Rockets trim Hitmen in OT

Geordie Wudrick capped a slow night for Kelowna with a pair of frenetic goals that propelled the Rockets to an unlikely victory on Saturday night.

At Calgary, the Rockets rallied from three one-goal deficits — with Wudrick scoring late in the third period, then 59 seconds into overtime — for a 4-3 win over the Hitmen.
That Kelowna would leave the Saddledome with two points seemed highly unlikely, as the Rockets mustered just three shots in the first period and six in the second. But win they did, and Kelowna closed out its four-game Central Division road trip with a record of 3-1-0-0.
All three wins came after starting the trip with a 4-2 loss to the Kootenay Ice. In that game, Kelowna was outshot 24-9 in the third.

“It took us a while to get our legs underneath us, that’s for sure. But I thought in the third period, we got stronger,” said Rockets head coach Ryan Huska, whose team will spend today in Radium Hot Springs before returning home to the Okanagan. “We capitalized on some of our chances.”

Shane McColgan, with his 21st goal of the season, and Colton Sissons, with his 16th, also scored for Kelowna (36-25-0-1), which trailed 1-0 after the first and 3-2 after the second.
McColgan made it 1-1 at 11:31 of the second with a shorthanded goal, while Sissons made it 2-2 at 14:48. Wudrick levelled the score at 16:33 of the third, his 35th goal of the season, then netted the winner in overtime.

Forwards Trevor Cheek and Misha Fisenko plus blue-liner Alex Roach scored for Calgary (19-38-3-2). Mike Snider turned aside 17 shots for the Hitmen, while Adam Brown stopped 24 shots for the Rockets.

Not only were the Rockets happy with the win, but with the trip itself, having gathered six points out of a possible eight.

“This road trip was important for us, to be honest with you, if we wanted any chance of finishing first (in the B.C. Division),” Huska said. “We felt we had to get at least five of eight (points), and that’s being realistic because we were playing some good teams on this trip.
“But the guys competed in their last three games and they’re very deserving of the points we were able to come back with.”

Asked about the possibility of having earned at least seven points were it not for that third-period meltdown last Tuesday against Kootenay, Huska said the loss proved valuable.

"We could have, but you know what? Maybe that was a lesson that needed to be learned," said Huska, whose team trailed Kootenay 2-0 after 40 minutes, but evened the score by the fourth minute of the third. "We played the wrong way in the third period, and, against good teams, you can't do that. So the rest of the trip, we were much better."

Heading into Saturday's third period against Calgary, with your team down 3-2, did you remind your players of how Tuesday's loss came about? 

"Not so much," said Huska. "I thought our guys, they were starting to really play, so that's where we pushed them. We told them that if you keep putting pucks on net, good things will happen."

ICE CHIPS: Kelowna’s scratches were D Mitchell Chapman (concussion), LW Jason Siebert (wrist), LW Brett Bulmer (knee) and C Max Adolph (concussion). . . . Kelowna was 0-for-4 on the power play; The Hitmen were 0-for-5. . . . The three stars were Sissons, Roach and Hitmen forward John Lawrence. . . . Up next for Kelowna is a road game in Kamloops against the Blazers (29-31-3-1) on Wednesday at 7 p.m. . . . The nine-game season series between the Blazers and Rockets is tied at 3-3. . . . In B.C. Division standings, front-running Kelowna maintained its four-point lead over the second-place Vancouver Giants (32-24-1-4). . . . On Saturday, the Giants posted a 5-1 win in Chilliwack over the Bruins. Twenty-four hours earlier, the Bruins (25-30-2-3) beat the Giants 6-4 in Vancouver. . . . Kelowna has 10 regular-season games left; Vancouver also 11, including a 5 p.m. home-ice tilt tonight against the Tri-City Americans (37-19-2-2). . . . The Blazers are third in B.C. Division standings with 62 points, one point up on fourth-place Prince George and seven behind Vancouver. However, the Blazers have played three more games than the Giants and one more than Prince George. . . . The Blazers have won five of their last six games and have points in all six (5-0-1-0). The only mark was a 4-3 overtime loss to Red Deer last Saturday. . . . Also making a Central Division road trip at the same time Kelowna was, Kamloops went 4-0-1-0, closing it out Saturday night with an impressive 8-5 victory over Kootenay despite getting outshot 46-25.

