Wenatchee Wild – 2
Vernon Vipers – 1
Brian Adams and Ethan Wolthers each notched their first goals of the postseason and Daniel Chenard only had to make 14 saves to get the win as the Wenatchee Wild beat the Vernon Vipers 2-1 to even their opening-round series at one game apiece.
After a scoreless first period, Adams broke the ice with a shorthanded marker with just over six to play in the second to give the Wild the lead. Shortly after that, it was Wolthers who doubled the Wenatchee lead with his tally that made it 2-0 heading to the third.
Vernon’s Matt Kowalski got his team on the board with the goalie pulled with just over a minute to play in the final frame, but that was the only time they were able to beat Chenard, who was rewarded with the first star of the game, as this one ended 2-1.
Game 3 goes Tuesday in Vernon.
Coquitlam Express – 3
Langley Rivermen – 0
Jack Watson continued his impressive start to the playoffs as the team’s new starter, stopping all 26 shots he faced to earn the shutout and first star in a 3-0 win by the Coquitlam Express to give them the 2-0 series lead over the Langley Rivermen. The BCHL’s rookie-leading scorer Greg Lapointe got his first of the playoffs to start things off midway through the second period before Ethan O’Rourke and Cooper Connell both scored third-period power-play goals to make it a 3-0 final. Game 3 is set for Tuesday as the series shifts to Langley.
Penticton Vees – 9
West Kelowna Warriors – 2
Jay O’Brien had two goals and two assists, while Danny Weight had a pair of goals of his own as the Penticton Vees took a commanding 3-0 series lead over the West Kelowna Warriors with a convincing 9-2 win in Game 3. It was a relatively quiet first period with just one goal to speak of as Colton Kalezic scored his first of the playoffs to make it 1-0. The scoring quickly picked up after that with second-period Penticton goals from O’Brien and two from Danny Weight, as well as Carter Wilkie getting West Kelowna on the board to make it 4-1 heading to the third. After Deegan Mofford made it a two-goal game for the Warriors early in the frame, the Vees took over with five-straight goals, one each from Ethan Martini, O’Brien, Tristan Amonte, Jackson Niedermayer and yet another shorthanded marker from Tyler Ho, this time coming on a penalty shot. Yaniv Perets stopped 24 of 26 in the game. Penticton has a chance to clinch the series in Game 4 on Tuesday.
