Hawks double Chiefs 4-2 as both teams struggle to find consistency in opener of KIJHL Championship series
By The Nelson Daily Sports
Talk about a feeling out period between two teams who haven’t played each other in two months.
Beaver Valley Nitehawks overcame a sluggish start to double the Kelowna Rockets 4-2 in game one of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League Final Wednesday in Fruitvale.
Game two of the best-of-seven league final goes Thursday back at the Fruitvale Arena.
Despite each team having four days to rest before the league final, there was a tad bit of rust showing as the players struggled to find any consistency.
Kelowna squandered three power play opportunities — including a double minor — while the Hawks floundered with three odd-man advantages.
It wasn’t until late in the opening frame when rookie sniper Craig Martin dribbled a shot past Tyler O’Donnell in the Kelowna nets to give the Hawks a 1-0 first period lead.
The Chiefs turned up the intensity with the man advantage in the second as Dane Rupert tied the game on the power play seconds into the middle frame.
But the Hawks struck for two goals 61 seconds apart by Ryan Edwards and Tyler Collins to grab a 3-1 lead.
Rupert, with his second of the game, in the final seconds of the period, reduced the margin to 3-2.
However, the Chiefs could not get another puck past Beaver Valley starter Mike Vlanich even after Martin took a delay of game penalty in the final minute of the game.
FINAL NOTES: Both teams had goals disallowed by referee Eric Dasti in the first period. Kelowna appeared to score the game’s first goal on the power play but Dasti whistled the play dead before the puck crossed the goal line. Beaver Valley, already leading 1-0, had its goal called back due to a penalty to Ryan Baines for cross checking on Chiefs netminder Tyler O’Donnell. . . . The Beaver Valley big line of Ryan Edwards, Craig Martin and Chris Derochie each finished the game with two points as did the Chiefs top two scorers, Dane Rupert and Landon Andrusiak. . . .The game attendance was below previous Murdoch Divisional Final sellouts at 325.
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