The West Kelowna Warriors hoisted the RBC Cup after defeating the host, Lloydminster Bobcats in the national junior A championship. The victory comes as the franchise's first championship and 13th overall for British Columbia.
The Warriors scraped and clawed their way through the BCHL, earning themselves the Fred Page Cup with a regular season record of 38-17-1-2. They fought their way through quality teams in the playoffs and defeated the Salmon Arm Silverbacks, Penticton Vees, Chilliwack Chiefs and Nanaimo Clippers.
Many junior A experts pegged the Vees, and rightfully so, to be the ones to play for the RBC out of the BCHL, but the now labelled “giant killers” were the ones who prospered and finished their true underdog tale as champions.
From there, the team moved onto the Western Canada Cup in Estevan. West Kelowna ran over the Brooks Bandits in the championship game, shutting them out 6-0.
The West Kelowna Warriors were up to much of the same in the RBC finale, posting another shutout against the Bobcats, 4-0, after a late short-handed goal from Liam Blackburn squandered any Lloydminster attempt at a comeback.
West Kelowna, evidently, was a team you could not underestimate. Throughout the season, they posted the league’s third-best offence, scoring 242 goals. They were sixth best on the defensive side, with 180 goals against. As far as special teams goes, their power play ranked third at 24.6 per cent. Their penalty kill unit ranked fourth at 83.2 per cent.
They will have a chance at defending their title next year in Cobourg, Ontario.