Rockets blank Rebels

The Kelowna Rockets close out their four-game Central Division road trip tonight. And  no matter how it ends against the struggling Calgary Hitmen, it’ll go down as a successful outing.

On Friday, against one of the league’s top teams, Adam Brown turned aside 27 shots for the Rockets, who stunned the host Red Deer Rebels 1-0. The win pushed Kelowna’s road-trip record to 2-1-0-0, and a win against Calgary (19-38-2-2) would be the icing on the cake — for not many gave Kelowna much of a chance in facing three of the Eastern Conference’s top-four teams, especially against the No. 2 Rebels. 

Yet, here they are with a winning record on this road trip.

“It was a really good road game for us,” said Rockets head coach Ryan Huska, whose team also scored a 5-1 win in Red Deer on Dec. 10. “We played very well for the first two periods and I thought Red Deer got better in the third period when we started making some tired mistakes. But Adam was very good for us in the third when we needed him.”

Geordie Wudrick, with his 34th goal of the season, tallied midway through the second, scored for Kelowna (35-25-0-1).

Darcy Kuemper turned aside 26 shots for Red Deer (42-15-3-4). Heading into Friday’s game at Enmax Centrium, the Central-leading Rebels had lost just eight times on home ice this season (five in regulation, one in overtime and two in the shootout). But of those eight losses, four were to B.C. Division teams (two to Kelowna; 1-0 to Kamloops on Oct. 20 and 4-3 to Prince George on Feb. 13).

Huska said he was somewhat surprised by the result.

"The low scoring moreso," he said. "I'm not really surprised that we didn't give up a ton of goals; our goaltending has been good this season. But it was one of those games where it had a playoff-type feel to it. There wasn't a lot of room on the ice. And, like I said, whenever we made one of those mistakes, Adam was there to bail us out."

In B.C. Division standings, Kelowna now has 71 points, four more than the second-place Vancouver Giants (31-24-1-4, 67 points), which began a home-and-home series with a 6-4 loss to the visiting Chilliwack Bruins. The Bruins (25-29-2-3) occupy fifth and last in B.C. Division standings with 55 points, but are only four behind the fourth-place Prince George Cougars (28-31-2-1, 59 pts.), and five behind the third-place Kamloops Blazers (28-31-3-1, 60 pts.).

In Western Conference standings, Portland (41-17-0-3) leads the pack with 85 points, while Kelowna, as the B.C. Division leader, is second, while Spokane (39-17-4-2) is third with 84 and Tri-City (37-18-2-2) in fourth with 78.

If the playoffs were to start today, No. 2 Kelowna would play No. 7 Kamloops. But, as has been the case all season long, the West standings are tight, and predicting who'll play who right now is, ultimately, futile. For example, Seattle, in 10th and last place, has 53 points, and is just six points out of the last playoff spot at No. 8. Prince George holds that spot as of today, yet, with a good run, the Cougars could overtake Everett at No. 6 — while the Silvertips could also overcome the four-point lead No. 5 Vancouver has.

Then there's Chilliwack at No. 9 and Kamloops at No. 7. Why, even third isn't settled, as although Tri-City is six points behind Spokane, the Americans have three games in hand on the Chiefs.

And Kelowna's four-point lead over Vancouver isn't safe, as the Rockets and Giants meet two more times in March with a home-and-home series to close out regular-season play.

With around a dozen or so regular-season games to go for each Western Conference team, about the only guaranteed thing right now is that there'll be a lot of back-and-forth jockeying.

Looking ahead to tonight’s game, Kelowna will face a rested team, as the Hitmen were idle on Friday, with their last game being an 8-5 loss to Edmonton on Wednesday.

For Huska, the fear isn’t facing a ready-to-go team; it’s that Friday’s win over Red Deer will result in an overconfident team, one that will take Calgary (19-38-2-2) lightly.

“The Calgary game will be a difficult one because it’s at the end of a trip,” said Huska. “We have to make sure we play smart so fatigue doesn’t come into play. Every point right now is crucial, so we have to go in there with the mindset of it’s a must-win for us. Hopefully, Friday’s win carries over for us. This is an important game for us.”

ICE CHIPS: Kelowna’s scratches were D Mitchell Chapman (concussion, 1 week), LW Jason Siebert (wrist, 1-2  weeks), LW Brett Bulmer (knee, day to day) and C Max Adolph (concussion, undetermined). . . . Returning to action was D Colton Jobke, who finished serving a seven-game suspension for a blind-side hit on Chilliwack Bruins RW Tim Traber on Feb. 11.

