The Westside Warriors capped an oustanding three-in-three stretch Saturday night, defeating Trail 5-3 and capturing their third consecutive victory over a conference opponent.
Even better news for the Warriors was that their suddenly revitalized offence contributed another five goals, making it 16 for the weekend — one less than in their previous six games combined.
Ron Kelly led the way offensively for Westside, scoring twice and adding an assist while Matt Betker also had a three-point night. Devon Murtagh stopped 21 of 24 shots for the victory.
Elsewhere in Interior Conference arenas:
- The Vernon Vipers made sure that Victoria went home winless from their four-game road swing, tripping up the Grizzlies 3-1. Ryan DePape, Chris Crowell and Sahir Gill all tallied for the Vipers while Jordan Haywood broke Graeme Gordon's shutout bid late in the third period.
- A three-goal first period lead wasn't enough for the Prince George Cougars, who fell 4-3 on home ice to Salmon Arm after Justin Cseter ended the game in overtime. Alex Allen scored twice for the Sprucies, while Chris Hoe had a goal and an assist to fuel the Silverbacks' rally.
- Trevor Hertz and Riley Marsh keyed a much-needed victory for the Quesnel Millionaires, who overcame Merritt 6-5 on the road. Hertz and March each scored once and added two assists, while recently acquired netminder Kiefer Smiley picked up his first win with his new club.
Meanwhile, the Powell River Kings continued their recent run of dominance with 1 7-0 home ice win over Langley. Darcy Oakes scored the first four Kings tallies and later added an assist, while Kyle Bodie added three points and Carsen Chubak picked up his first BC Hockey League shutout.
Elsewhere in Coastal Conference buildings:
- A Max Grassi hat-trick was complimented by three Brodie Reid helpers in Burnaby 4-3 win over visiting Alberni Valley. Grassi scored two of Burnaby first three goals — which were all power-play markers — before capping his night with a short-handed effort. Zack Mazo replied with three assists for the Bulldogs.
- Russell Goodman capped a three-point night with the overtime winner, giving Nanaimo back-to-back wins over Cowichan Valley in their weekend series. Ronnie Smith and Kurtis Bartliff had scored third period goals to bring the Clippers back from a 3-1 deficit before Goodman capped the comeback 4:39 into the extra frame.
There are three games taking place around the BCHL on Sunday, including:
- Penticton at Merritt, 2:00 PM
- Langley at Nanaimo, 3:00 PM
- Burnaby at Surrey, 4:00 PM
