Battle in Seattle: Rockets, Thunderbirds meet for Game 5

Kelowna has lost all odd-numbered games against Seattle, falls 5-3

Michael Herringer couldn’t come up with a key save and now the Kelowna Rockets are coming home to face elimination on Sunday.

Five goals on 17 shots proved too much to overcome, as the Seattle Thunderbirds held on to defeat the visiting Rockets 5-3 in Kent, Wash., on Friday night and take a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference final.

Herringer wasn’t solely to blame, but he’ll need to be better in Game 6 on Sunday — 5 p.m. at Prospera Place — in order to force a seventh-and-deciding game back in Kent on Tuesday.

Seattle’s rookie goaltender Carl Stankowski outplayed Kelowna’s over-ager in Game 5, stopping 37 shots to Herringer’s 19 in total.

Seattle surged out to a 2-0 lead on breakaway goals by Scott Eansor and Sami Moilanen — both deking to the backhand on Herringer — in capitalizing on turnovers by Reid Gardiner and Devante Stephens.

Eansor’s goal was shorthanded on Seattle’s first shot of the game at 3:15 of the first period, and Moilanen struck with the teams skating four players aside at 10:57 — both coming against the grain, with Kelowna doubling the hosts in shots (10-5) to that point.

The Rockets battled back to even on a pair of power-play goals by Calvin Thurkauf and Nick Merkley — extending their point streaks to eight and seven games, respectively — but Seattle’s power play responded by scoring twice in a span of one minute 20 seconds, Alexander True on a 5-on-3 and Ryan Gropp on the ensuing 5-on-4 advantage late in the second period.

The Thunderbirds led 2-1 and 4-2 at the intermissions despite being outshot 17-8 and 26-16.

Seattle’s league-best power play in the playoffs connected again at 6:57 of the third period, with True netting his second of the game on another set-up by Matt Barzal for a 5-2 lead.

Kelowna’s Dillon Dube rounded out the scoring in the final minute — his seventh of the playoffs to also extend his point streak to seven games — but the damage had been done by then.