Hot week nets Viper BCHL honour

Six goals and three assists in three games has earned Matt Kowalski of the Vernon Vipers the BCHL Player of the Week honour.

The 20-year-old Vernon native’s week included a hat trick against Merritt and scoring the Teddy Bear Toss goal Saturday at home to Wenatchee.

“On Friday, Kowalski notched his second-career BCHL hat trick and his first since opening day of the 2017-18 season when he was a member of the West Kelowna Warriors,” said a BCHL news release. “He also added a pair of assists to give himself a five-point night and a first-star honour in the Vipers’ 8-3 home win over the Merritt Centennials. The next night, he scored once in a 6-4 victory against the Wenatchee Wild. On Sunday, the forward added two more goals and chipped in with an assist in Vernon’s wild 8-7 shootout win in a rematch against the Centennials.”

Kowalski leads the Vipers in scoring and is tied for eighth overall in the BCHL with 35 points, and third in goals with 19.