West Kelowna Warriors fall to visiting Capitals

WEST KELOWNA – The West Kelowna Warriors could not sustain any momentum on Friday night, Dec. 4, at Royal Lepage Place, falling 6-4 to the Cowichan Valley Capitals.

Luke Santerno got the Capitals on the board with a wrist shot just 1:17 into the game, as Cowichan Valley found their legs early.

The Warriors put them on their heels for the next 10 minutes, scoring twice as Jonathan Desbiens beat Storm Phaneuf off a rebound, before Kylar Hope outlasted Phaneuf and tucked one home with Phaneuf sprawling.

Cowichan Valley was sparked by that marker, as they out-shot the Warriors 10-1 over the final 7:58 of the frame, getting a pair of goals from Patrick Geary to take the lead.

West Kelowna tied it up at 5:56 of the second period on a lovely passing play, as Desbiens was the finisher on a nice set-up from Hope and Liam Blackburn.

The Capitals responded with Revelstoke Grizzlies affiliate Kyle Berry's first goal in the BCHL, as Cowichan Valley took the lead into the third period.

A power-play goal from former Warrior Kade Kehoe gave the Capitals a 5-3 lead, before an empty netter sealed it with 2:52 remaining.

One bright spot in the final minute came as Jared Marino deflected a point shot for his first BCHL tally, to bring the game within 2.

The Warriors out-shot the Capitals 47-25 in the game, with Phaneuf the story, although he didn't factor into the three stars. Patrick Geary (2 goals) picked up the first star, while Kade Kehoe (one goal, two assists) was second star, and Desbiens (two goals) was the third star.

West Kelowna heads to Merritt to take on the Centennials tonight. Puck drops at 7:30 p.m. at the Nicola Valley Arena.