KELOWNA, B.C. — Logan Stankoven won the big one in June.

Shea Theodore and Kaedan Korczak won the fun one in August, getting their revenge by prevailing 11-8 in the annual HockeyFest showcase that features mostly NHL lineups and some of the sport’s top prospects.

That defence duo couldn’t contain Stankoven in the Stanley Cup Final — when his Carolina Hurricanes defeated their Vegas Golden Knights — but got the upper hand in this summer rematch in front of a capacity crowd that was cheering on both teams, captained by Luke Schenn (White) and Joel Edmundson (Black).

“Going into it, I didn’t want to lose for a third time this year,” joked Theodore, who suffered another heartbreaker at the Olympics — when Canada lost the gold-medal game in overtime to the United States.

“It’s all good fun, good for him, I’m happy for him,” he added of Stankoven, with Theodore already earning a Cup ring from Vegas beating Florida in 2023.

Fresh off his day with the Stanley Cup in Kamloops the previous weekend, Stankoven was snakebitten in Kelowna — twice hitting the crossbar on breakaways and getting robbed by Dylan Garand with a flashy glove save — but still celebrated a successful fundraiser while giving back to the game.

“It’s just nice for all the fans and young kids to come out and see a lot of established NHLers and some up-and-coming guys as well,” said Stankoven, appreciative of the attention he garnered and all the Hurricanes jerseys in attendance. “It’s a great week of training here with (Kelowna High Performance) and then finish off with the game to support a good cause (YMCA). That’s what it’s all about.”

And this event was more about the camaraderie than any rivalries, which Stankoven highlighted when asked about facing Theodore and Korczak again in his first game action since hoisting the Cup.

“It’s nice to put a face to them and actually meet them and get to know them a bit because hockey is a small world. It’s so busy but it’s great to make connections, and you never know you might end up playing with them down the road.”

Korczak won’t be playing with Theodore this coming season — traded to Pittsburgh following their Cup run — and will now be facing Stankoven more frequently as division rivals.

“He’s a heckuva player — you could see it out there this afternoon and obviously throughout the playoffs,” Korczak said of Stankoven. “They had a great series there in June and sometimes it just doesn’t go your way. Happy for him but being on the other side of it sucks.”

Stankoven was buzzing for Black in a losing effort but his linemate stole the show, with Cole Sillinger netting a game-high five goals — including a first-period hat trick to stake Black to a 4-2 lead.

“I’ve known Stank for a while, we’ve basically played against each other ever since we were 10 years old. I have so much respect for him, as a human and as a player,” said the Columbus Blue Jackets forward. “When it came down to them versus Vegas in the final, he was kind of my only personal connection. It was a little weird because Carolina is in our division and I didn’t want to cheer for them to win, but I think good things happen to good people, and with the playoffs he had, he’s just such an incredible player and an incredible person, so it was nice to spend some time with him this week. And definitely nice to be able to pass the puck to him instead of trying to check him all the time.”

Sillinger was on the receiving end a handful of times — there was ‘no chill for Sill’ as he lit the lamp at will — but that wasn’t enough in the end, with fellow young guns Ryder Ritchie and Mathis Preston recording hat tricks as White rallied for the win.

“It was just fun to be part of this,” said Sillinger, who had older brother Owen as a teammate on Black. “There’s so many great players that were in the game and training here throughout the week. It’s eye-opening to see how other guys go about their summer and how they prepare. We still have some time until training camp but just the exertion this week, to be able to feel that, it’s a sign that we are getting close to the season again and everyone is excited.”

Luke Schenn, who had younger brother Brayden as a teammate on White, accepted the HockeyFest trophy and gave it a few overhead pumps — reminiscent of the Stanley Cups he won with Tampa Bay in 2020 and 2021.

“It was a lot of fun out there. Everyone did a great job putting it on. And it was nice that a lot of the community came out and supported it,” said Schenn, admitting he was surprised by the turnout for a sunny Saturday afternoon in the Okanagan. “I came into the parking lot here at MNP and I thought ‘what else is going on?’ because I didn’t expect this. So we had fun with it, as players, for sure.”