Two points for Rockets in Medicine Hat

By Darren Steinke

The Medicine Hat News

MEDICINE HAT — Tyler Bunz was able to steal one point in the standings, but he wasn‘t able to get two.

With his Medicine Hat Tigers having four regular defenceman on the injured list, the third-year goaltender made 37 saves through regulation and overtime to get his club to a shootout against the Kelowna Rockets, but the visitors won the tie-breaking session 2-1 in seven rounds to take the contest by a 3-2 count.

"Going into it, I knew I had to be at my best," Bunz said. "I felt shootouts, those are kind of a 50/50 chance we are going to win or not. We came up short tonight, but we got a point out of it."

The Rockets (34-25-0-1) controlled the opening frame, and the Tigers (38-17-4-2) carried play in the second period. In the third period and overtime, Bunz had to come up with numerous key saves to give his club a chance to win. Kelowna‘s edge in the territorial play showed at that point in the contest.

"In the third period, we just made mistakes," said Tigers coach head Shaun Clouston. "Fatugue might be a factor. But Kelowna was really good. They were quick on their forecheck. They put lots of pressure, and we didn‘t respond quite as well as we needed to."

The visitors went up 1-0 at the 10:27 mark of the first thanks to their forecheck. Going behind the Medicine Hat goal, Rockets forward Mitchell Callahan stole the puck away from Tigers defenceman Sebastian Owuya and set up linemate Zach Franko in front of the goal for his 17th tally of the season.

The Rockets made it 2-0 with a power-play goal from Shane McColgan, but Medicine Hat forward Emerson Etem cut the gap to 2-1 before the first intermission rolled around.

The Tigers tied things up at 2-2 at the 4:35 mark of the second, with defenceman Alex Theriau scoring his first goal of the season on a power play.

In the shootout, Medicine Hat‘s Hunter Shinkaruk and Kelowna‘s Geordie Wudrick traded goals in the first round, before Colton Sissons netted the winner for the Rockets in the seventh round.

While he wasn‘t as busy as Bunz, Rockets goaltender Adam Brown had an active night making 29 saves in regulation and overtime, which included a nice glove save on Etem in the second.

"The guys really helped me out tonight," said Brown. "They kept their second chances low and (there were) just lots of shots from the outside."

The Rockets, coming off a 4-2 loss to the Kootenay Ice in Cranbrook the night before, continue their Central Division road trip on Friday against the Red Deer Rebels (42-14-3-4). Kelowna then finishes the Alberta swing on Saturday night in Calgary against the Hitmen (19-38-2-2). 

Rockets iced in Cranbrook

Rockets start tough trip with tough loss to Kootenay

The Kelowna Rockets started their four-game Central Division road trip on Tuesday with a stinging 4-2 loss to the Kootenay Ice.

Stinging, because Kelowna had battled back from a 2-0 deficit with two quick goals early in the third period.

Yet, before the frame ended, the Rockets not only surrendered two more markers, but also an eye-opening 24 shots. That, said Rockets head coach Ryan Huska, was why Kelowna left Cranbrook with zero points en route to Alberta.

“I liked the way we were playing until there were 16 minutes left in the third period,” said Huska, whose team was outshot 51-26. “Then we decided to change the way we were playing and went run-and-gun. We don’t have the team to do that.”

Hayden Rintoul, Brayden McNabb, James Martin and Matt Fraser scored for Kootenay (39-18-1-2), which led 2-0 after 40 minutes after a scoreless first period. Martin made it 3-2 at 8:45 of the third with a power-play goal, while Fraser closed out the scoring less than four minutes later.

Geordie Wudrick, with his 33rd goal of the season at 1:04, and Kevin Smith, with his fifth at 3:41, replied for Kelowna (33-25-0-1). Jordon Cooke turned aside 47 shots for the Rockets, including 22 in the final frame, while Nathan Lieuwen made 24 saves for the Ice.

Afterwards, Huska said no fault could be laid at Cooke’s skates.

“Twenty-four shots in the third period . . . that’s frustrating,” said Huska. “Jordon has been good for us every time he’s played. We have a chance (to win) with him every night. This is disappointing after we tied it up.”

Immediately after the game, the Rockets — who left Kelowna on Monday morning — hit the road for a five-hour ride to Medicine Hat, where they’ll play the Tigers (38-17-4-1) this evening. Game time is 6 p.m.

