Weekend Wrap Up

High School basketball:

The OKM Huskies Senior Girls captured their second tournament championship with a dominating 68-44 win over Kelowna rival Rutland Senior in the final of the Grand Forks Invitational. Tournament MVP Amy Sloan paced OKM with 26 points while Claire Smeltzer netted 24 in the win. Danielle Orr scored 15 for RSS. OKM opened the tournament with an 85-26 trouncing of Osoyoos. Sloan led the way with 24 while point guard Kaitlyn McKay scored 20 and Katie Capozzi added 11. In the semi-final OKM  thrashed host Grand Forks 93-44 with Smeltzer scoring 24, and Sloan 21. McKay and Capozzi added 16 apiece.  Shannon Farvolden chipped in with 8. The 14-3 Huskies resume league play this week vs Mt. Boucherie and KCS.

WARRIORS DISMANTLE SILVERBACKS
Travis Blanleil would be a 50-goal scorer if somehow the Westside Warriors could schedule more home game on a Sunday afternoon.
Blanleil scored three times Sunday, leading the Warriors to a 6-3 victory over the visiting Salmon Arm Silverbacks and a weekend sweep over the Interior Conference rivals.
A week ago, Blanleil had two goals and an assist in a 10-2 thumping of Victoria.
“We were actually joking about that during the intermission. I don’t know what it is,” says Blanleil.
“Maybe I just don’t have all day to think about it so I just come out here and play.”
And play he did.
Blanleil’s first goal was a highlight reel goal in any league. He deked two defencemen and starting netminder Kurt Williams before roofing a backhand for his 9th of the year.
“I think it was a one-on-two, I just slipped by the D-man, I really don’t know how. The goalie went down so I put it backhand upstairs.”
His second was the result of some brilliant work by linemate Seb Lloyd who corralled a high lob pass and somehow managed to find Blanleil in front of the net for an easy tap in.
Blanleil hat-trick goal came on a wrister from the top of the right faceoff circle during a Warriors power-play.
Max French, Ben Betker and Connor Dempsey also scored for the Warriors. Lloyd, Marcus Basara and David Pope all chipped in with a pair of assists.
The Silverbacks opened the scoring and had a chance to double the lead when Myles McCauley was hauled down on a breakaway – resulting in a penalty shot.
Dwayne Rodrigue appeared to get a piece of McCauley’s shot, sending it wide to keep Westside within one.
The Warriors, who held a majority of the play up until then, dominated from there on out.
Blanleil scored goals 1:40 apart before French made it 3-1 less than a minute later.
The Warriors outshot Salmon Arm 25-10 during a loosely played opening period.
Williams was given the hook after the opening period in favour of back-up Adam Clark.
The Silverbacks cut the deficit to one 13:35 into the second before the Warriors again gained control with two more before the end of the second.
Sunday’s tilt was the second meeting between the two teams in less than 48 hours and the first since the clubs combined for 146 minutes in penalties during a fight filled third period on Friday night.
That game resulted in two-game suspensions to Warriors Peter MacIntosh and Reid Simmonds as well as Mike Berry and Devin Muller of Salmon Arm.
The only hint of retribution came just eight seconds after the opening whistle, when Braden Pears of the Silverbacks tangled with Warrior Devon Hascarl.
The Silverbacks were looking to settle the score after Hascarl’s rough treatment of Morgan Zulinick during a line brawl in Friday’s tilt.
Westside has now won three in a row, outscoring their opponents 20-5 in the process.
The return of forwards Lloyd and Pope and defenceman Josh Monk has certainly made a difference.
“They are all offensive guys and they’re all power-play guys,” adds Blanleil.
“I think it really helps our confidence and our momentum having those guys back. Everybody is excited for them and we’re just playing for each other right now.”
Blanleil says it’s kind of an ‘us against the world mentality.’
The weekend wins move the Warriors into a sixth place tie with Salmon Arm, five points in back of fifth place Vernon and 10 behind Chilliwack.
The Warriors have 21 games left in the regular season.
They’ll put their modest three-game winning streak on the line when they play in Merritt Wednesday and Penticton Friday, before hosting Vernon on Saturday.

Courtesy of Wayne Moore – Castanet.net

UBC OKANAGAN HEAT

Women’s Volleyball
Saturday January 14, 2012
Brandon University Gymnasium – Brandon, Man.
Brandon def. UBC Okanagan 3-2 (25-17, 25-23, 21-25, 18-25, 17-15)

After an extended road trip that saw the Heat play eight games in three provinces and not playing in front of friends and family since the first weekend on November, the Heat will host a pair of games this upcoming weekend versus the No. 2 ranked University of Alberta Pandas.  Friday Jan. 20 and Saturday Jan. 21 with both games starting at 6 p.m. PST, and will be played on UBC’s Okanagan campus.

Women’s Basketball
Saturday January 14, 2012
UBC’s Okanagan campus, Kelowna, BC
Trinity Western Spartans (6-6) def. the UBC Okanagan Heat (2-8)
Final Score:
Score by Periods                1st  2nd  3rd  4th   Total
Trinity Western Women………   25    9   18   11  -   63
UBC OKANAGAN WOMEN…………   10   12   13   15  -   50

After the six game home stand the Heat will head on the road with two tough games in two different time zones. The travel will be tough but the opponents will be tougher as the Heat play No. 5 University of Saskatchewan Huskies Friday night (Jan. 20) in the Physical Activity Complex, Saskatoon, Sask., game set to start at 4:15 p.m. PST. Then Saturday (Jan. 21) UBC Okanagan will head to Edmonton, AB and play the No. 6 University of Alberta Pandas in the new Saville Community Centre. Tip off time is 5 p.m. PST.

Men’s Basketball
Saturday January 14, 2012
UBC’s Okanagan campus, Kelowna, BC
Trinity Western Spartans (6-6) def. the UBC Okanagan Heat (2-8)

Final Score:
Score by Periods                1st  2nd  3rd  4th   Total
Trinity Western Men………..   19   23   22   19  -   83
UBC OKANAGAN MEN…………..   14   14   15   13  -   56

The Heat are on the road next weekend, visiting the No. 4 University of Saskatchewan Huskies. Friday’s game time is at 6 p.m. PST, and then on Saturday the Heat play another ranked opponent when they travel to Edmonton and stare down the No. 8 University of Alberta Golden Bears at 7 p.m. PST.

Men’s Volleyball
Saturday January 14, 2012
Brandon University Gymnasium – Brandon, Man.
No. 8 Brandon Bobcats def. UBC Okanagan 3-0 (25-18, 25-23, 25-22)

UBC Okanagan will host a pair of games this upcoming weekend versus the No. 3 ranked University of Alberta Pandas.  Friday Jan. 20 and Saturday Jan. 21 with both games starting at 8 p.m. PST, and will be played on UBC’s Okanagan campus.