They staged a fast-paced, entertaining game that ramped up to be more than a glorified scrimmage. There were plenty of impressive goals and saves for the highlight reel, and even a little contact as the competitive juices got flowing.

Luke Schenn was a huge hit with the fans too, lining up for autographs and welcoming him back to the Vancouver Canucks as British Columbia’s home team. Schenn played junior here in Kelowna with the WHL’s Rockets but many of these fans weren’t even born back then (2005-08).

“I never really thought of it that way, but it definitely does go full circle,” he acknowledged. “And now I’ve got kids the same age, so they come out here and it’s just as big of a deal for them — not to see dad but to see the other hockey players around. It was a fun week and pretty cool that it comes full circle like that.”

Good times were had by all, with Theodore keeping the big picture in focus for the real winners.

“I haven’t heard the numbers yet, but hopefully they raised a lot of money for some good causes,” he said. “It’s great for everyone to come together and have a good atmosphere, and it was a fun game.”

QUOTABLES

Luke Schenn on returning to Vancouver: “I love every part of Vancouver and this is going back for the third time now, so I’m obviously very familiar with the city and the organization. And it’s not lost on me what it means to be a Vancouver Canuck and to represent the organization and the city and the province of B.C. It’s been a tough couple years there, but you want to go in there and just help out any way I can. I’m very proud to be going back and looking forward to getting going this year.”

Luke Schenn on bringing leadership to the Canucks’ blue line, mentoring the likes of Zeev Buium, Tom Willander and Elias Pettersson (aka D-Petey): “Absolutely, and on the flip side I can learn from the young guys too. There’s always lots you can learn being a veteran guy. But being an older guy now, I’ve had veterans help me along the way, so if you can pay it forward any way you can, you definitely want to do that. You have to show up and play well on the ice, but with the other aspect, there is a lot that goes into bringing a dressing room together and I will help out any way I can.”

Korczak on change of scenery to Pittsburgh and growing his role with the Penguins, alongside Kris Letang and Erik Karlsson: “I’m really excited for the opportunity, to be honest. Any chance you can learn from older guys like that, with that kind of pedigree, you would take that every day. (Vegas) is all I know, I was drafted by them in 2019, so it’ll be a change for sure. I’m very fortunate for my time in Vegas but also looking forward here to my time in Pittsburgh.”

Korczak on playing in Kelowna again as another Rockets alum and the fan support for HockeyFest: “It’s awesome, it shows what kind of place this city is. Saturday afternoon, people could be on the boat or golfing and they’re spending it in a cold rink with us, so it’s a great sports town and I love it here.”

Cole Sillinger on his ties to the Okanagan and making Kelowna his summer home: “When I was 14 years old, I lived out in Penticton. My older brothers played for the Vees and I was at OHA (Okanagan Hockey Academy). I always knew there was great training out here, and for me taking the game to the next level, there were resources out here. So that was super important, and obviously it’s Kelowna — there’s mountains, there’s water. I’m not a huge vacation guy and I feel like it’s a vacation in itself, so just very grateful to live out here and to own a home here, and I love coming back here.”

Cole Sillinger on keeping the hot hand going for Columbus: “Hopefully! As a group, if you ask everyone on our team, there is that feeling inside that there is more there as a team. It’s clear, the time is now, it’s less talking about it and more so just putting it into action. It’s going to start right from training camp, so I’m excited to get down there and see all the guys, and I know everyone has been training really hard this summer to get to that (playoff) level.”

Stankoven on winning the Stanley Cup: “It was the best feeling in the world, and the Cup day was great to celebrate with the city of Kamloops — just to take it to some of the places that meant a lot to me and share it with the people who have supported me throughout my journey.”

