Warriors Defeat Vipers 5-2 in Preseason Opener

The Vernon Vipers came up short in their first exhibition test of the season, falling 5-2 to the West Kelowna Warriors on Sunday afternoon.

West Kelowna scored three times in the opening period and maintained the lead through the remainder of a physical, wide-open preseason contest.

Kelsen Podworny paced the Warriors with a natural hat trick, scoring three consecutive goals. Returning forward Olivier Chan contributed a goal and two assists.

Mason Kim recorded assists on both Vernon goals. He helped set up Massimo Santa Maria in the first period before combining with David Contreras on Luca Pura’s power-play goal in the third.