Rockets surge early to drop Royals
Kelowna keeps pressure on B.C. Division rivals with 4-3 victory
When the Kelowna Rockets welcomed the Victoria Royals to Prospera Place on Tuesday night, the matchup had the makings of an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object.
Entering the tilt, the Rockets were the highest scoring team in the WHL’s B.C. Division by a wide margin. The Royals arrived as the stingiest contingent in the division.
“We did lots of good things,” Rockets head coach Jason Smith said after his team skated to a 4-3 win. “We moved the puck well, got the puck into the offensive zone, created opportunities, capitalized early and gave ourselves a bit of a cushion,”
Kelowna carried the play early, peppering the Royals cage with 18 shots in the first frame — good for a 1-0 lead at the intermission.
Nolan Foote beat goaltender Griffen Outhouse, corralling a loose puck from a scramble before stuffing it home for the 17th goal of his rookie campaign. While James Hilsendager and Kyle Topping earned the assists, it was Rodney Southam’s hard work in the corner that started the play.
Southam continued to exert himself, engaging fellow 20-year-old Carter Folk in a spirited bout just 2:46 into the second stanza. While the toe-to-toe affair confirmed both veterans are capable pugilists, it was the Rockets that appeared inspired afterward, potting a pair of even-strength tallies to take a 3-0 lead.
Lucas Johansen one-timed a cross-ice feed from Dillon Dube and Carsen Twarnyski deflected the puck in off the goal post at 4:33. It was Twarnyski’s 16th of the season.
Just 22 seconds later, Cal Foote and Reid Gardiner sent Calvin Thurkauf into the attacking zone, where he worked his way into the slot and beat Outhouse five-hole. It was the import forward’s 33rd goal of the season after which Outhouse, who was making his 59th appearance of the season in Victoria’s 65th game, was summoned to the bench by head coach Dave Lowry in favour of Dylan Myskiw.
“I think Rod has been real good for our team all year,” said Smith when asked about his captain’s contributions on the night. “He leads by example, he’s a blue-collar guy that plays the game the right way and will do whatever it takes for the team to have success.”
Leif Mattson, with his seventh, made it 4-0 at 5:19 when he tipped in a point shot from Hilsendager.
The 19-year-old Hilsendager, acquired from the Regina Pats earlier this season, has been a pleasant surprise of late. He continues to find ways to get shots on net, not in an overpowering fashion but with the precision and frequency that creates rebounds and scoring chances.
“I worked on it a lot this summer,” Hilsendager said. “I think I had eight points last year, so I was pretty frustrated. Coming back this season, I’ve just tried to get pucks through and good things happen.”
Victoria made it close, scoring its three goals in the final 7:22. Jack Walker on a breakaway and a pair by Jared Dmytriw made it close.
The Rockets have moved five points ahead of the Kamloops Blazers for second in the B.C. Division. They are a threat to catch the first place Prince George Cougars, trailing by only two points.
Since the 2000-01 season, the Rockets have won seven division titles. The Cougars, which arrived in Prince George for the 199495 season, have never won a division title.
On Friday, the Rockets host the Vancouver Giants. The Royals return to Prospera Place on Saturday after playing two games in Kamloops.
ICE CHIPS: Kelowna outshot Victoria 38-33 . . . . The Rockets scratched Konrad Belcourt, Tomas Soustal and Connor Bruggen-Cate . . . . The three stars were Hilsendager, Thurkauf and Jack Walker.