Storm End Regular Season with OT Loss: prepare for Eagles in Post Season
100 MILE HOUSE, BC—The Kamloops Storm have ended the 2023-24 Kootenay International Junior Hockey League season with an overtime defeat.
The Storm fell 2-1 to the host 100 Mile House Wranglers in KIJHL play Saturday (Feb 17). The result left Kamloops with a league record of 31-11-1-1. They finish second in the Doug Birks Division and will host the Sicamous Eagles in the first round of a KIJHL playoff series.
In this game, Nash Hilworth beat Storm goalie Dawson Holitzki (Kelowna, BC) in the first period. The Storm scored their equalizer in the third period when Loch Stefanishyn (Pinawa, MB) and Teghan Mullin (Kamloops, BC) set up Jake Phillips-Watts (Quesnel, BC). It was Phillips-Watts’ 13th goal of the season.
In overtime, the leading scorer for the Wranglers, Ethan Davey (Terrace, BC) scored his 23rd goal of the year for the victory. Kamloops outshot 100 Mile House 42-35. Ivan Tolsma (Leduc, AB) got the win in goal.
100 Mile House finished last in the division with a record of 11-28-2-3.
The Storm rested two of their veterans: goaltender Colton Phillips-Watts (Quesnel, BC) and defenceman Devin Benson (Kamloops, BC).
Kamloops will open their best of seven series with Sicamous on Friday night (Feb 23) at Mac Isle. Opening faceoff will be 7 PM PST. Game two will be played the following night (Saturday, Feb 24) also in Kamloops. Both these games and the rest of the series will be shown on a pay-per-view basis on FloHockeyTV.
The other Birks Division series will see the fourth place Chase Heat meet up with the division winners: the Revelstoke Grizzlies. That affair also opens Friday.
