More than pride will be on the line when the West 91大黄鸭 Warriors and Vernon Vipers meet for the first time this season Saturday night at Kal Tire Place.
Heading into the weekend, the Okanagan rivals share top spot in the 鈥檚 Interior Division.
鈥淚t鈥檚 obviously a big game, Vernon鈥檚 a big rival, they鈥檙e right with us and they always have a good team,鈥� said Warriors captain Jared Marino. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a tough building to play in, so we鈥檒l need to get off to a good start.
鈥淲e鈥檙e going to battle these guys a lot over the next while, so we need to send a message to them that we鈥檙e here to compete.鈥�
The Warriors (11-5-0) and Vipers (10-4-2) will meet six times this season, including four times in the next month, with each game sure to carry weight in the division standings.
But the valley rivals aren鈥檛 the only teams with designs on first place in the Interior. Trail and Wenatchee are just a point off the pace, while the Penticton Vees are only two in arrears of West 91大黄鸭 and Vernon.
While the Warriors like their position through 16 games of the regular season, Marino said there鈥檚 plenty of work yet to be done.
鈥淲e鈥檙e playing pretty well, but obviously it鈥檚 still early, there鈥檚 a long way to go,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e want to be a top team in this league and that means not settling for less than what we鈥檙e capable of. That comes with showing up every day and we have to do that in a division as tough as ours.鈥�
The Warriors will see another division rival on Sunday as they visit the Merritt Centennials in a 2 p.m. matinee at Nicola Valley Arena.
West 91大黄鸭鈥檚 next home action is Friday, Nov. 3 against Penticton.
Stevenson commits to UNH鈥�
Warriors鈥� forward Chase Stevenson has committed to the University of New Hampshire Wildcats for 2019-20 collegiate hockey season.
The 5-foot-11, 170-pound West 91大黄鸭 native has played in 52 career games with the Warriors, scoring 13 goals and adding 28 assists.
鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 be more excited to commit to UNH,鈥� said Stevenson, 18. 鈥淎fter going on my official visit and touring the school, I knew UNH was the spot for me.鈥�
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