GAME SUMMARY

1-0 White = Jack Finley opens the scoring on James Reimer

1-1 Black = Zac Funk deposits a rebound past Dylan Garand

Finley redirection off crossbar, almost had his second for White

Reimer stones Brayden Schenn on a breakaway, gloved backhand deke

2-1 Black = Cole Sillinger converts 2 on 1 from Stankoven after initial bobble

3-1 Black = Cole Sillinger’s second on same shift, tipped Tyson Feist’s point shot

Reimer making big saves on Brayden Schenn’s line again, stops cross ice one-timer on rush

3-2 White = Tyson Jost backhand shelf from slot

Stankoven crossbar on breakaway, quick release beat Garand but not the bar

4-2 Black = Cole Sillinger’s hat trick, high glove from slot

4-2 Black after first period

5-2 Black = Cole Sillinger’s fourth, finishes own rebound

5-3 White = Kyle Marino breakaway glove side shot, sprung by Shea Theodore

5-4 White = Ryder Ritchie glove side from Mathis Preston off the rush

5-5 White = Ritchie’s second on a backhander

Evan Gardner replaces Reimer for Black, tied 5-5

Stankoven crossbar again on breakaway, backhand deke on Garand this time

6-5 White = Mathis Preston scores go-ahead goal as stick snaps in slot, White’s first lead since opening the scoring

7-5 White = Finley’s second, one-timer off rush with 7.6 seconds left

7-5 White after second period

7-6 Black = Kyle Burroughs fires blocker side on Garand

8-6 White = Sawyer Mynio tucks past Gardner after jumping into rush

9-6 White = Preston’s second, breakaway goal backhand deke

Brayden Schenn stopped on another breakaway by Gardner

Stankoven stoned by Garand’s glove on shot from slot

9-7 Black = Sillinger’s fifth, blocker side shot

9-8 Black = Hiroki Gojsic redirection at top of crease

10-8 White = Ritchie’s hat trick, fired high glove from Theodore

11-8 White = Preston’s hat trick into empty net

White wins 11-8

GAME NOTES

Shockingly, the Ruck twins — Liam and Markus — weren’t on the same line to start the game and didn’t take a single shift together at even strength. White’s coach didn’t realize he had a cheat code in the form of their twin telepathy!

The Rucks (Markus pictured above) have starred as linemates with OHA (Preston rounded out that electric trio) and the Medicine Hat Tigers (where they played with Ritchie), and they were both drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins in June (Liam in the first round at 22nd overall and Markus in the second round at 39th).

Ritchie emerged as a standout, pushing the pace against the pros and playing with an impressive offensive flair. Drafted by the Minnesota Wild in 2024 (second round, 45th overall), the recently turned 20-year-old forward will be entering his sophomore season with Boston University. He is the son of former NHLer Byron Ritchie.

Tij Iginla (Utah) and Lynden Lakovic (Washington) were among the player announcements for this showcase but didn’t suit up. Both are first-round NHL draft picks and local products but there was enough star power to overshadow their absence (precautionary for injuries, presumably).

ROSTERS

Team Schenn (White) = Luke Schenn, Brayden Schenn, Shea Theodore, Zach Whitecloud, Kaedan Korczak, Curtis Lazar, Tyson Jost, Jack Finley, Ryder Ritchie, Mathis Preston, Liam Ruck, Markus Ruck, Sawyer Mynio, Dylan Garand, Lane Pederson, Kyle Marino, Wyatt McLeod

Team Edmundson (Black) = Joel Edmundson, Logan Stankoven, Cole Sillinger, Owen Sillinger, Damon Severson, Kyle Burroughs, Noah Juulsen, James Reimer, Evan Gardner, Taylor Ward, Austin Roest, Tyson Feist, Zac Funk, Hiroki Gojsic, Alex Swetlikoff, Max Graham, Bryson Carlyle

BLAST FROM THE PAST

Lastly, or last but not least, I wanted to give a shout-out to my old college buddy Mark Payne, who helped promote HockeyFest and handled the play-by-play calling for their debut broadcast on YouTube.

It was great to be reunited here, and thanks to Mark for bringing me on as his second intermission guest for a trip down memory lane while catching up on our respective careers in the hockey world!