Rockets hoping to snuff out Blazers in Game 2
Goaltender earns first-star honours in giving Kelowna 2-0 series lead
Everybody was expecting Connor Ingram to steal a game or two against the Kelowna Rockets in this first-round WHL playoff series.
Instead, Michael Herringer stole one from the Kamloops Blazers on Saturday night, making 33 saves — including a few in spectacular fashion — to backstop a 3-2 victory and give Kelowna a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series between B.C. Division rivals.
“It wasn’t just me, we had a really good team effort,” said Herringer, the game’s first star, who only had to make 15 saves in Friday’s 4-0 shutout win that saw Kelowna dominate from start to finish.
“(Kamloops) did have a bigger push. I thought they were a lot better tonight, but we did a really good job of keeping the guys to the outside and clearing rebounds was exceptional.”
Dillon Dube scored twice in the third period to open up a 3-0 lead — first shorthanded, then on a power play less than two minutes later — and Herringer blanked the Blazers for more than 113 minutes to start the series before Kamloops got two late goals to make for a tense finish in front of 5,647 glow-stick-waiving fans at Prospera Place.
Herringer was the difference, however, in making the save of the season during a scoreless second period — a diving desperation stop with the paddle of his stick to deny Collin Shirley of a sure goal at the game’s midpoint.
“That save was unbelievable — that will be No. 1 everywhere,” said Dube. “I can’t even describe it. Everybody had their head down on their bench, and that completely changed the game. It calmed us down a lot, and that’s what we need from him.”
The Blazers were buzzing until then, but the Rockets rallied around Herringer’s heroics and pushed back to go ahead 26-25 on the shot clock through 40 minutes. That Kelowna stayed ahead 1-0 was thanks solely to Herringer, as Kamloops continued to generate the higher-quality opportunities and certainly could have been leading 3-1.
“Herry made some real big saves in the second period when they had mo- mentum, which gave us an opportunity,” said Rockets head coach Jason Smith, who witnessed several game-changing saves from Dwayne Roloson in captaining the Edmonton Oilers to the Stanley Cup Final in 2006.
“You go from seeing a player with a wide-open opportunity at the net to hearing the crowd erupt,” he said of Herringer’s stop.
“That goes a long way . . . momentum was kind of heading their way and they were creating opportunities at our net. It brings momentum and energy to your group, and we had some pretty good shifts after that.”
Kelowna’s top defenceman, Cal Foote, opened the scoring with the only goal of the opening frame — firing low past Ingram’s glove after taking a drop pass from Nick Merkley — but Herringer was the Rockets’ best player in the first period, stopping all 16 shots he faced including a couple of dangerous rebound chances by Nic Holowko and Quinn Benjafield.
Despite trailing again, the Blazers were significantly better in matching their shot total from the first period of Game 1 (3) on the first shift — within the first 30 seconds — of Game 2 and exceeding their entire shot total from Friday’s opener (15) in the first period of Saturday’s rematch.
“I liked the way we played. We checked harder, we were more competitive, and we had the puck more,” Blazers head coach Don Hay said of his team’s bounce-back effort. “We competed at a level that you’re supposed to compete at in the playoffs.”
Quinn Benjafield and Ondrej Vala eventually replied for the Blazers, who got 34 saves from Ingram to follow up his 44-save performance in Friday’s defeat.
The series now shifts to Kamloops for Games 3 and 4 on Tuesday and Wednesday. If necessary, Game 5 would be back at Prospera Place on Friday. Every game starts at 7 p.m. and is broadcast on Shaw TV.
“To win both games at home is really important, but we need to focus on Game 3 now,” said Herringer. “We’re supposed to win our home games and now we need to steal one there.”
ICE CHIPS: Kelowna stuck with its winning lineup from Friday, scratching RW Leif Mattson, LW Conner Bruggen-Cate, D Konrad Belcourt, D Kaedan Korczak (affiliated player), LW Liam Kindree (AP) and G James Porter (AP) . . . . Kamloops made two changes, inserting affiliated players D Devan Harrison and LW Brodi Stuart for their playoff debuts in place of former Rockets D Danny Gatenby and LW Jackson Shepard. The Blazers also scratched C Luc Smith (upper-body, day-to-day), LW Travis Walton, D Tylor Ludwar and G Max Palaga (AP).