Garrett Forster scored three times against his former team, including twice in a four-goal second period, as the West Kelowna Warriors doubled the host Chilliwack Chiefs 6-3 in a B.C. Hockey League win on Sunday.
Their 30th victory of the season was the third in three weekend games on the road and tightened the Warriors’ grip on second place in the BCHL’s Interior Division.
Following a scoreless first period, Forster notched his 17th and 18th goals of the season in the second and added his 19th midway through the third period. Kylar Hope contributed his 23rd to go along with Jonathan Desbiens’ team-leading 35th for the winning tally. Brett Mennear finished it off with an empty-netter.
Austin Adam, Jesse Lansdell and Kelowna’s Linden Hora replied for the Chiefs who lead the Mainland Division with 64 points.
The Warriors’ Keelan Williams stopped 31 of 34 shots for his 10th win in 18 games this season.
Now with 63 points, West Kelowna is six up on the Salmon Arm Silverbacks, who have three games in hand on the Warriors.
Sunday’s win came on the heels of a 6-5 double overtime win over the Powell River Kings on Saturday and a 7-1 triumph against the Cowichan Valley Capitals on Friday.
Hope scored the winner 1:14 into OT on Saturday after Mennear fed him a pass at centre ice. He found the net with a wrister over the right pad of Kings’ goaltender Jeff Smith.
The Chiefs, down 3-0 after the first period, were led offensively by Desbiens, who scored twice and added three assists to take over the team lead in points. The Montreal native, heading to Bentley University in Massachusetts this fall, now has 67 points on 35 goals and 32 assists. Liam Blackburn is second in team scoring with 64 points (23 goals, 41assists).
Five unanswered goals in the second period gave the Warriors a two-goal lead going into the third, but Powell River came back with two quick goals early in the third to send the game into overtime.
Forster, Rylan Yaremko and Bryan Basilico rounded out the scoring for West Kelowna, who started with Matthew Greenfield in goal. He was replaced by Williams at the start of the second, while Greenfield came back in early in the third and picked up the win going the rest of the way. The winners were outshot 47-44 overall.
The Warriors resume their road journey on Wednesday when they take on the Coquitlam Express. They move on to Trail for back-to-back games Friday and Saturday against the Smoke Eaters. They also play in Penticton on Feb. 12 before returning to Royal LePage Place Feb. 13 to play host to the Langley Rivermen.
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