Warriors snakebitten in loss

Photo: Wayne Moore

The West Kelowna Warriors couldn't buy a goal Friday night.

The Warriors missed the target as much as they hit it during a 2-1 loss to the visiting Vernon Vipers.

West Kelowna had chances to get a goal or more with the man advantage, but squandered a brief five-on-three in the second period, and a four-minute power play when down a goal in the third.

"It's a 2-1 game and we need to find a way to score," said head coach Rylan Ferster.

"It's no secret we don't sore a lot of goals, but we don't give up a lot of goals. Typical of the kind of game we are going to have,...we just came out on the wrong end of the score tonight."

Ferster said the team had some good looks in the third but couldn't bury their chances.

At the other end, the Vipers scored both of their goals with the man advantage.

Brett Stapley scored both. The first, a wrist shot from the right circle hit a leg in front and went in. The second, a slap shot from nearly the same spot that deflected off a Vernon stick past Cole Demers.

The Warriors didn't get those bounces Friday.

West Kelowna's lone goal came in the dying moments of the second period.

Quin Foreman stole a loose puck at his own blueline and outraced two Vipers to break in all alone, where he beat Darion Hanson high to the glove side.

Foreman had a few good looks in the third as well but couldn't find a way to beat Hanson.

The game was the first for the Warriors since news broke earlier this week that team owner Mark Cheyne has an offer pending to sell the team to a Lower Mainland businessman, who would move the team to the Sungod Arena in Delta.

Team captain Nick Rutigliano said the players have talked about the news, but they can't let it bother them because they still have games left to play.

"We're still in West Kelowna, so we just have to brush all the rumours aside because we have hockey to play.

"We're getting down to the end of the regular season, and we want to make the playoffs and we want to make a push. We have to put all the distractions aside and look straight forward."

The Warriors, third in the Interior Division, a point better than Trail and Merritt, play in Penticton Saturday night.

That begins a stretch of six straight on the road. The Warriors don't play again at home until Feb. 4, when they host the Coquitlam Express.