Kelowna Kodiaks Take A Tough 8-9 Season Opener Loss Against North Okanagan Reapers
Photo from the home opener on April 11, 2026. Photo Credits: Swissy Shoots on Instagram.
The Kelowna Kodiaks season opener was played against the North Okanagan Reapers at Kelowna Memorial Arena this past Saturday. The North Okanagan Reapers took the 9-8 win in a tough battle. The game had fights, hits, trash talk, and goal scoring. Everything that the sport box lacrosse is all about. There was a semi viral clip from the game that caught a fight breaking out between Kelowna Kodiaks Jonah Rampone and N.Okanagan Reapers Jojo Jankowski.
I caught up with Kodiaks head coach Brad Gelsvik before practice to talk about the home opener. Brad described the game as very competitive and said he was pleased with how the team performed, especially considering they had seven rookies in the lineup. He noted that defensive pressure and offensive off ball movement will be a key focus moving forward.
When asked for three key words that best describe his team, Brad chose: progressive, resilience, and swagger.
The Kodiaks showed resilience by battling back to tie the game 8–8 in the final period, after starting the frame down 8–5. Unfortunately, it wasn’t quite enough to close it out against the Reapers. The Kodiaks will be back at Kelowna Memorial Arena this Saturday to take on the Cranbrook Blackwolves at 7:00pm pst.