The Ice and Tigers have quite similar stats, such as both teams being tied for third place in Eastern Conference standings at 81 points.

After Medicine Hat, the Rockets will visit second-place Red Deer (41-14-3-4) on Friday and last-place Calgary (19-37-2-2) on Saturday.

ICE CHIPS: Kelowna’s scratches were D Colton Jobke (suspension), D Mitchell Chapman (concussion), C Max Adolph (concussion), LW Brett Bulmer (knee) and LW Jason Siebert (wrist).

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If you haven't looked lately, you should check out how crazy the standings are in the NHL's Western Conference.

As of early Wednesday morning, six points separated fourth place from 11th place, and seven points between third and 11th. That's mental. It also underscores why the NHL should keep its proven two-point system for a win and never go to a three-point system, awarding three points for a win in regulation and two for a win in overtime or a shootout.

I know the three-point system is today's hot-topic button, and there's a boatload of pundits clamouring for change, saying it justly rewards teams who win in regulation — a valid statement that can't be argued. What the three-point system would do, however, is create a gulf between one, two or three contenders and the rest of the pack, and that's not good.

For in today's NHL, it's just a matter of time before the salary cap handcuffs or smacks a contending team down to earth. Just ask the Chicago Blackhawks. More on that here.

Should the Vancouver Canucks win the Stanley Cup this season, how much will they have to pay out in bonuses? Who will they then be forced to get rid of to meet the salary cap? Roberto Luongo? Then what? How will fans take to Vancouver being a mid-pack team? Will the Los Angeles Kings go through the same cycle as Chicago did with its deep roster of young talent?

So, while a three-point system justly rewards the elite, at the end of the day, rewarding the few over the many isn't worth it. After all, what's more exciting: Watching eight teams battle for five playoff spots and the jockeying that goes back and forth? Or two, three or four teams for the final two?

Personally, I'm for the former, because, if anything, it's exciting.

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Two goals in a dramatic third period pushed the Kelowna Chiefs into the second round of the KIJHL's playoffs.

At Rutland Arena, Tanner Clarkson scored the game-winning goal at 9:50 of the third period for Kelowna, breaking a 4-4 tie, and Jordan Salahor added an empty-net insurance goal with 15 seconds remaining, as the Chiefs eliminated the Princeton Posse with a 6-4 victory in Game 7 of their first-round series on Tuesday night. On Monday night in Princeton, Kelowna forced the deciding game with a 7-1 victory in Game 6.

Dane Rupert, Landon Andrusiak, Jordan Wood and Colten DeFrias also scored for Kelowna in the back-and-forth game.

The Posse opened the scoring at 9:57 of the first period, Jaden Janzen with a power-play goal, but the Chiefs struck back with two late goals in the frame, Rupert at 17:33 and Andrusiak at 18:25. However, the Posse made it 2-2 in the last minute of the first, Spencer Kristensen with 22 seconds remaining.

In the second, power plays were the name of the game. Wood made it 3-2 Chiefs with an extra-man goal just 49 seconds in. But at 6:49, Kristensen scored his second of the night on the power play to again level the score. DeFrias responded with yet another power-play goal, this one coming at 11:49, to make it 4-3 Chiefs. The Posse, though, equalized again, albeit with an even-strength goal, Janzen with his second of the night as well at 16:07.

In the third, Clarkson scored on the power play and Salahor iced the contest with an unassisted goal.

Jordan Bytelaar stopped 37 shots for the Chiefs, who were outshot 41-33, while Brett Patchett stopped 27 shots for the Posse.

Kelowna was 3-for-4 on the power play, while Princeton was 2-for-4. Tuesday's attendance at Rutland Arena was 287.

The Chiefs finished second in Okanagan Division standings with a record of 26-21-1-2, good for 55 points. The Posse (16-28-3-3) were third with 38 points, while the Osoyoos Coyotes (42-2-2-4) finished first with 90 points and the Penticton Lakers (12-37-0-1) were fourth and last with 25 points.

In other first-round action, the top-seeded Coyotes swept the Lakers 4-0, and now the second-seeded Chiefs have the unenviable task of playing Osoyoos. The Coyotes also finished first overall in league standings, edging the Fernie Ghostriders (42-5-0-3) by three points. Game 1 of the best-of-seven, second-round series between the Coyotes and Chiefs starts Friday in Osoyoos.

