Rockets squander 3-0 lead, but salvage shootout victory
Foote, Mattson score in tiebreaker to lift Kelowna over Tri-City 4-3
The Kelowna Rockets defeated the TriCity Americans 4-3 in a shootout at Prospera Place, inching ever closer to the .500 mark in the Western Hockey League standings.
However, it did not have to be as difficult as it was on Wednesday night.
The Rockets (13-15-2-0) were in complete control for the first 39 minutes, comfortably leading 3-0.
And then it happened. A parade to the penalty box that completely swung the momentum in favour of the visitors.
“We did so many great things and I don’t want to take away from how we’re playing in great structure,” said Rockets head coach Adam Foote. “But we’ve got to stop kicking ourselves, those self-induced penalties.
“We have to learn how to control ourselves. The guys know it. Hopefully we can buy in soon enough and stop making those games closer than they have to be, because I felt like it could have been more than 3-0.”
Indeed, the Rockets were that good — collectively — for most of the affair.
“I thought that was our most controlled game where we played in our structure and made a lot of good things happen,” said coach Foote.
Erik Gardiner opened the scoring at 8:15 when Kyle Topping created a loose puck in the Americans’ zone. Gardiner’s shot struck goaltender Talyn Boyko, but he was able to get his skate on the rebound and the puck slid between Boyko’s pads.
Following the 2016 playoffs, the Western Hockey League altered wording of the rule addressing pucks kicked into the net. Now, the rule reads in part “a puck that enters the net off of a player’s skate shall be ruled a goal”. Because Gardiner was outside the crease, the goal stood.
Liam Kindree extended the Rockets’ lead, jamming a rebound past Boyko at 14:07.
The Rockets moved ahead 3-0 early in the second when Kindree won the race to a loose puck behind the Ams’ net. He dished in front to Nolan Foote, who beat a screened Boyko high stick side for his team-leading 17th of the campaign.
The game changed when Topping was assessed a double-minor for high-sticking at 19:09 of the second period after he collided with Connor Bouchard and drew blood.
Tri City got on the board with 4.2 seconds left, playing “Plinko” on the power play. The Amerks bounced the puck toward the net and a deflection off the skate of Parker Aucoin squeezed under James Porter and trickled over the goal line.
Kelowna would play the first three minutes of the final frame shorthanded — but it got worse when Kaedan Korczak took a delay-of-game penalty at 1:05 for inadvertently shooting the puck into the stands.
While the Rockets survived the Amerks’ onslaught, Tri City began to control the territorial play with a heavy dose of its 19- and 20-year-old veterans, outshooting Kelowna 12-5 in the third period.
Aucoin scored his second of the night at 8:53 on another power play, then defenceman Aaron Hyman evened the affair with 2:36 remaining in regulation.
The teams skated through a scoreless extra frame before Nolan Foote and Leif Mattson scored shootout goals to salvage an extra point in the standings.
ICE CHIPS: Three stars were Foote, Aucoin and Korczak . . . . The Rockets were 0-for-2 on the power play. The Amerks were 2-for-7 . . . . Kelowna improved to 7-0-1 when leading after 20 minutes. The Rockets are 1-0 when leading after 40 minutes . . . . The Rockets scratched RW Michael Farren and D Cayde Augustine . . . . Next home game is Friday against the Victoria Royals.
BLAZERS 3, ROYALS 2
At Kamloops, the Blazers defeated the Victoria Royals, enabling the Rockets to move into second place in the B.C. Division. The Royals have six games in hand.
Kamloops, which overcame a 2-0 deficit from the first period, is now two points behind Kelowna with five games in hand.
The Vancouver Giants continue to lead the B.C. Division by a wide margin with a 20-6-2-0 record for a 14-point gap over Kelowna, which has a four-game road trip next week prior to the holiday break.