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Three players racked up five points apiece as the Kelowna Chiefs calmed the Storm in Kamloops on Sunday.
Led by Ryan Stack’s three goals and two assists and one-goal, four-assist performances by defenceman Dylan Kent and forward Lane Paddison, the visiting Chiefs (42-2-1-0-2) downed the Storm 9-2 to extend their first-overall lead over the Kimberley Dynamiters (41-4-1-0-1) to three points in the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League.
For Stack, his hat trick raised his goal total to 18 in the past 10 games and it was his sixth multi-goal effort in a month that has been highlighted by a six-goal output on Jan. 22 against the Princeton Posse. He now has 34 goals in 36 games since joining the Chiefs in late September after being a late release of the B.C. Hockey League’s Coquitlam Express.
Coming off a two-goal effort in the Chiefs’ 8-1 win over the 100 Mile House Wranglers the night before, Stack opened the scoring in eight minutes into Sunday’s game and made it 4-0 for his team with 3:52 remaining in the first period. He completed the Hat less than four minutes into the second. His two assists came on goals by linemates Paddison and Juanre Naude.
Meanwhile, the Chiefs’ Brody Dale and Zach Erhardt, one-two in the KIJHL points race, continued to rack them up. Dale, scoring once and adding two assists, has 49 goals and 71 assists for 120 points while Erhardt assisted on three goals to bring his season total to 97 points on 31 goals and 66 assists in 47 games.
Kayson Gallant, the first star in Saturday’s win in 100 Mile, rounded out the Chiefs’ scoring, with his 14th tally of the season. It was his fourth straight game with a goal.
Braeden Mitchell earned his 25th win in goal, stopping 22 of 24 Kamloops shots.
The Chiefs will close out the regular season with a pair of home games at the Rutland Arena. They’ll play host to the Revelstoke Grizzlies on Friday and wrap up with the Princeton Posse on Saturday. Puck drop for both games is 7 p.m.
The first round of the KIJHL playoffs begins Feb. 26.
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