In other Okanagan Conference playoff action, the No. 1-ranked Revelstoke Grizzlies (40-9-0-1) will play the No. 2 Kamloops Storm (24-24-0-2) in the conference's other semifinal. Revelstoke beat the North Okanagan Knights (18-30-1-1) in five games in their first-round series, while Kamloops eliminated the Sicamous Eagles (17-27-2-4) in five games as well.

Tough trip, times ahead for Rockets

If there's one coach I enjoy interviewing, it's Don Hay.

Why? Because the head coach of the Vancouver Giants tells it like it is. If his team was good, he'll say so. If not, he'll say they weren't. He also hands out compliments to opposing players, a treat which is becoming rarer and rarer these days.

Now, that said, he's a Monday-night regular on Dan Russell's Sportstalk show, which runs every day of the week, 9 p.m. to midnight PT in Vancouver, though its broadcast province-wide. And on Monday night (Feb. 21, 2011), he had a great chat about former Giant Milan Lucic, including a quick one-liner that the 6-foot-4, 220-pound power forward once tried out for the Kamloops Blazers, but was cut.

Can you say ooops?

Imagine that: Lucic crushing bodies as a Blazer, not a Giant.

Hay's comments run in the 11 p.m. hour. CKNW's audio vault link is right here.

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Kelowna to play 3 of Eastern Conference’s top-4 teams

By Larry Fisher

The Daily Courier

This week could be the turning point in the Kelowna Rockets’ pursuit of the B.C. Division title — for better or worse.

The Rockets (33-24-0-1) open a five-game road trip tonight in Cranbrook against the Kootenay Ice (38-18-1-2), and won’t return to Prospera Place until next month. Coming off a 6-3 home-ice victory over the Vancouver Giants (31-23-1-4) on Saturday night — a win that vaulted Kelowna ahead of Vancouver for the B.C. Division lead — the Rockets next face three of the Eastern Conference’s top four teams.

After tonight’s tilt against Kootenay — fourth in the East and bolstered by the addition of sniper Cody Eakin at the WHL’s trade deadline — Kelowna is Alberta-bound to tangle with the third-seeded Medicine Hat Tigers (38-17-4-1) on Wednesday, then the second-ranked Red Deer Rebels (41-14-3-4) on Friday.

This week wraps up with a stop in Calgary to play the last-place overall Hitmen (19-37-2-2) on Saturday night, with the Rockets also visiting the Kamloops Blazers (26-31-3-1) on Wednesday, March 2.

The first three games will be telling for Kelowna, which has been missing several regulars from its lineup due to injury and suspension in recent weeks, including second-leading scorer Brett Bulmer (leg) and defencemen Colton Jobke and Mitchell Chapman (head).

“This will a real test because Kootenay is arguably one of the top teams out East,” said Rockets president and general manager Bruce Hamilton, whose club is tied with Vancouver at 67 points, but has two more wins and one game in hand. “And then Medicine Hat and Red Deer are the other two (along with the top-ranked Saskatoon Blades).

“It’s going to be real critical, and we’ve gotta come out of there with some points.”

Beating top teams is nothing new to Kelowna, however. The Rockets solved Saskatoon (46-12-0-2) once this season with a 6-3 home win on Dec. 4, and they routed Red Deer 5-1 on the road on Dec. 10.

And since the trade deadline, Kelowna has posted impressive results against the Western Conference’s elite. Among them are three straight wins over Vancouver (7-3, 4-2, 6-3), to go with a 5-3 home win over first-place Portland (39-16-0-3) on Jan. 14, followed by 5-3 and 4-3 road decisions over third-place Spokane (37-16-4-2) and fourth-place Tri-City (36-16-2-2) on Jan. 22 and 23, respectively.

The Rockets gave Spokane another scare last Friday, falling 3-2 to the Chiefs.

“It’s funny; we’ve beat every top team now,” said Hamilton, with the exception of Medicine Hat, which has two wins over Kelowna to date, and Kootenay, which hosts the Rockets for their only meeting of the season tonight. “Every game becomes so important for us to have a chance to stay in the race here. We’re capable . . . and when you have a goalie like we’ve got right now (in Adam Brown), he gives you a chance to win every night.”

With 14 games remaining in the regular season, Kelowna’s title hopes might end up hinging on a home-and-home finale with Vancouver, March 18-19.

