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The West Kelowna Warriors will play for the RBC Cup, emblematic of Canadian Junior Hockey League supremacy.
A 6-0 win over Alberta’s Brooks Bandits on Saturday in the Western Canada Cup final earned the B.C. Hockey League-champion Warriors a berth in the five-team Canadian championship tournament in Lloydminster, Alta./Sask.
The lopsided win avenged the Warriors’ 4-2 loss to Brooks in round-robin play earlier in the week and vaulted the West Kelowna representatives into the RBC Cup beginning May 14 against the host Lloydminster Bobcats.
Meanwhile, Brooks will now play the Portage Terriers of Manitoba on Sunday for the right to join the Warriors in Lloydminster. Portage edged the Melfort Mustangs of Saskatchewan 3-2 in the third/fourth-place game earlier on Saturday.
Six different players shared in the West Kelowna scoring as the Warriors jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first period and extended it to 4-0 after 40 minutes.
Bryan Basilico, Nicholas Rutigliano and Garret Forster scored for the Warriors in the first, while Kyle Marino added the fourth goal on a powerplay at 15:52 of the second period.
Kylar Hope made it 5-0 midway through the third, while Jared Marino closed out the scoring with an empty-netter at 12:07 of the final frame.
Keelan Williams earned the shutout in goal, stopping all 32 Brooks shots he faced, while Garret Hughson took the netminding loss, giving up five goals on 38 West Kelowna offerings.
The Warriors had earned a berth in the final by finishing second in round-robin play with a 3-1 record, while Brooks had gone 4-0 to finish first in the preliminary round.
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