the Eagles have won three in a row, including a 7-3 win against the Langley Rivermen.
The Chiefs also enter tonight having won two straight.
Both the Eagles and the Chiefs rank top 10 in the BCHL in goals for.
Coquitlam Express (16-11-2-2) @ Langley Rivermen (14-14-4-1)
The Coquitlam Express chug their way to Langley where they will take on the Rivermen for the fourth time this season.
Langley will look for a big bounce back game after falling 7-3 to the Surrey Eagles in their last outing.
Coquitlam sits three points back of the Eagles for fifth in the Coastal Conference with one game in hand.
Keep an eye on Langley Rivermen forward, Ryan Schelling who sits third in BCHL points with 46 points in just 33 games.