“The Giants’ schedule, I think, is a little more favourable,” Hamilton said. “But we just gotta do our own job and not worry about them until we play them again.  Hopefully it will come down to those games.”

As for Kelowna’s recent dominance over Vancouver, Hamilton said it has more to do with the Rockets’ resurgence since head coach Ryan Huska and captain Tyson Barrie, among other players, returned from the world juniors.

“Our guys are understanding what our coaches are expecting of them,” he said. “We really had a tough go when (Huska) was away. His presence is a huge part in what we do as a team,” continued Hamilton. “And now that he’s back and back in control of everything, they’re back playing the way he expects them to play and it’s made a big difference with our team.”

Chemistry and continuity within the Rockets’ roster, despite the rash of injuries, has also been key. While Vancouver made several moves leading up to the trade deadline, including dealing leading scorer and Trail product Craig Cunningham to the Western Conference-leading Winterhawks, the Rockets didn’t load up.

With the exception of adding defenceman Zak Stebner from Tri-City, Kelowna stood pat and that decision seems to be paying dividends.

“We never changed our plan all along,” Hamilton said. “We were going to get a defenceman no matter what. But our plan was our plan, which was to stay the way we are and play these young guys and let them get better.”

Those young players — such as Zach Franko and Colton Sissons up front, and Damon Severson and MacKenzie Johnston on the back end — have developed to the point where Kelowna is looking like potential contenders, perhaps ahead of schedule, this season.

“Our team going down the stretch here, if we can get healthy . . . we’re no different than anybody else; if you got all your guys, you’ve got a chance,” Hamilton said. “Anything can happen, but one of the big things is to try to get first place in the B.C. Division because that way you’re not playing one of those three American teams (Portland, Spokane, Tri-City) right off the hop. And home-ice, too, because this team likes to play at home, now.”

Asked if he thinks other teams see Kelowna as a serious threat and want to avoid the Rockets in the playoffs, Hamilton said: “We’ll see. I don’t think anybody is losing sleep over playing us, to tell the truth. But, as we saw last year, anything can happen.”

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Pats defeat Hitmen with late goal, win WHL outdoor game

CALGARY — Chandler Stephenson scored with 36.5 seconds left in the third period to lead the Regina Pats to a 3-2 victory over the Calgary Hitmen at a WHL outdoors game at McMahon Stadium on Monday afternoon.

The game set a new CHL attendance record, as 20,888 fans took in the game. It broke the old mark of 20,081 set on Dec. 20, 2004 during an OHL game between Ottawa and Kingston at Scotiabank Place.

It was the first outdoor CHL game played in Canada. Last month, the Spokane Chiefs hosted the Kootenay Ice before 7,075 fans at Avista Stadium in Spokane.

Dyson Stevenson and Garrett Mitchell also scored for Regina (21-32-8). Jaynen Rissling and Kris Foucault scored for Calgary (19-37-4).

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KIJHL: Chiefs force Game 7

Facing elimination on Monday night, the Kelowna Chiefs are now hoping to rub out the Princeton Posse instead.

In KIJHL playoff action at Princeton, Jordan Wood scored three times for Kelowna, including twice in the first period, as the Chiefs jumped out to an early 4-0 lead en route to blasting the Posse 7-1 in Game 6. The result levelled the best-of-seven series 3-3, with Game 7 set for tonight, 7 p.m., at Rutland Arena.

Tanner Clarkson, Brandon Briere, Colton DeFrias and Dane Rupert also scored for the Chiefs, who led 4-0 and 6-0 at the period breaks. Keenan Fordy, at 11:26 of the third, replied for the Posse, who held series leads of 2-0, 3-1 and 3-2. 

Wood opened the scoring at 5:30 of the first period with a power-play marker, with Clarkson scoring at 10:09 to make it 2-0. Wood added another power-play goal at 11:55, and Briere closed out the period's scoring at 13:31 for a 4-0 lead. In the second, DeFrias tallied a short-handed marker at 11:09, with Rupert making it 6-0 at 15:40 with yet another power-play goal. Fordy got Princeton on the scoreboard at 8:34, but the Chiefs responded with 4:36 left to play, Wood scoring into an empty net, to round out the scoring.

Jordan Bytelaar made 32 saves for the Chiefs, while Brett Patchett took the loss for Princeton, making just two saves on five stops before getting pulled. Backup Sky Buller turned aside 27 shots in relief.

