With the B.C. Hockey 尝别补驳耻别鈥檚 top two teams included on the menu, the West 琉璃神社 Warriors will kick off a three-game homestand Friday at Royal LePage Place.
The first course will be the Interior-rival Vernon Vipers with a 7 p.m. face-off.
The Warriors (9-11-1-0) have lost three straight games and are three points back of the third-place Vipers (10-11-2-0), but they do have three games in hand.
On Saturday, the Warriors will host the Mainland Division-leading Wenatchee Wild, followed by the Interior Division-leading Penticton Vees on Tuesday.
While 颈迟鈥檚 an important stretch of hockey for the Warriors, the 叠颁贬尝鈥檚 alleviates some of the day-to-day pressure on Rylan 贵别谤蝉迟别谤鈥檚 team.
Six teams from the Interior Division will qualify for the 2017 辫濒补测辞蹿蹿蝉鈥攗苍濒别蝉蝉 the fifth place team in the Mainland Division has enough points to bump one club.
鈥渊辞耻 诲辞苍鈥檛 want to fall too far back, but the new playoff structure does change things a 濒颈迟迟濒别,鈥� said Ferster, the 奥补谤谤颈辞谤蝉鈥� coach and GM. 鈥淭丑别谤别鈥檚 a little more time to figure things out and mould your team. Every game is important, but this does give you some 谤辞辞尘.鈥�
Injuries continue to dog the Warriors. The 肠濒耻产鈥檚 top two puck moving defencemen, Michael Ryan and Jake Harrison, remain sidelined.
Harrison suffered a concussion after a check from Salmon 础谤尘鈥檚 Landon Fuller on Nov. 2 at the Shaw Centre.
Fuller was assessed a two-minute hit-to-the head penalty, but 飞补蝉苍鈥檛 suspended by the BCHL.
鈥泪迟鈥檚 耻苍蹿辞谤迟耻苍补迟别,鈥� Fertser said. 鈥淭丑别 league loses a star player. I 诲辞苍鈥檛 make those decisions, but it leaves us shaking our 丑别补诲蝉.鈥�
Warriors add two players鈥�
The Warriors have acquired forward Cavin Tilsley (鈥�98) from the Prince George Spruce Kings in exchange for future considerations.
Tilsley, 18, is a veteran of 78 BCHL games, spending the last two seasons with the Spruce Kings.
This season, Tilsley has two goals and nine points in 22 games with Prince George, coming off of a productive 2015-16 season that saw him tally 10 goals and 21 points in 56 games to go along with 83 penalty minutes.
The Delta native has ties to the Okanagan as he spent the 2013-14 season with the Pursuit of Excellence Hockey Academy before heading to the Fernie Ghostriders of the KIJHL in the 2014-15 season.
鈥淭ilsley is a young veteran player,鈥� said general manager and head coach Rylan Ferster, 鈥漺ho is hard to play against and will be a nice addition for our hockey club.鈥�
In a related move, the Warriors are pleased to announce the addition of goaltender Nik Amundrud (鈥�97) from the Western Hockey League (WHL).
Amundrud, 19, split last season between the Saskatoon Blades and the Calgary Hitmen in the WHL, playing in 31 total games with a 13-12-0-1 record and a 3.17 GAA while amassing a .887 save rate.
The Melfort, SK native has ties to Junior A hockey with his father, Trevor, who spent the 1993-94 season with the Melfort Mustangs of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL).
鈥淎dding a goalie like Nik with a lot of WHL experience at 19 is an nice piece to have a this time of the year,鈥� continued Ferster.
Still recovering from an injury, Ferster said Amundrud is unlikely to be available this weekend.
