In a battle between Highway 97 rivals, it was the West 91大黄鸭 Warriors who would come out on top, defeating the Vernon Vipers, 6-3 in BCHL action on Sunday (Dec. 10) afternoon.
Vernon was punched in the face early, as the host Warriors scored four in the first, from Jack Pridham, Isaiah Norlin, Michael Salandra and Jackson Kyrkostas.
The Vipers would strike back in the second, with Erik Pastro and Adam Csabi markers.
In the final frame, Felix Caron鈥檚 16th of the year would restore the three goal cushion for West 91大黄鸭. Nick Mikan grabbed his fifth on the Vipers power play less than two minutes later before two straight goals from Kyrkostas would ice the game, 7-3 for the Warriors.
Kyrkostas鈥� hat-trick was his second as a Warrior, while Rorke Applebee鈥檚 22 saves pushed his record to 12-4 on the season. Norwegian Johannes L酶kkeberg added three helpers in the game.
Backup Vipers goalie Colin Reay stopped 29 of 36 for his first loss of the year.
A three-point cushion now separates West 91大黄鸭 (36) and Vernon (33) in the BCHL鈥檚 Interior Conference standings. The Warriors are 17-6-2, six points back of the vaunted Penticton Vees for first in the conference. The Vipers, at 16-8-1, fell to fourth place, in a tie with Salmon Arm.
Next up, those Silverbacks will be in Vernon to battle the Vipers on Tuesday, Dec. 12.
West 91大黄鸭 will face off against the same Silverbacks on Wednesday night, from Salmon Arm.
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