ICE CHIPS: The Chiefs were 3-for-7 on the power play, while the Posse were 0-for-4. . . . Monday's attendance was 150. . . . The three stars were Wood, who also recorded an assist; Rupert, who had three points, including two assists, and Fordy.

Rockets double up Giants

That slow start Kelowna had Friday night? The Rockets more than made up for it on Saturday evening.

Evan Bloodoff scored twice for Kelowna, with both goals coming in the first period, as the Rockets bolted out of the starting gate with an early 2-0 lead, then added to it in a 6-3 victory over the Vancouver Giants in WHL action at Prospera Place. One night earlier, the Rockets stumbled through the opening frame in a 3-2 loss to the Spokane Chiefs.

“The first period was a lot different (than Friday’s),” said Bloodoff, the game’s first star. “We came out flat (against Spokane); nobody was really skating or hitting. But tonight, we knew we had to come out a lot harder because of (Friday night).

“We were all pretty pumped up to play. We knew they were going to come out hard, so we had to match that. We tried to play defensively and stay out of the penalty box because they have a pretty good power play.”

“We brought it to them right off the bat and we kept that up for most of the game,” added Rockets forward Colton Sissons, the game’s third star who  generated several scoring chances. “We knew that we had to come out right from the first through the third, and that was the key to the win.”

Geordie Wudrick, with his 32nd goal of the season, Spencer Main, Zach Franko and Mitchell Callahan also scored for Kelowna (33-24-0-1), which scored three times in the third after holding period leads of 2-0 and 3-1. With the win, the Rockets leapfrogged the Giants for first place in B.C. Division standings — yet again in what’s been a flip-flop battle this season. Both teams have 67 points, but Kelowna has two more wins while also having played one less game.

“It’s definitely nice to be in first,” added Sissons. “Hopefully we can stay there a bit longer now.”

Defenceman David Musil, with his fifth of the season, Dalton Sward, with his 10th, and Michael Burns, with his 12th, replied for Vancouver (31-23-1-4), which was lethargic for the first 30 minutes in losing to Kelowna for the second time in a week. On Wednesday, the Rockets scored a 4-2 win in Vancouver.

Adam Brown made 27 saves for the Rockets, who now hold a 4-2 lead in their eight-game season series with Vancouver. Mark Segal turned aside 27 shots for the Giants, who beat the Seattle Thunderbirds 6-2 on Friday.

Understandably, the Giants were a quiet bunch after Saturday’s loss, including head coach Don Hay.

“I thought Bloodoff really played well for them. He was the hardest worker on the ice,” said Hay, whose players had little time or space when they had the puck. “His work ethic really set the tone for the game.”

Asked about the back-and-forth battle for first, Hay said “we have to make sure we continue to find ways to have success. We have to keep moving ahead. Kelowna is a good hockey team and they play well against us.

“We seem to be able to find ways to win other games, and we have to continue to do that.”

While Kelowna’s play in the first period ultimately gave the home team a lead it would never relinquish, the Giants had a shot at tying up the game.

Trailing 4-1 early in the third after Main scored for the Rockets, burying a shot as the trailer on a three-on-two rush at 2:38 of the frame, the Giants bounced back with two goals. Sward poked home a rebound at 5:53 to make it 4-2, then Burns zipped in a low shot from the slot at 11:23 to cut Kelowna’s lead to one.

After that, though, the Giants’ rally fell apart with two consecutive penalties — one to Andrej Stastny at 12:11 for elbowing, then a double minor to Spencer Bennett for high sticking at 12:50. Skating behind Tyson Barrie while trying to harry him from behind just as Kelowna’s captain was about to carry the puck into Vancouver’s end, Bennett clipped the offensive defenceman in the face, cutting him on the chin.

Already on the power play, the Rockets were handed a five-on-three for 1:19. And with 33 seconds left in Stastny’s penalty, Franko roofed a cross-crease pass to make it 5-3. Less than a minute later, and still on the power play, Callahan scored and restored Kelowna’s three-goal lead.

“Later in the game we got better, but, for sure, in the first period, I’m not sure if they were that much faster than us or we were that much slower than them,” said Giants captain Brendan Gallagher. “I don’t know what it was, but we never had our jump, and that’s unacceptable this late in the

season to be using that as an excuse. Whatever it is, we have to fix it quickly.

