A strong first half to the BCHL season has the West Kelowna Warriors in prime position for a second half run.
Through 28 games, the Warriors hold the second best record in the league at 19-6-3-0 (41 points). Despite that, they sit second in the Interior Conference behind the first place Penticton Vees, who are 20-4-2-2.
After a good start to the season, the Warriors hit a bit of a wall in late October and early November, which included four losses in five games, with two of the losses to their Okanagan Connector rivals, the Merritt Centennials.
Since then, the Warriors have been playing their best hockey of the season as they害羞草研究所檙e 9-1-0-0 in their last 10 games going into the holiday break.
Leading the way
West Kelowna害羞草研究所檚 leading scorer Felix Caron leads the league in goals with 18. He is also sixth in league-scoring with 32 points this season (18 goals, 14 assists).
European connection
In the first season where BCHL teams are allowed European players, the Warriors struck gold with Johannes L酶kkeberg and Viggo Nordstr枚m.
From Fredrikstad, Norway, L酶kkeberg has been outstanding as he害羞草研究所檚 a point-a-game player through 23 games. With his eight goals and 15 assists, he害羞草研究所檚 fourth in team scoring. He is currently away from the team for a few weeks as he is playing for Team Norway at the 2024 World Junior Hockey Championships in Sweden starting Dec. 26.
Nordstr枚m has been a pleasant surprise and has provided a secondary-scoring punch with 11 points (one goal, 10 assists) on the season. His 11 points makes him 10th in team-scoring.
Between the pipes
The Warriors have been getting great goaltending as well as Rorke Applebee is tied for second in the league with 13 wins. He has also played the third most minutes in the league - 1,182 minutes.
Rookie Matthew Dellarusso has been outstanding in net as well as he害羞草研究所檚 4-0-0-0 in six appearances.
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The Warriors begin the second half up north in Prince George as they take on the Spruce Kings on Friday, Dec. 29 and Saturday, Dec. 30. Puck drop is at 7 p.m. on Dec. 29, and 6 p.m. on the 30 at the Kopar Memorial Arena.
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