Giants crowd Kelowna atop division
Rockets prepare for Hurricanes on Wednesday
They may have lost a battle, but Leif Mattson and the Kelowna Rockets are still leading in the season-long war for the WHL’s B.C. Division.
Mattson scored four points in two weekend road games, but it was James Malm’s winner with about 12 minutes to play that gave the Vancouver Giants a 3-2 edge over the Kelowna Rockets on Saturday at Langley Events Centre.
Kelowna (27-13-2-1) remains one-point ahead of the Giants atop the B.C. Division standings. The Rockets also have two games in hand. Conner Bruggen-Cate opened the scoring for Kelowna at 3:50 of the middle frame against the Giants. But Vancouver responded with two goals from Owen Hardy and Ty Ronning (with his 40th of the season) and took a 2-1 lead into the third period.
At 3:49 of the third, Mattson evened things at 2-2, but five minutes later, Malm gave Vancouver a lead it would not relinquish.
Goalie James Porter’s record fell to 18-7-2 after stopping 23 of 26 shots he faced. Kelowna outshot Vancouver 30-26.
Vancouver’s victory snapped a modest threegame winning streak for the Rockets, who had also won nine of their past 10.
ROCKETS 6, THUNDERBIRDS 2 Mattson (two goals, one assist), Cal Foote (three assists), Carsen Twarynski (two powerplay goals), and Kyle Topping (two assists) all registered multi-point performances in Seattle late Friday. The Rockets were 4-for-8 on the power play while Seattle was 0-for-5.
Twarynski got things started for Kelowna at 11:33 of the opening frame on a 5-on-3 power play. Jack Cowell scored on the same power play and the Rockets held a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes of play.
Colum McGauley gave the Rockets a threegoal cushion at 3:41 of the middle stanza. Mattson added to the Rocket lead at 10:53 on another Kelowna power play. The Rockets led 4-0 after 40 minutes.
Twarynski collected the Rockets' fourth power-play goal of the evening at 9:30.
Dillon Hamaliuk and Austin Strand scored for Seattle late in the game, but Mattson scored on the empty net to seal it 6-2 for Kelowna. The Rockets outshot the T-Birds 42-25. Kelowna is back on home ice on Wednesday when they host the Lethbridge Hurricanes (2019-3). The ’Canes are second in the WHL’s Central Division, nine points behind the Medicine Hat Tigers.