“We have to win these games against Kelowna if want it to continue (competing for first place). We haven’t been happy with our efforts, but we’ve been able to battle back every time, so, hopefully, we can continue to do it, then take care of the games against Kelowna later in the season.”

Saturday’s contest also saw Rockets head coach Ryan Huska get uncharacteristically animated after Gallagher collided with Brown during a scoring chance in the first period. Brown, who was knocked to the ice, appeared shaken, but he got up and continued playing.

After the collision, Huska loudly barked at a referee, letting him know what he thought of the play. 

“In Adam’s situation . . . Gallagher does a great job of going to the net all the time,” said Huska. “But the onus is on the player to make sure they don’t hit the goaltender. Sometimes the referees need a little bit of a reminder of that.”

“That’s just part of my game, going to the net,” said Gallagher, a well-spoken, 5-foot-8 right-winger from Delta that every WHL team would love to have on its roster. “There was no intentions of hitting the goalie; I just wanted to score a goal. As I was going across, I kinda got airborne and I might have bumped him a little bit. It was unintentional, but that kinda happens quite a bit with my game.”

Huska did like, though, his team’s start, unlike Friday’s, a frame which cost Kelowna a shot at two points.

“It was much better,” he said. “I thought we had good jump early tonight in particular. But it just wasn’t one line; it was all four lines. That was important for us.”

Now, what about taking firm control of first place?

“I don’t know,” said Huska, whose team leaves Monday for a four-game swing through the Central Division, with stops against Kootenay (Tuesday), Medicine Hat (Wednesday), Red Deer (Friday) and Calgary (Saturday. “. “That’s what I said to them after the game: ‘Please, can we hold onto it now?’ I think it’ll probably be like this, I’d assume, for the remainder (of the regular season). Both teams play hard, and hopefully we can get some wins on this Alberta trip.”

ICE CHIPS: Wudrick was the game’s second star. . . . Vancouver was 0-for-3 on the power play; Kelowna was 3-for-7, with two coming in the third period that iced the game. . . . Kelowna’s scratches were D Mitchell Chapman (head), D Colton Jobke (5th game of 7-game suspension), C Gal Koren, RW Jason Siebert (wrist, 2 weeks) and RW Brett Bulmer (leg, day to day). Vancouver’s scratches were D Joel Rogers (concussion, day to day), D Luke Fenske (teeth), C/LW James Henry (knee, week to week) and C Cain Franson.

KELOWNA, B.C. — WHL on Saturday night:

First Period

1. Kelowna, Bloodoff 18 (Main) 3:06 (sh)

2. Kelowna, Bloodoff 19 (McColgan, Severson) 8:09 (pp)

Penalties — Johnston Kel (high sticking) 1:08, Hart Van (unsportsmanlike conduct) 6:48, Smith Van (holding) 10:21, Hodder Van, Stebner Kel (fighting) 14:32, Redmond Van, Goulbourne Kel (fighting) 16:19, Stastny Van (hooking) 18:53.

Second Period

3. Vancouver, Musil 5 (Rowinski, Burns) 8:50

4. Kelowna, Wudrick 32 (Sissons, Stebner) 11:01

Penalties — Burns Van, Stebner Kel (unsportsmanlike conduct) 1:44, Bestland Van (slashing), Sissons Kel (unsportsmanlike conduct) 13:24, Bellerive Van (tripping) 16:23, McColgan Kel (hooking) 17:17.

Third Period

5. Kelowna, Main 8 (Stene) 2:38

6. Vancouver, Sward 10 (Gallagher, Vannieuwenhuizen) 5:53

7. Vancouver, M. Burns 12 (Rowinski) 11:23

8. Kelowna, Franko 16 (McColgan, Wudrick) 13:38 (pp)

9. Kelowna, Callahan 20 14:11 (pp)

Penalties — Gallagher Van (boarding) 2:59, Stastny Van (elbowing) 12:11, Bennett Van (double high sticking) 12:50.

Shots on goal by

Vancouver        11        10        9        —30

Kelowna        13        6        14        —33

Goal — Vancouver: Segal (L, 24-12-1-3); Kelowna: Brown (W, 27-20-0-1).

Power plays (goals-chances) — Vancouver: 0-3; Kelowna: 3-7.

Referees — Jeff Ingram, Brett Iverson. Linesmen — Ron Dietterle, Ward

Pateman.

Attendance — 6,134.